Tagged to Death 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
English version:
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=443519
Teens mourn and defy tagger's death
About 100 teenagers gathered Sunday in the Oslo railroad yard where a fellow tagger was electrocuted while spray-painting a train carriage. State railway NSB allowed the gathering, and even shut off power to the site to make it safer, only to get hit with even more tagging.
The dead 17-year-old had trespassed into the yard at Filipstad in Oslo and climbed on top of a parked commuter train so he could leave his mark, "Nine," on the carriage. While up there, he bumped into an overhead high-voltage wire, and was killed instantly.
Two fellow taggers fled in panic but later turned themselves in to police who needed help identifying the dead teenager. They won't be charged in the case, police and railway officials are calling the death a "tragedy," and NSB allowed Oslo taggers to hold a memorial service of sorts at the yard Sunday.
The teens lit candles and hugged one another, but otherwise didn't seem to show much remorse over the potentially fatal consequences of tagging. When the group broke up, NSB officials discovered even more. Someone in the group had spray-painted "RIP Nine" on the already-defaced train.
That brought an end to the tolerance of NSB officials, who are constantly trying to clean up after the taggers. An NSB spokesman said the railway would report the latest incident to police.
Railroad officials also said they'd investigate security at the yards where trains, a frequent target of taggers, are parked. One NSB spokesman, however, said it was nearly impossible to keep taggers out.
The kind of people who defy warning signs, sneak into a restricted area and climb on top of a train to vandalize it represent behavior that defies all reason, he said.
Aftenposten English Web Desk
Nina Berglund
Norwegian version:
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/oslo/article.jhtml?articleID=442996
I'll give you a short translation of some key points not included in the english version.
* The height from the top of the commuter train to the high-voltage wire is 1 meter.
* According to NSB officials he got 16 000 volt from the high-voltage wire. Submitted on 11/25/2002
Submitted by:
Øystein Urdahl
Reference:
Aftenposten, Norway, 25.Nov
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