Blaming the victim: are the police going after 11 yo who killed home intruder

[usmarine0352_2005]

Well, looks like this 11 year old is pretty responsible and self-sufficient and did the right thing.

My parents had a loaded pistol in my dad's dresser drawer when we were young and we never played with it and we were left home alone. I can't recall the age, maybe around 11 years old.


Out in the country I don't this would be uncommon for guns to be in the home with kids this age.


And 3rd attempt, not enough of the story is known, but why weren't police or the kids parents called yet? Not enough information is known to say anything, guess we'll have to see how it plays out.





From another story:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/04/missouri-11-year-old-fatally-shoots-16-year-old-intruder/

Fox2Now reported that police want to know why the children were home alone and why the 11-year-old had access to a gun. Police believe the mother bought the gun after prior break-in attempts.

St. Louis boy, 11, left alone with sister shoots and kills persistent teen intruder

10:46 PM ET, Thu September 3, 2015

An 11-year-old left at home to defend himself and his 4-year-old sister staved off several home invasion attempts before finally shooting and killing a 16-year-old intruder, police say.

The boy, whose name has not been released, had been shot in the head while breaking into the home, according to police. He was shot by the 11-year-old boy who lived inside, and who -- along with his 4-year-old sister -- had been left there alone. Sgt. Brian Schellman said it was third time that the 16-year-old had attempted to break into that house that day. Neither sibling was hurt in the incident.

 

[WestKentucky]

Cut and dried. 3rd attempt to break in. They sat intruder so I'm assuming this meant 3rd attempt was successful. So kid defends himself. Take the ages out of this and the whole issue vanishes into a good shoot in a self defensevsituation.

Person attempts home invasion 3 times. Person inside home shoots intruder. Intruder dies. I think that's how the story is supposed to go in best case scenario when gunshots are involved.

I had a similar situation as a kid, but the guy never got in. I was on 911 with one hand and on 1911 with the other. I can relate. Good job kid. Good job mom and dad.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I am sure the time between attempts and whether there was a telephone available will come into play. By the time it is all done the parents will probably be charged with something.

 

[1911 guy]

My immediate thought is they knew it was the third attempt because the kid DID call authorities twice before but nobody responded. No crystal ball, but a thought.

 

[JSH1]

I don't see anything in that Fox story where the police are blaming the kid for the shooting.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

This could be a twist. We'll have to wait and see as the facts come out.



http://www.kmov.com/story/29955714/child-11-kills-home-invasion-suspect-in-north-st-louis-county

Some neighbors are providing a different version of events. One woman, who said she saw the shooting, told News 4 the 11-year-old and 16-year-old were arguing on the home's front porch when shots were fired.

"The little boy's (person shot) jumped up and went towards there and laid down and he lands in the doorway. He was always sitting on the porch, he never went inside the house," said a neighbor.

Would the results have been less tragic if the 11 year old didn't have the gun and the 16 year old and his accomplish raped and killed the girl or beat them up?


http://www.inquisitr.com/2391714/11-year-old-shoots-and-kills-16-year-old-home-intruder-in-missouri/

“It’s troubling to say the least and shows that too many young people have access to handguns and the results are usually tragic.”

 

[rondog]

I'm betting there's more to the story.....

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Geez, I just hate it when the cops try to do a proper investigation to be sure that lethal use of force is actually justified in the situation in which it was used.

Can't call it blaming the victim until there are charges. I recall when people were up in arms about Ersland being so mistreated by the cops, the victim being blamed and all that.

Just because there was a history established does not mean that there was justification at the time of the shooting for the use of lethal force. Especially in situations where there is an established history between the shooter and shootee, the situational complexity can be much greater.

From the description, it does not appear that lethal force was appropriate. Again, it is best to wait until this gets sorted out, but this witness statement indicates that the situation is not clear cut as indicated in the OP.

Some neighbors are providing a different version of events. One woman, who said she saw the shooting, told News 4 the 11-year-old and 16-year-old were arguing on the home's front porch when shots were fired.

"The little boy's (person shot) jumped up and went towards there and laid down and he lands in the doorway. He was always sitting on the porch, he never went inside the house," said a neighbor.

http://www.kmov.com/story/29955714/child-11-kills-home-invasion-suspect-in-north-st-louis-county

 

[Sam1911]

Let's NOT be one of those places on the 'net where folks rant and rave and get all worked up about what they assume the police will do (wrong) about what they assume happened (based on almost zero actual information) between people they don't know at all, in a situation that's been sketchily reported.

Until something actually happens with this case, let's hold off arguing over it.