Tijuana, Mexico – David Smith Sr., who already holds a world record for the longest distance traveled by a human fired from a cannon, has claimed another feat.
Smith was shot across the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday, soaring about 150 feet and landing uninjured in a net in San Diego with U.S. Border Patrol agents and an ambulance waiting nearby.
Although it is against the law for anyone, including U.S. citizens, to enter the country outside an official port of entry, Smith wasn’t crossing illegally.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar made an exception for him, and Smith flashed his U.S. passport as he climbed into the barrel.
Smith, of Half Way, Mo., is listed in Guinness World Records for record distance for a human fired from a cannon.
He flew 185 feet, 10 inches on May 29, 1998, in West Mifflin, Pa.
The Smith family has five cannonballs: father, son, two daughters and a cousin.
Saturday’s feat was the brainchild of Venezuelan artist Javier Tellez and is part of a series of public art projects in the two border cities.
