NIGHTWATCH
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Teen Protects Mother by Shooting Abusive Boyfriend
By Marlee Ginter
Photos by Joe Starlin
You may be protective over your children, but it goes both ways. In fact, police say a teenager went as far as to shoot a man who was beating his mother.
The man accused of abusing his girlfriend was shot at least three times.
Some say it doesn't come as a surprise that a 17-year-old boy would pull the trigger on a man standing over his mother, still lying beaten on the ground. A broken window screen still lies outside this apartment -- a leftover from a violent argument.__
Janet Valdez lives in the next building._ She heard the gunshots._"It was just really scary. I wouldn't -- I didn't even want to come out of the house at all. At first I thought they were just firecrackers.â€
Police say 36-year-old Carlos Davadi hit his girlfriend several times in the face knocking her to the ground._ That's when they say her 17-year-old son came out of his room and shot Davidi several times.___
It's clear Helen Boyd is close to her daughter, so she can understand a child being protective over their parents._ But for Helen -- as a neighbor -- this story hit close to home in more ways than one._ She grew up in an abusive household herself where she watched her mother get beaten continuously.
"She was bleeding._ And to me it was like from her eye because of the way she had it cuffed._And I remember looking up at her and saying, 'Mama, why are you still here with him?'"
Police say Davadi ripped the screen off the window so he could climb into the apartment._ The mangled metal may represent the struggle, but for neighbors it's a reminder of what pushed a teenager to protect his mother._
"I don't know him that well but I know a kid. I know a teenager. And the first thing you think about is the love for you parents. Everything else -- rationality -- goes out the window,†said Boyd.
“I know I would've done whatever it took to protect my mother,†added Valdez.
Davadi is at Wishard Hospital. He's charged with domestic battery, a misdemeanor.
The 17-year-old boy is back with his mother. Investigators say the evidence points to self-defense, but prosecutors could see it differently.
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1945822&nav=0Ra7NxU
By Marlee Ginter
Photos by Joe Starlin
You may be protective over your children, but it goes both ways. In fact, police say a teenager went as far as to shoot a man who was beating his mother.
The man accused of abusing his girlfriend was shot at least three times.
Some say it doesn't come as a surprise that a 17-year-old boy would pull the trigger on a man standing over his mother, still lying beaten on the ground. A broken window screen still lies outside this apartment -- a leftover from a violent argument.__
Janet Valdez lives in the next building._ She heard the gunshots._"It was just really scary. I wouldn't -- I didn't even want to come out of the house at all. At first I thought they were just firecrackers.â€
Police say 36-year-old Carlos Davadi hit his girlfriend several times in the face knocking her to the ground._ That's when they say her 17-year-old son came out of his room and shot Davidi several times.___
It's clear Helen Boyd is close to her daughter, so she can understand a child being protective over their parents._ But for Helen -- as a neighbor -- this story hit close to home in more ways than one._ She grew up in an abusive household herself where she watched her mother get beaten continuously.
"She was bleeding._ And to me it was like from her eye because of the way she had it cuffed._And I remember looking up at her and saying, 'Mama, why are you still here with him?'"
Police say Davadi ripped the screen off the window so he could climb into the apartment._ The mangled metal may represent the struggle, but for neighbors it's a reminder of what pushed a teenager to protect his mother._
"I don't know him that well but I know a kid. I know a teenager. And the first thing you think about is the love for you parents. Everything else -- rationality -- goes out the window,†said Boyd.
“I know I would've done whatever it took to protect my mother,†added Valdez.
Davadi is at Wishard Hospital. He's charged with domestic battery, a misdemeanor.
The 17-year-old boy is back with his mother. Investigators say the evidence points to self-defense, but prosecutors could see it differently.
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1945822&nav=0Ra7NxU
