Teen shot in head during home invasion prank ...

[Perplexed]

I'll grant that a response through the discharge of a firearm in response to what the shooter believes is a home invasion may be construed as reasonable - if the shooter is alone. If the person doing the shooting is in a house with seven other kids, prudence is called for before discharging the firearm, no matter the situation. What if this kid had been home with his family, and his sibling jumped out of the closet in a dark room with the intention of scaring him? Would the kid have shot the sibling? Or if there had indeed been a home invasion, and one of his parents came running to round up the kids - and got shot? I think that, if anything, the kid was negligent to some degree in that he was too hasty to discharge his firearm before ascertaining whether the other person was friend or foe - he was not aware enough of his surroundings before popping off a round.

But as has been the case in pretty much all other discussions of similar situations, "you just had to be there" so I'll refrain from going any further in making a judgement.

 

[milsurp2.0]

Sounds like hogwash to me. He had enough time to realize what was going on. He thought he was going to be cute and pop one off next to the kids head. Reminds me of something that happened to my cousin. Him and a buddy were squirrel hunting when this "buddy" thought he was going to be cool and scare my cousin by turning around shooting the ground between his feet. Only it didnt work out like that. Getting shot through the top of the foot with a 4-10 is very painful from what I could tell by the screams in the hospital when Nurse ratchet was running that bore brush through the hole in my cousin's foot.

 

[Dave70968]

There's a world of difference between jumping out of a closet and deliberately manufacturing a situation to mimic a home invasion, which I stress again was the "pranksters'" stated intent. A much more apt comparison would be jumping out of an alley with a rubber knife in my hand to make the victim think he was being mugged. They intended to make him feel like the victim of a crime. He reacted as the victim of a crime could reasonably be expected to react. They got what they wanted, just more of it than they planned for.

 

[David2012]

Why is that? I don't think any kids pulling a scare prank like this, inside a home with a bunch of their friends, expect to get shot. If anything, you should be questioning the parents of the kid who did the shooting.

+1!

15-17 year old boys shouldn't be carrying revolvers in their pockets. Heck, there are some adults posting on this forum that probably shouldn't be carrying guns either for that matter.. given some of their posts.

According to the story, it wasn't completely dark inside the house.. as the boys had flashlights they were using to try and find the breaker box. Since the story reads that the shooter had dropped his video game and drawn his weapon.. then fired... I'd think he had time and should have been able to recognize someone he went to school with and called his friend. After all, we are taught to be sure of our target [and what is down range of it] before shooting.

 

[68mustang]

where did you see it was in his pocket??? How do you know he didn't have a video game in one hand and a gun in the other? So what if this kid didn't have a flashlight? If he had a gun in one hand and a video game in the other, where would he hold a flashlight? You've never been scared by someone jumping out at you and you reacting by punching them or pushing them away? The kid jumps out and this guy reacts. There were other dummies that were in on it as well and you'd think they'd call the prank off when they noticed their friend had a weapon.

 

[David2012]

where did you see it was in his pocket??? How do you know he didn't have a video game in one hand and a gun in the other? So what if this kid didn't have a flashlight? If he had a gun in one hand and a video game in the other, where would he hold a flashlight? You've never been scared by someone jumping out at you and you reacting by punching them or pushing them away? The kid jumps out and this guy reacts. There were other dummies that were in on it as well and you'd think they'd call the prank off when they noticed their friend had a weapon.

Are you serious????? If you are, WOW!

 

[68mustang]

Yes I'm serious. Why don't you explain yourself instead of saying "ARE YOU SERIOUS ZOMG THIS GUY IS AN IDIOT." Or are you a gun owner that believes guns are only used for hunting?

They neglected to mention if the house they were staying at was the shooters house. I'm willing to bet it was, and I'm willing to bet the gun was stored at the house. The police had all the facts at the scene and didn't file charges. So you think you know better than the police because your read it in a newspaper article?

Are you serious????? If you are, WOW!


Of course this is all speculation.

 

[68mustang]

Serious question. If it was your kid? Would you hold him to any wrong doing? Or is this all the shooters fault? Percentage of fault on the victim and shooter please.

 

[David2012]

Just out of curiosity, have your ever taken a MMPI?

 

[68mustang]

OK, so instead of answering a question you call me mentally ill. Classy.