Dave P
Member
Here is a tough situation: Know your target before pulling trigger ...
Fla. Teen Fatally Shot Playing Prank On Neighbor
POSTED: 5:42 p.m. EST October 26, 2003
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A teenager who celebrated his 16th birthday by playing pranks in his neighborhood was fatally shot by one neighbor who took him for a burglar, deputies said.
Mark Andrew Drewes, a sophomore at Pope John Paul II high school, was declared dead from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center.
The shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday in Boca Del Mar, when Drewes and a friend, who has not been identified, were ringing doorbells or knocking on doors and then running away.
Jay Steven Levin, 40, a Palm Beach County businessman who lives alone, told deputies that when he was awakened by a knock at the door he armed himself with a handgun and answered it.
He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon. Levin fired one shot at Drewes, who began running and collapsed a short distance away, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said.
Levin was questioned by deputies at his home, but he was not arrested, Carhart said.
"He feared for his life," Carhart said of Levin, adding that the teenager was 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds. "So he's a big 16-year-old."
Levin did not speak to reporters Saturday. Calls to Levin's home placed by The Associated Press were not answered Sunday.
Neighbor Rob Houfak pointed out bloodstains on his lawn where Drewes collapsed.
"It's very nerve wracking," he said. "It's his 16th birthday and he's dead. It's just not right. If you're going to rob somebody, you don't knock on their door first."
Drewes' family described him as an A student and soccer player, who easily made friends. Relatives from Brazil were expected to arrive Sunday. Drewes' father
Fla. Teen Fatally Shot Playing Prank On Neighbor
POSTED: 5:42 p.m. EST October 26, 2003
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A teenager who celebrated his 16th birthday by playing pranks in his neighborhood was fatally shot by one neighbor who took him for a burglar, deputies said.
Mark Andrew Drewes, a sophomore at Pope John Paul II high school, was declared dead from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center.
The shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday in Boca Del Mar, when Drewes and a friend, who has not been identified, were ringing doorbells or knocking on doors and then running away.
Jay Steven Levin, 40, a Palm Beach County businessman who lives alone, told deputies that when he was awakened by a knock at the door he armed himself with a handgun and answered it.
He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon. Levin fired one shot at Drewes, who began running and collapsed a short distance away, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said.
Levin was questioned by deputies at his home, but he was not arrested, Carhart said.
"He feared for his life," Carhart said of Levin, adding that the teenager was 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds. "So he's a big 16-year-old."
Levin did not speak to reporters Saturday. Calls to Levin's home placed by The Associated Press were not answered Sunday.
Neighbor Rob Houfak pointed out bloodstains on his lawn where Drewes collapsed.
"It's very nerve wracking," he said. "It's his 16th birthday and he's dead. It's just not right. If you're going to rob somebody, you don't knock on their door first."
Drewes' family described him as an A student and soccer player, who easily made friends. Relatives from Brazil were expected to arrive Sunday. Drewes' father
