A man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for shooting and killing three people who refused to sing “Happy Birthday.”
According to the Huffington Post , 20-year-old Delonte Thomas opened fire at a birthday party in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last July. The party was being held in celebration of an unnamed person who happened to share the same birth date as the girlfriend of Delonte Thomas. After party guests sang “Happy Birthday” to the guest of honor, Thomas demanded they sing another “Happy Birthday” rendition for his date. Nobody obeyed the request, which infuriated Delonte Thomas to the point of leaving the party and returning 20 minutes later with a semi-automatic handgun.
According to the New York Daily News , three of the party guests were shot in the attack. Nobody was fatally wounded, which is amazing considering the number of times Delonte Thomas shot each of the party guests.
Thomas reportedly singled out one woman who outwardly objected to the idea of singing “Happy Birthday.” He shot her a total of nine times. Two other party guests were shot eight times each, but incredibly all three recovered from their injuries after surgery. One of the bullets went straight through a victim’s chest.
Officials reported on Monday that Delonte Thomas would be sentenced to 27 years in prison for the violent outburst, all over the song “Happy Birthday.” He was convicted of three counts of attempted murder.
Strangely, Delonte Thomas claimed in court he was playing the role of “peacemaker” after the “Happy Birthday” incident, but also said he doesn’t even remember the shooting.
“Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody deserves a second chance,” said Delonte Thomas. “I’m the peacemaker, I’m the one to try my best to make it through a situation. I don’t recall having a gun. I don’t recall shooting (anybody). I just hope to get some type of mercy here.”
There was quite a bit of debate over the sentence of Delonte Thomas. His defense attorney tried to reduce the term to 16 years, while the prosecution argued for each of the attempted murder charges to be served consecutively — totaling more than 40 years behind bars. According to the Hennepin County District Attorney, the judge decided to compromise on the “Happy Birthday” shooting and sentenced the 20-year-old to slightly over 27 years.
What would you do if someone refused to sing your significant other “Happy Birthday”? And do you think the prison term for Delonte Thomas is fair?
For more on the song “Happy Birthday,” read about the discussion over its copyright ownership .
[Image credit: Minneapolis Police Department]
