Man shoots at noisy teenagers, killing one

"Scott in Aztlán" wrote in message
...
: On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 21:58:33 GMT, "Anon" wrote:
:
: Uh-Oh . . . I can see it coming now. This will be counted as a speeding
: related death.
:
: I'm amazed the report did not indicate whether the driver was wearing his

OR whether they were wearing helmets.
--
ColoradoSkiBum

Cathy Weeks wrote:
AlexT wrote in message ...


I'd say that boy lost his life due to the actions of a 44 year old adult
who was so angry about something, that he did not stop and think before
taking action. Had he paused a moment before pulling the trigger, he
might have thought "what I'm about to do could end someone's life, ****
I better not do it, I'll call the cops, or get their rego number instead".


What planet are you living on? I'm not saying that he should have
killed the kid, or used his gun, but calling the cops or "asking"
nicely often backfires when the ones who got their rists slapped by
the cops escalate, and start doing it at 3am, and running before the
cops can get there.

We don't know the whole story. Maybe this had been going on for
months, at all hours of the day, and they were doing it to torment
him.

So you're saying that shooting at the car was the only other rational,
smart and reasonable action for a 44 year old adult to take? Due to the
possibility that him calling the cops or asking the kids nicely to rack
off could have backfired on him?

Didn't the original article say that the drivers of the vehicle were his
sons friends? In that case, why didn't he call the friends parents
rather than shoot at the car? Why didn't he put up with it for one more
night and pay them a visit in the morning to let out his rage via his
mouth? If it had been going on for months as you suggest, why not press
charges against them for harassment, why not take restraining orders
out? Or if he was determined to use his gun, why didn't he wait until
morning, go to his sons mates place, and shoot out the tires without
anyone in the car, thus reducing the possibility of killing someone and
ruining the rest of his own life?

If notifying the authorities, or the parents, or anything else was not
possible, then in my opinion nothing would have been possible, using his
gun in this situation should have been out of the question. Unless of
course his life was under direct threat from their actions by them
driving the car straight at him, but as I understand it, he shot at the
car from the side simply because he was angry.


The cause of the death was not "speeding", it was yet another irrational
person using and abusing their right to own a gun in the US.


And you are another irrational person who uses a tragedy like this to
take away the right to own a gun. Guns kill far less kids per year
than many, many other means, and I don't see many crusades against
those means.

I live in Australia, it is extremely hard to get a gun here, and almost
nobody bothers. In fact, I have never seen a place that sells guns or
ammunition, or know of one here. Not one person I know keeps a gun in
their house.

In 2001 over 11,000 people were killed by handguns in the US. In 2001,
65 people were killed with handguns in Australia. Big difference don't
you think?

I was not saying that the right to own a gun in the US should be taken
away. I do however think that it should be severely tightened. It is
far too easy to get a gun in the US, and many people who perhaps are not
mentally fit enough to make rational decisions, have the right to own an
extremely lethal weapon.

This bloke made a rash decision whilst holding a gun. Before *anyone*
should be allowed to own a gun anywhere in the world, it should be
hammered into them via classes or courses, that rash decisions are never
to be made whilst holding a handgun.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

Regards,
Alex.

Respect might be, but common courtesy and consideration is another
issue. I expect my children to be courteous to everyone, and to
realize they're not the only people in the world, who matter.

I totally agree. I am sick of teens and their smart mouths. They are
disrespectful. I worked as a teachers aid years ago----I could not believe the
way the teenagers talked to the teachers. It made me sick. There might be some
respectful teens out there, but I have yet to see more than a handful.


No crime, but it's rude and inconsiderate. Frankly, I'm tired of
people chanting "kids will be kids" when the kids are being
inconsiderate.

Once again, I agree. Why are the parents yelling at the kids in the first
place? What comes first.. the chicken or the egg? I bet those kids had been
bothering this man for quite some time. I find it hard to believe this was a
one time incident. I am not saying what the man did was right--it was terribly
wrong and he should be punished to the fullest extent.. I guess some people
think that because kids are kids, they have the right to be rude and
disrespectful. I am sick of it.

: Didn't the original article say that the drivers of the vehicle were his
: sons friends? In that case, why didn't he call the friends parents
: rather than shoot at the car?

That's what I said! Except that I wouldn't have put up with it for one more
night and waited until morning, I would have gone over to the friend's
parents' house *right away*, after first videotaping the incident taking
place in the street.
--
ColoradoSkiBum

ColoradoSkiBum wrote:
: Didn't the original article say that the drivers of the vehicle were his
: sons friends? In that case, why didn't he call the friends parents
: rather than shoot at the car?

That's what I said! Except that I wouldn't have put up with it for one more
night and waited until morning, I would have gone over to the friend's
parents' house *right away*, after first videotaping the incident taking
place in the street.

Ahh that would've been the smart thing to do! Once it's on video,
there's no denying it. He could've then taken it to the parents, or the
cops, and the whole thing would be over by now. The kid will be alive
yet grounded in his room with his car keys locked away by his parents,
and the 44 year old bloke could be enjoying a cup of coffee, looking out
his living room window at his once again peaceful street... Instead the
kid is dead, the only thing the kids parents want locked away is the man
who killed their son, and his once peaceful street is now the scene of a
murder investigation.

On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 21:38:20 -0700, "ColoradoSkiBum"


: Didn't the original article say that the drivers of the vehicle were his
: sons friends? In that case, why didn't he call the friends parents
: rather than shoot at the car?

That's what I said! Except that I wouldn't have put up with it for one more
night and waited until morning, I would have gone over to the friend's
parents' house *right away*, after first videotaping the incident taking
place in the street.

How do you know he didn't try that last week?

Just playing devil's advocate - I doubt he did.

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 16:01:04 +1100, AlexT wrote:

ColoradoSkiBum wrote:
: Didn't the original article say that the drivers of the vehicle were his
: sons friends? In that case, why didn't he call the friends parents
: rather than shoot at the car?

That's what I said! Except that I wouldn't have put up with it for one more
night and waited until morning, I would have gone over to the friend's
parents' house *right away*, after first videotaping the incident taking
place in the street.

Ahh that would've been the smart thing to do! Once it's on video,
there's no denying it. He could've then taken it to the parents, or the
cops, and the whole thing would be over by now. The kid will be alive
yet grounded in his room with his car keys locked away by his parents,

The kid didn't have a license, nor did he own the car.
It kinda helps to get the facts before making judgements
about what could have happened or might have happened
had the man acted differently. That AP article didn't have
many facts. A few more are in evidence in other papers,
but we still haven't a clue about what really happened.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/new...on/7375773.htm

Beck's aunt, Teresa Ledford of Shelby, said Beck had
gone to the Casar area around 7 p.m. Friday with her
son, Doug Morrison, 24, to visit a friend.

She said Beck didn't tell his mother where he was going,
but said he'd be back that evening.

At the friend's house, Beck, who didn't have a driver's
license, asked Morrison for the keys to his car "so he
could go out and listen to the radio," Ledford said.

When Beck got the keys, she said, he left with two boys
who were brothers and that they "let the car roll out the
drive and left."

"He (Beck) went down the road about a block, the music
was maybe loud, him being a teenager, and he was maybe
spinning the tires," Ledford said.

and the 44 year old bloke could be enjoying a cup of coffee,
looking out his living room window at his once again peaceful
street...

Another fact for those who think the guy was pushed into
doing this by many incidents of teenagers drag racing on
his street from the URL above.

"Mecca Drive is in a sparsely populated farming section
of the South Mountains near the Rutherford County line
where crime is relatively rare, Steen said. Mecca Drive
winds over a hill and isn't known for cruising, drag racing
or other teenage high jinks."


Instead the kid is dead, the only thing the kids parents
want locked away is the man who killed their son, and
his once peaceful street is now the scene of a
murder investigation.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Al Lewis wrote:

How do you know he didn't try that last week?

Just playing devil's advocate - I doubt he did.

Even if he had tried it, would that justify shooting at the car?

On 02 Dec 2003 04:14:29 GMT, (MCranEY05) wrote:

Respect might be, but common courtesy and consideration is another
issue. I expect my children to be courteous to everyone, and to
realize they're not the only people in the world, who matter.

I totally agree. I am sick of teens and their smart mouths. They are
disrespectful. I worked as a teachers aid years ago----I could not believe the
way the teenagers talked to the teachers. It made me sick. There might be some
respectful teens out there, but I have yet to see more than a handful.


No crime, but it's rude and inconsiderate. Frankly, I'm tired of
people chanting "kids will be kids" when the kids are being
inconsiderate.

Once again, I agree. Why are the parents yelling at the kids in the first
place? What comes first.. the chicken or the egg? I bet those kids had been
bothering this man for quite some time. I find it hard to believe this was a
one time incident. I am not saying what the man did was right--it was terribly
wrong and he should be punished to the fullest extent.. I guess some people
think that because kids are kids, they have the right to be rude and
disrespectful. I am sick of it.

Whether you can believe it was a one time incident or not, we don't
know that it was not. And we certainly don't know that this
particular teen had participated in any such incidents prior to
this time even if other teens had. The man was an adult. Are
you excusing his actions based on the bad behavior of *some*
teenagers?

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/new...on/7375773.htm

And from the more detailed account, his street was a quiet one, not
known for such teen antics. Adults are rude to children quite
frequently. Since adults are not teaching by example, I expect
that the kids have learned what they lived.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Are
you excusing his actions based on the bad behavior of *some*
teenagers?

No, absolutely not.

Adults are rude to children quite
frequently. Since adults are not teaching by example, I expect
that the kids have learned what they lived.

This is true. I am just going by experience. We had a basketball hoop outside
our last house. The master bedroom was in the front of the house. There were
many times that a bunch of teenagers would be out there till 10pm bouncing the
ball, swearing, and being extremely loud. I would politely ask them to please
be more quiet, or to stop playing for the night( seeing as how it was 10pm). My
baby slept in our room, my husband gets up very early for work..etc. They,
*every* time, answered back to me rude. They told me it was a free country...
that I didn't own the hoop or the street.. etc. I would just walk back in the
house and wait for them to finally go to bed. Then, one night my husband got
tired of our baby being woke up, and hearing them swear right and left. He went
outside and sternly asked them to leave and come back at a decent hour. They
laughed at him and just kept playing.

Another example.... we owned a condo years ago and we had a buzzer system to
get thru a security door. There were some teens that lived in the building
over. They would run around buzzing people's doors and when you went to answer
the buzz, they would run or shout something rude into the intercom. We never
saw who it was because we were on the second floor.

I know that adults do inconsiderate acts, too. I am just basing my opinion on
past experiences and although I know that not all teens are disrespectful, many
are. I know of many very good parents who raised their kids to be kind to
their elders, respectful..etc, and later to say they don't know why their child
is soo disrespectful. It's not always how they were raised. I *do* see your
point , though. Like I said, there was no excuse for what that man did. A life
was taken, and it wasn't his right to take it.