Stone throwing

File:Osmar Schindler David und Goliath.jpg]]

The throwing of rocks or stones is one of the most ancient forms of ranged-weapon combat, with stone-throwing slings found among other weapons in the tomb of Tutankhamen, who died about 1325 BC.{{Cite book |last=Reeves |first=Nicholas |title=The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2007 |location=London |pages=150–154 |issn= |author-link=Nicholas Reeves}}

Xenophon mentions the petrobóloi ({{langx|grc|πετροβόλοι}}) in his work Hellenica,{{Cite book |last=Xenophon |title=Hellenica |title-link=Hellenica |at=2.4.12 |language=grc |author-link=Xenophon |via=Tufts University}} and Thucydides and Cassius Dio both mention the lithobóloi ({{langx|grc|λιθοβόλοι}}) in History of the Peloponnesian War and Histories respectively.{{Cite book |last=Thucydides |title=History of the Peloponnesian War |title-link=History of the Peloponnesian War |at=6.69 |language=grc |author-link=Thucydides |via=Tufts University}}{{Cite book |last=Cassius Dio Cocceianus |title=Historiae Romanae |at=75.7.2 |language=grc |author-link=Cassius Dio |via=Tufts University}} Both terms mean stone-throwers in Ancient Greek, as army units.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=William |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Funda.html |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |year=1875 |editor-last=Murray |editor-first=John |pages=553–554 |access-date=15 August 2023 |via=University of Chicago}}

De re militari (Latin "Concerning Military Matters") by the Roman writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus details Roman soldiers training to throw stones as weapons. "Recruits are to be taught the art of throwing stones both with the hand and sling." And "Formerly all soldiers were trained to the practice of throwing stones of a pound weight with the hand, as this was thought a readier method since it did not require a sling."{{cite web |publisher=Digital Attic |title=The Military Institutions of the Romans (De Re Militari) |year=390 |author=Flavius Vegetius Renatus |url=http://www.digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/}} Translated from the Latin by Lieutenant John Clarke

Goguryeo held an annual national seokjeon (stone battle) attended by the king himself.{{cite web |last=최 |first=상수 |title=석전(石戰) |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0028491 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Culture |language=ko}} Originally a product of the warlike Goguryeo period, seokjeon gradually evolved into a widely enjoyed pastime during the more peaceful Goryeo and Joseon periods.{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=E-Wha |title=Korea's Pastimes and Customs: A Social History |date=2006 |publisher=Homa & Sekey Books |pages=112–116}}

Historically, stoning was used as a method of human execution in several cultures.

In the 18th century, William Blackstone stated that throwing stones in a town or city on a highway, when it caused a death, was to be defined as manslaughter rather than murder.Sir William Blackstone, [https://archive.org/details/asummaryconstit00blacgoog/page/n180 A Summary of the Constitutional Laws of England Being an Abridgement of Blackstone's Commentaries,] John Trusler 1796 pp.175–176John Burnett, Robert Craigie [https://books.google.com/books?id=rNRLAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA30 A treatise on various branches of the criminal law of Scotland,] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1811 p.30

In 19th century Britain, "stone throwing" was defined as a "nuisance", one of a number of offenses such as "kite-flying" and "doorbell ringing" to be handled by bylaws which differed from town to town.Steve Sturdy, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ITR_04uCbHkC&pg=PA194 Medicine, Health and the Public Sphere in Britain, 1600–2000,] Routledge 2013 p.194.

Rock throwing during riots is a criminal offense, for which rock throwers can be charged with felony crimes, including assault on a law enforcement officer.{{cite news|title=Stone throwing: seven arrested|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/stone-throwing-seven-arrested/article6681184.ece|access-date=12 April 2015|work=The Hindu|date=11 December 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Kim|title=St. Louis man charged with throwing brick at cop during Ferguson protes|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-man-charged-with-throwing-brick-at-cop-during/article_682aaa98-6d9e-5d77-bbff-65b7b58864fb.html|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=30 January 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Bernstein|first1=Aaron|title=New protests near Ferguson after officer kills armed suspect|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-protests-near-ferguson-after-officer-kills-armed-suspect/|access-date=12 April 2015|agency=Reuters|publisher=CBS|date=25 December 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Green|first1=Sarah Jean|title=Arrested protesters accused of rioting, assault|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/arrested-protesters-accused-of-rioting-assault/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Seattle Times|date=2 May 2013}} Incidents of criminal rock throwing have resulted in arrests during sports riots; especially notable are incidents of rock-throwing football hooliganism.{{cite news|last1=Olson|first1=Robin|title=RIOT CHARGES: Richfield man, 22, accused of throwing bottles, rocks|url=http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/25246081/riot-charges-filed-over-dinkytown-hockey-disturbance|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Fox News|date=14 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150412203314/http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/25246081/riot-charges-filed-over-dinkytown-hockey-disturbance|archive-date=12 April 2015}}

In New South Wales, Section 49A of the Crimes Act 1900 provides a maximum 5-year prison sentence for "throwing rocks and other objects at vehicles and vessels".{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Micah|title=What's Wrong With Throwing Rocks?|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/whats-wrong-with-throwing-rocks|access-date=24 May 2018|publisher=Daily Beast|date=6 August 2013}}

{{Main article|Stone pelting in India}}

Throwing of stones at Indian Armed Forces and Police is frequent in Kashmir. Usually carried out by youths, in the local language it is called "Kanni Jung", which means fighting with stones and the stone pelters are called as Sangbaaz.{{cite web|url=http://www.theanalystworld.com/stone-pelting-and-kashmiri-youth/ |title=Stone Pelting and Kashmiri Youth |publisher=The Analyst World |date=20 June 2014 |access-date=17 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415013606/http://www.theanalystworld.com/stone-pelting-and-kashmiri-youth/ |archive-date=15 April 2017}} There are claims that the rocks are thrown in response to killings of Kashmiri separatists at the hands of forces.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Understanding-Kashmirs-stone-pelters/article16120870.ece |title=Understanding Kashmir's stone pelters |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=17 April 2017}}

Individuals who throw rocks at cars can serve 14 years for endangering transport.{{cite news|title=Man arrested after rocks thrown off bridge|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10344833|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=New Zealand Herald|date=9 September 2005}}

Turkey presses charges and imposes prison sentences for the crime of being part of a group throwing stones at police, even when the rock-throwers are 15 years of age and younger.{{cite news|last1=Safak|first1=Timur|title=Stone-throwing kids face 23 years|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10353543.asp?gid=244|access-date=15 April 2015|publisher=Hurriyet|date=15 April 2015}}

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) introduced a range of legal measures criminalizing both Kurdish political claims and protest activities by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The harsh sentences handed down against stone-throwing children (taş atan çocuklar) led to a public outcry and to an amendment reducing the length of the sentences on the grounds that it was inappropriate from "a criminal justice point of view."Cengiz Gunes, Welat Zeydanlioglu, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UVn7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 The Kurdish Question in Turkey: New Perspectives on Violence, Representation and Reconciliation], Routledge, 2013

Expansive legislation on public disorder introduced in 1986 allows stone throwers to be sentenced on average to {{frac|3|1|2}} years in prison if the criminal justice system can prove that the action took place in a riot.Yasmin Hussain, Dr Paul Bagguley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oim8ZLnlxlIC&pg=PA9 Riotous Citizens: Ethnic Conflict in Multicultural Britain], Ashgate Publishing, 2008 pp. 9, 128

In the U.S., charges vary by state. Depending upon the facts and jurisdiction, potential charges could include disorderly conduct, assault, and battery.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In the United States individuals throwing rocks at another person can be arrested and charged with assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.{{cite news|last1=Case|first1=Angela|title=Woman arrested after throwing rocks at police officer|url=http://fox21news.com/2015/04/24/woman-arrested-after-throwing-rocks-at-police-officer/|access-date=30 April 2015|publisher=Fox News|date=24 April 2015}} As a 15-year-old, actor Mark Wahlberg was charged in 2 separate incidents of throwing rocks and shouting racial epithets at African-American children.{{Cite book| last = Elder | first = Larry | title = Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America | publisher = Macmillan | year = 2003 | page = 12 | isbn = 9780312320171}}

Rock-throwing can be a felony{{cite news|title=Rock throwing leads to three felonies|url=http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/crime/mpd-rock-throwing-leads-to-three-felonies-1.233468|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Santa Rosa Press|date=12 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415175056/http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/crime/mpd-rock-throwing-leads-to-three-felonies-1.233468|archive-date=15 April 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Emily Russo|title=Suspected rock-throwers charged with felony assault|url=http://juneauempire.com/local/2012-11-09/suspected-rock-throwers-charged-felony-assault|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Juneau Empire|date=9 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713231038/https://www.juneauempire.com/local/2012-11-09/suspected-rock-throwers-charged-felony-assault |archive-date=13 July 2015}} and rock-throwers could face criminal charges, dependent on the circumstances that may include second degree murder, aggravated assault, throwing a missile into an occupied vehicle, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment of life, and aggravated assault with a lethal weapon.{{cite news|title=Family Furious After Boy, 4, Is Hit By Thrown Brick On Staten Island|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/07/family-furious-after-boy-4-is-hit-by-thrown-brick-on-staten-island/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=CBS News|date=7 April 2015}}{{cite news|title=Fourth teen charged in I-80 rock throwing|url=http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/04/i-80-rock-incident/13603089/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150412203409/http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/04/i-80-rock-incident/13603089/|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 April 2015|access-date=12 April 2015|agency=AP|publisher=WKYC|date=4 August 2014}} Punishment upon conviction varies as with all punishments for all crimes. A Florida judge sentenced a teenager to serve life in prison for murder by throwing rocks at cars.{{cite news|title=Teen Gets Life For Murder With Hurled Piece Of Rock|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2000/05/27/teen-gets-life-for-murder-with-hurled-piece-of-rock/|access-date=21 September 2015|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=27 May 2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003082359/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2000-05-27/news/0005270027_1_laible-university-of-alabama-concrete |archive-date=3 October 2015}} A New England judge, ruling on teenagers convicted of throwing stones at the windows of passing trains that resulted in eye injuries to passengers, sentenced the convicted to be kept in an eye-injury ward of a hospital for two weeks with their eyes bandaged to make them understand the consequence of their delinquency.Joel Feinberg, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iA1ZLWW3_KAC&pg=PA295 Harmless Wrongdoing], Oxford University Press, 1988 p.295. Rock throwers can be charged, tried, and convicted even when no injuries or damage result.{{cite news|title=Two N.j. Men Found Guilty In Rock-throwing Incident|url=https://www.mcall.com/1988/01/13/two-nj-men-found-guilty-in-rock-throwing-incident/|access-date=13 July 2015|publisher=The Morning Call|date=13 January 1988 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510115141/http://articles.mcall.com/1988-01-13/news/2621905_1_rocks-cars-juvenile-court |archive-date=10 May 2018}} Under American law they can receive very long sentences and even be sentenced to life in prison.{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Micah|title=What's Wrong With Throwing Rocks?|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/06/what-s-wrong-with-throwing-stones.html|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=Daily Beast|date=6 August 2013}}{{cite news|title=Teen OKs plea deal in rock throwing|url=http://www.dailyitem.com/news/teen-oks-plea-deal-in-rock-throwing/article_c573a4e4-ce92-11e4-8c11-7f8ef292e772.html|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Sunbury Daily Item|date=19 March 2015}} Under American law, individuals who were part of a group engaged in rock-throwing can be convicted and imprisoned even if they did not personally throw any missiles.{{cite news|title=3rd Steger Man Is Sentenced In Fatal I-57 Rock-throwing|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/04/13/3rd-steger-man-is-sentenced-in-fatal-i-57-rock-throwing/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=13 April 1990 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622193113/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-04-13/news/9001300964_1_overpass-sentenced-steger |archive-date=22 June 2018}}{{cite news|title=Teen pleads in rock-throwing death|url=http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20011128/NEWS/111280345|work=Tuscaloosa News|date=28 November 2001}}

Youths convicted of "vandalism and battery" for throwing stones at vehicles have been imprisoned.{{cite news|last1=Lak|first1=Dak|title=Teenager jailed for rock-throwing incident that claimed man's eye|url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/teenager-jailed-for-rockthrowing-incident-that-claimed-mans-eye-43071.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511023110/http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/teenager-jailed-for-rockthrowing-incident-that-claimed-mans-eye-43071.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2015|access-date=8 May 2015|publisher=Thanh Niên|date=8 May 2015}}

Rock-throwing may occur in a variety of contexts but is often associated with assaultive offenses, demonstrations and riots, and international conflicts.

Rock-throwing can be used by thieves, as was demonstrated by a 2015 case in India in which Ratan Marwadi, 45, was charged with throwing rocks at a random passer-by, Darshana Pawar, to disable and rob her. Pawar was killed by Ratan Marwadi, who had served time in jail for pelting rail commuters with stones with the intent of robbing them.{{cite news|last1=Gupta|first1=Pradeep|title=Stone-thrower held for death of commuter|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Stone-thrower-held-for-death-of-commuter/articleshow/46363646.cms|access-date=18 September 2015|publisher=Times of India|date=25 February 2015}}

Rocks thrown at cars moving along highways at high speeds have been a problem in a number of countries.{{cite news|last1=Janzen|first1=Eric|title=13 rock-throwing incidents reported along I-35 since June|url=http://kxan.com/2014/11/04/13-rock-throwing-incidents-reported-along-i-35-since-june/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=KXAN|date=4 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114045049/http://kxan.com/2014/11/04/13-rock-throwing-incidents-reported-along-i-35-since-june/ |archive-date=14 January 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Beavin|first1=Angie|title=Man still in rehab months after rock was thrown from overpass|url=http://kxan.com/2014/11/03/man-still-in-rehab-months-after-rock-was-thrown-from-overpass/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=KXAN|date=3 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412091128/http://kxan.com/2014/11/03/man-still-in-rehab-months-after-rock-was-thrown-from-overpass/ |archive-date=12 April 2015}}{{cite news|title=Sharon Twp woman critical after rock thrown through car windshield|url=http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/summit-county/2014/07/15/sharon-twp-woman-critical-after-rock-thrown-through-car-windshield/12688955//|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150412203310/http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/summit-county/2014/07/15/sharon-twp-woman-critical-after-rock-thrown-through-car-windshield/12688955//|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 April 2015|access-date=12 April 2015|agency=AP|publisher=WKYX|date=15 July 2014}} {{cite news|last1=Greenberg|first1=Lara|title=Arrests Made in Rock-Throwing Incident that Critically Injured Woman|url=http://wnep.com/2014/07/11/rock-thrown-from-interstate-overpass-injures-woman-in-car/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=WNEP|date=11 July 2014}}{{cite news|title=395 reports of yobs throwing rocks from motorway bridges is tip of iceberg|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/395-reports-of-yobs-throwing-rocks-1675875|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=Daily Mirror|date=12 February 2012}} According to the Austin, Texas police detective Jarrett Crippen, "When we’re talking about highway speeds of 60, 70 mph, that rock is hitting you full-force.... If it's coming through your windshield, it can cause serious damage to the body, vehicle or even death."{{cite news|last1=Vega|first1=Jackie|title=Police investigate new interstate rock-throwing case|url=http://kxan.com/2014/11/03/police-investigate-new-interstate-rock-throwing-case/|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=KXAN|date=3 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501011055/https://www.kxan.com/2014/11/03/police-investigate-new-interstate-rock-throwing-case/ |archive-date=1 May 2015}} A Washington State trooper said of an arrest of criminal rock-throwers, "Any one of these rocks could have punctured a windshield, hit the driver in the face and killed them."{{cite news|title=Naked rock throwers arrested|url=http://www.nbc-2.com/story/10702451/naked-rock-throwers-arrested|access-date=12 April 2015|publisher=NBC 2|date=26 May 2009}} Although the rocks are often thrown from overpasses or high points along the roadside, people riding in cars have also been killed by rocks thrown at random vehicles from passing cars.{{cite news|last1=Kucher|first1=Karen|title=Woman dies after rock thrown into auto|url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/20050527-1205-bnrock5.html|access-date=14 April 2015|publisher=Union-Tribune San Diego|date=27 May 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414205927/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/20050527-1205-bnrock5.html |archive-date=14 April 2015}}

Notable instances of death and injury caused by rocks thrown at cars include the death of Julie Catherine Laible, a professor at the University of Alabama,{{cite news|title=National News Briefs; Professor Killed by Rock Thrown From Overpass|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/30/us/national-news-briefs-professor-killed-by-rock-thrown-from-overpass.html|access-date=21 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=30 March 1999}} the Darmstadt American rock-throwing incident in which American teenagers killed a 20-year-old woman and critically injured her grandmother, then hit another car, killing the 41-year-old mother of 2 small children,{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Carol J.|title=Germany to Seek Murder Charges Against 3 U.S. Teens in Rock Attacks|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-01-mn-4164-story.html|access-date=13 April 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1 March 2000}} {{subscription required}} the death of Chris Currie, 20, on a road in New Zealand, the killing of David Wilkie by striking miners throwing rocks at cars in the United Kingdom, and the I-80 rock throwing in which youths hurled rocks from an overpass on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, critically injuring and permanently disfiguring a passenger.{{cite news|last1=Beauge|first1=John|title=Gag order sought in I-80 rock-throwing case in which Ohio woman was injured|url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/12/gag_order_sought_in_i-80_rock-.html|access-date=23 April 2015|publisher=The Patriot News|date=3 December 2014}} In 2017, a single American highway, Interstate 75, was the scene of the 2017 Interstate 75 rock-throwing murders.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Alex |title=Ohio teens charged with murder after sandbag thrown from bridge hits car, kills passenger |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-teens-charged-murder-after-sandbag-thrown-bridge-hits-car-n832756 |access-date=12 November 2018 |publisher=NBC News |date=26 December 2017}}

File:Stone pelting .jpg

Throwing rocks at trains has long been a problem in countries including the United States and New Zealand, where passengers and train crews have been injured by large rocks thrown through windows.{{cite news|title=All Too Common|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/content/606704/2683454.html|access-date=20 April 2015|publisher=Television New Zealand|date=25 August 2005}}{{cite news|last1=Philipps|first1=Dave|title=Rock Hurling Is Old Nemesis of Train Crew|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/us/projectile-problem-goes-beyond-amtrak-train-and-philadelphia.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0|access-date=17 May 2015|work=New York Times|date=16 May 2015}}

File:Bastille 2007-05-06 anti Sarkozy 487633669 93d13b826b o.jpg demonstration in Paris.]]

Rock-throwing has been in the past often adopted as a method by an unarmed population to protest a governing power's authority. Under English common law, soldiers were not permitted to shoot at civilians engaged in that kind of protest unless their lives were in danger or they had obtained an express order from a civil magistrate.

At one point, when town officials tried to arrest a British officer who was commanding the guard at Boston Neck, Captain Ponsonby Molesworth intervened to confront a stone-throwing crowd. Molesworth ordered the soldiers to bayonet anyone throwing stones who got too close. A Boston justice told him that, under common law, a bayonet thrust was not an act of self-defense against a stone, which was not a lethal weapon. Had a soldier killed anyone, Molesworth could have been tried for his life.'John Murrin, Paul Johnson, James McPherson, Alice Fahs, Gary Gerstle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5_Y2LhgrpToC&pg=PA183 : Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People,] Cengage Learning, 2011 p.183

Political demonstrations in many countries have resulted with the arrest of violent protestors for throwing rocks and other objects at police.{{cite news|title=Paris police arrest scores as pro-Palestinian demo turns violent|url=http://www.dw.de/paris-police-arrest-scores-as-pro-palestinian-demo-turns-violent/a-17811025|access-date=13 April 2015|agency=AFP, dpa, Reuters|publisher=DW|date=27 July 2014}}{{cite news|title=Riot police target Turkish protesters in Istanbul and Ankara on anniversary of Gezi Park|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/riot-police-target-turkish-protesters-article-1.1812662|access-date=13 April 2015|agency=AP|work=Daily News|date=31 May 2014}}{{cite news|title=Huge anti-austerity protest in Madrid turns violent Reports suggest 50 police officers injured during rioting|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/huge-anti-austerity-protest-in-madrid-turns-violent-1.1735211|access-date=13 April 2015|agency=Reuters|publisher=Irish Times|date=23 March 2014}}

Many notorious and deadly riots have begun with or included rock-throwing as violence escalated, including the Toronto Jubilee riots, the Boston Massacre, and the 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots in Ukraine.

Stone throwing rioters have repeatedly clashed with Egyptian troops at the Egypt–Gaza border.

• In 2008, Gazans assaulted Egyptian border guards by throwing barrages of rocks over the low concrete border wall topped with barbed wire, tore down a section of the wall, and opened a road and moving goods and people across for several hours before the Egyptian Army, without using lethal force, managed to regain control of the border.{{cite news|last1=Erlanger|first1=Steven|title=Egypt Tries to Plug Border; Gazans Poke New Hole|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/world/middleeast/26gaza.html|access-date=14 April 2015|work=New York Times|date=26 January 2008}}
• On 6 January 2010, Hamas called on Gazans to protest the Egyptian border blockade. Gazan men responded by massing at the border and throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at the Egyptian security forces, who responded with gunfire.{{cite news|last1=Sanders|first1=Edmund|title=Egypt–Gaza border riot leaves Egyptian guard dead|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-06-la-fg-gaza7-2010jan07-story.html|access-date=14 April 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=6 January 2010}} {{subscription required}}

In the 2015 Horgoš riot during the European migrant crisis, illegal immigrants at the Hungarian southern border fence threw rocks and chunks of concrete at Hungarian border police.{{cite news|last1=Lyman|first1=Rick|title=Migrants Clash With Police in Hungary, as Others Enter Croatia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/world/europe/europe-refugee-migrant-crisis.html|access-date=17 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=16 September 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Radovanovic|first1=Radul|title=Chaotic border scrums as Croatia becomes migrant hotspot|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/croatia-now-latest-migrant-hotspot-after-hungarian-clashes/|access-date=17 September 2015|agency=AP|publisher=Seattle Times|date=17 September 2015}}

In recent years, increasing numbers of undocumented sub-Saharan Africans have passed through Morocco attempting to reach European Union countries, and many attempt to enter Spanish soil at two Spanish enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta, on the African side of the Mediterranean Sea. On several occasions, Moroccan and Spanish border authorities have defended lethal violence against African illegal immigrants near the Melilla border fence and Ceuta border fence by asserting that groups of migrants attempting to storm the border in mass-entry events had thrown rocks to drive border guards away from the gates.{{cite news|last1=Abad|first1=Rocio|title=Immigrant death toll from assault on Ceuta beach border could rise to 14|url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/02/07/inenglish/1391774548_753814.html|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=El Pais|date=7 February 2014}}{{cite news|title=Spain: 400 migrants repelled after charging Moroccan guards, storming Melilla border fence|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/spain-400-migrants-repelled-after-charging-moroccan-guards-storming-melilla-border-fence/|access-date=13 April 2015|agency=AP|publisher=Fox News|date=1 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419162407/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/01/spain-400-migrants-repelled-after-charging-moroccan-guards-storming-melilla/ |archive-date=19 April 2015}}{{cite news|last1=El Hadad|first1=Horia|title=African migrants climb their way into Spain|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/06/african-migrants-climb-their-way-into-spain-201468133328621674.html|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=10 June 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Nick|title=Melilla: Europe's dirty secret|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/17/melilla-migrants-eu-spain-morocco|access-date=13 April 2015|work=The Guardian|date=16 April 2010}}

{{see also|Lonnie Swartz, José Rodríguez border incident}}

Rock-throwers on the Mexican side of the Mexico–United States border frequently target US Border Patrol agents with barrages of rocks to prevent them from apprehending individuals illegally crossing the border, particularly smugglers moving illegal drugs or illegal migrants across the border.{{cite news|last1=Medrano|first1=Lourdes|title=Bullets vs. rocks? Border Patrol under fire for use of deadly force|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/1203/Bullets-vs.-rocks-Border-Patrol-under-fire-for-use-of-deadly-force|access-date=14 April 2015|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|date=3 December 2012}} Between 2010 and 2014, Border Patrol agents were assaulted with rocks 1,700 times and fired weapons at rock throwers 43 times, resulting in 10 deaths.{{cite news|last1=Matalon|first1=Lorne|title=Border Patrol Refines Tactics In Rock-Throwing Scenarios|url=http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/mar/13/border-patrol-refines-tactics-rock-throwing-scenar/|access-date=13 April 2015|publisher=KPBS|date=13 March 2014}} Border Patrol agents are permitted to respond to rock-throwers with lethal weapons, but as of 2014, the policy is to attempt to avoid finding themselves in situations in which responding to rock-throwing with lethal force becomes necessary.{{cite news|last1=Dinen|first1=Steven|title=Border Patrol Chief: Agents can still shoot at rock throwers|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/9/border-patrol-chief-agents-can-still-shoot-at-rock/?page=all|access-date=13 April 2015|work=Washington Times|date=9 March 2014}}

In Florida, statewide policy is to install fences on highly trafficked overpasses and those near schools. An exception is Manatee County, where all overpasses have it due to a rock-throwing death in 1999.{{cite news |last1=Barton |first1=Eric Allen |title=Fences may discourage vandals |publisher=Sarasota Herald Tribune |date=17 October 2000|id={{ProQuest|270637413}} }}{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Adam C. |title=Overpasses, rocks: deadly common combination |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=31 March 1999|id={{ProQuest|263345119}} }}

• Stoning of the Devil
• Acid throwing
• David and Goliath
• Egging
• Jewish Israeli stone throwing
• Palestinian stone-throwing
• Serhildan

{{Reflist}}

Category:Assault

Category:Violence

Category:Protest tactics