This bothers me....

[rwsmith]

A homeowner shot and killed a 14 year old who, with his friends, was probably playing 'ding dong ditch' where you ring a doorbell and run off, hide in the bushes, and watch the person answer the door and giggle.

I KNOW we live in tough times and you can't be too careful but it really bothered me that the comments leaned toward:

He's 14 and he should know better.

He got shot because he played the *** hole.

It wasn't a prank, it was stupid.

He got what he deserved.

People have a lot of pent up anger to think that a 14 year old should be shot and killed for ringing a doorbell. It's a good thing that he didn't put a flaming bag of dog poop on the porch or toilet papered the yard or he would have gotten into big trouble. Suppose the any kid that ever did this stuff should be shot on sight or given the death penalty? I promise you that I and my friends would be dead many times over and I never did anything threatening or even damaged property intentionally.

 

[moralem]

It should bother all of us as should excessive force by police. Times have changed and we will never go back to the days when we got away with this stuff and more. We used to harrass the cops in our much faster than their cars and chased through town but no one every drew down on us when we finally pulled over. The world has changed and our government has failed to protect us from threats that we once thought unimaginable and it has brought us to this current state of affairs. The days of practical jokes or pranks are gone sadly.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Not that many years ago, a very similar, if not the same thing, happened in Worthington, Ohio. The home owner was elderly, the home was run down, with the "urban legend" of being haunted and the teen did it on a dare. (Worthington is a pretty well to do, bedroom community of Columbus, with a general liberal outlook on most things.) The uproar went wild in both directions, about excessive force and picking on/pranking the elderly. The final outcome was that spoiled brats can do no wrong, and old men (WWII veteran) can do no wrong! So it was all the evil gun's fault. Destroyed the gun and everything went back to normal (except for the family with the missing son!)

All I can say is to discipline your children, watch out for who they hang around with, and pray for their safety!

Something in the neighborhood of 22 years ago in early December, My oldest spent the night at a family from church's home for a birthday "party". When I went to pick him up at 10:30 or 11:00 the next morning, every person in the house was asleep except for my son (he was playing a video game. The dad came down to meet me and I ask where everyone was. The father said they were all asleep from being out late and toilet papering a bunch of houses. I started to explode at my son saying that the old man with a cane (about a half mile away) was out trying to clean up his yard. My son calmly looked at me and said not to blame him, he knew better than to do that! He was the only one that stayed behind when the MOM took everybody else TPing houses. Without a word the Dad hung his head, put on his coat and went to clean up the yard. As we drove by I saw the Dad helping a man with a cane clean up the mess. I ask my son what he thought, he said the only thing that embarrassed him more than the ridicule he got inside the house, was knowing the were about 18 or 19 more house that wouldn't get cleaned up by the guilty parties!


BTW, our house was never TPed! When my daughter was a HS senior, one of the boys said that her house was the only one in their class that hadn't been TPed yet! Another boy ran down the school hall and tackled him saying, "Don't you fear for you life? You've met her Dad!" So a reputation helps along with training your kids.

Ivan

 

[Salty RI]

We used to use a flaming bag of horse poop.

 

[williamlayton]

If you pull a prank and it goes bad---you accept the responsibility.

NOW---kids are kids and pranks have gone South since the first one was pulled-------still----that is life and it is not going to change.
Blessings

 

[da gimp]

It should bother all of us as should excessive force by police. Times have changed and we will never go back to the days when we got away with this stuff and more. We used to harrass the cops in our much faster than their cars and chased through town but no one every drew down on us when we finally pulled over. The world has changed and our government has failed to protect us from threats that we once thought unimaginable and it has brought us to this current state of affairs. The days of practical jokes or pranks are gone sadly.

Characterizing fleeing from a police officer at excessive speed as harmless fun is pure hog wash... You endangered any person's life who happened to be either walking or driving on those same roads when you decided to "harass the cops" & have some fun...

Many, many innocent people have been killed or seriously injured by drivers fleeing from the police & the resulting chases...Just how is the police officer to know if the reason you are fleeing is because you've just committed a felony, were carrying felony weight drugs, have stolen property with you, are fleeing because you have outstanding warrants or "are you just having fun"?

Here those drivers are automatically charged with felony fleeing from police & refusal to yield and if any person is hurt or even nearly hurt..or they hit another occupied vehicle with their car, they are charged with assault with a deadly weapon, armed criminal action and possibly attempted murder and/or reckless endangerment...

We just had the trial & sentencing of such a driver here in our county... he ran over a mother & child.... the mom though terribly injured, survived, her infant child died...the driver got major time... & I don't think he was ever offered a plea bargain pre-trial...

 

[old bear]

Kids will be kids, and do stupid things, it's part of the learning process. Yet learning that, what was meant to be a harmless prank, can get you killed is a very hard lesson to swallow.

As I don't have any more information that the O/P posted, I'll offer no further comments, other than I hope the person of fired the shot/shots has a highly talented attorney.

 

[RJJ 1971]

When I was a kid and you were caught pranking someone's house... You sometimes got what you deserved. I do remember a kid getting a belt taken to him by a homeowner once.

And yes I remember playing ding dong ditch and egging cars/homes. I remember in 2 extreme cases, having shotguns brought out from homeowners that were slinging birdshot shot in the air.

Made me learn real quick to stop being a ****ing dumbass and leave other peoples property alone.


But, no one deserves to die or be shot over a stupid prank.
But nowadays, you can't trust kids to only do stupid pranks.

 

[Arik]

That sucks and the comments suck even more. Some of these people should look at themselves first. Maybe not because of pranks but from other adult nonsense that they pull.

 

[perryhd]

The loss of a child has got to be a parent's worst nightmare. I can only imagine what the parents are going through. My heart goes out to them. Two wrongs will never make a right.

 

[Watchdog]

A homeowner shot and killed a 14 year old who, with his friends, was probably playing 'ding dong ditch' where you ring a doorbell and run off, hide in the bushes, and watch the person answer the door and giggle.

Which incident are you referring to?

There was one in Oklahoma and one in Pennsylvania. Neither teenager was killed.

Or are there others?

 

[sigp220.45]

If this is the case from Oklahoma yesterday, the 14 year old wasn't killed. He was shot in the arm and back and is expected to recover.

 

[Fat Frank]

I guess I was different growing up. I never did any of that kind of stuff, for the same reason I tried the best I could to stay out of trouble in school. It was made VERY CLEAR to me that if I ever got a paddling at school, that was nothing compared to what would be waiting for me at home. I was taught to respect others' property and not cause others trouble. My dad was/is a pretty easy going guy, but he was very clear on this and didn't put up with such foolishness.

Sadly, the Golden Rule evidently isn't taught much nowadays.

 

[SC_Mike]

Doorbell ringing, even at 3 am, does not warrant deadly force.

 

[Faulkner]

It should bother all of us as should excessive force by police. Times have changed and we will never go back to the days when we got away with this stuff and more. We used to harrass the cops in our much faster than their cars and chased through town but no one every drew down on us when we finally pulled over. The world has changed and our government has failed to protect us from threats that we once thought unimaginable and it has brought us to this current state of affairs. The days of practical jokes or pranks are gone sadly.

Threats to our borders from outsiders may indeed be blamed on our government, but what's going on internally is due to a degradation of this country's moral fiber.

I agree with you that "kids will be kids" is no longer a viable excuse for pranks. Kids are showing up at schools and churches and committing mass murder because of their parents (or lack thereof) don't pay attention to them enough. In times past kids would be spanked or disciplined by their parents when caught doing pranks. Too many kids these days only have one parent and they're too busy to know where and what the kids are doing. (14 year olds ringing the doorbell at 3:00 AM . . . really?) Unfortunately, too many parents don't discipline their kids and it will always be someone else's fault when their kids get caught up in the consequences of their actions.

As for me at my home, when things go bump in night at 3:00 am I'm not automatically assuming it's the neighbor kid playing a prank.

 

[Muss Muggins]

If you pull a prank and it goes bad---you accept the responsibility.

NOW---kids are kids and pranks have gone South since the first one was pulled-------still----that is life and it is not going to change.
Blessings

But can a simple prank go so far south to include dying or almost dying at the hands of someone else? I understand accidents, but getting shot for ringing the doorbell?

disclaimer: I have not reviewed the available circumstances, just what I read in the OP's post.

 

[GatorFarmer]

A cursory internet search on the Oklahoma incident shows vague media reporting about the circumstances of the actual shooting. It does mention that the initial police report was an attempted home invasion.

I do not know what the law is in Oklahoma for lethal force. If memory serves, doing mischief under cover of dark can be met with deadly force in Texas. However, I doubt the shooter shot at what ue saw as pranksters. Most likely the shooter legitimately thought that there was a danger and that a break in was being attempted.

Being a cynic, I would also note that if I was a kid and trying to break into homes, I too would claim it was just an innocent game. So some corroboration of what was really going on would be nice.

Being further cynical, I would also note that a 14 year old ought not be out at night unattended. I.e. those old commercials about do you know where your children are did have a point.

 

[Watchdog]

A cursory internet search on the Oklahoma incident shows vague media reporting about the circumstances of the actual shooting. It does mention that the initial police report was an attempted home invasion.

The police said after arriving on the scene, it was obvious that it wasn't a home invasion.

Most likely the shooter legitimately thought that there was a danger and that a break in was being attempted.

He shot the kid in the back as he was running away. Shot him twice, as a matter of fact. He might could have gotten away with saying he fired just to scare the kids and accidently hit one, but he shot twice and hit the target both times. One of the shots went through the kid's liver. I'll be surprised if he isn't charged.

 

[msinc]

Shooting a kid for ringing the doorbell as a prank is not something I would personally do. But............................there's an old saying that has proven to be very true: If you don't discipline your kids, somebody else will do it for you and you probably wont like the method they use. So, simple cure...take care of business at home!!!!!!!!!!! It's really that simple.

 

[Doug M.]

Considering how the media is typically so incorrect in reporting on a lot of things, how generally anti-gun and personal defense/responsibility they are, and how little most people know about use of force, the odds are staggering that relying on a media report for information about an event of this nature is a fail. And anyone who does not think a 14 year old could EASILY present a potentially lethal threat is grossly uninformed. I have met and prosecuted 14 year olds who were REALLY DANGEROUS, and most probably could have been shot by both cops and private citizens who interacted with them. We are not likely to know what happened here for a long time. That's putting aside that criminals lie.

When I was in college, had a similar incident at my parents' house. Darned right I answered the door with a gun in my hand. There was, as is usually the case, no excuse at all for anyone coming to the door (at any time, ever, without an invitation), and it was well after dark. Kid got an epic butt chewing from me, then his parents. This is just another reason why I have a 6 foot chain link fence with padlocked gates. No one can get to the door without climbing the fence, and that is a crime in and of itself. Trespass One at a minimum, quite possibly burglary.

PS: the actual rate of truly excessive force by LE personnel is amazingly small. Well under 1% of all encounter that involve force of any type, which is typically less than 1% of all encounters. The media and anti-cop pressure groups of Terrorists, Anarchists, and Narcissists have created a completely incorrect and probably intentionally dishonest discourse.