Surf Beach Gunman Puts Van 'Out of Its Misery'

SAN ONOFRE, Ca. - A man with car trouble is in trouble after shooting five rounds into the hood of his Dodge van "to put my van out of its misery." Unt Puttzle shot his 1975 Dodge van with a .380-caliber semiautomatic, Park rangers said. When the attendant at the kiosk asked what he was doing, Unt Puttzle said, "I'm putting my van out of its misery." He tucked his gun in a pocket and went surfing. He was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm in public. He posted $100 bail Thursday. Unt Puttzle said the van has been giving him trouble for years and had "outlived its usefulness." He called the shooting "dumb" and worries he will be forced to move out of state. But he doesn't regret it. "I think every guy in the universe has wanted to do it," Unt Puttzle told the Daily Sun-Post. "It was worth every damn minute in that jail." The EPA may also press charges as one of the rounds blew through the transmission spilling fluid into an ecological preserve. Another round pierced the engine block, but there was no oil in it to leak out.