That is an incredible feat I must admit. I can see 5 maybe 6...but that 7th is definitely on someone's lap.

And from the picture it appears that one of them was nicknamed "fatty", so maybe he had one sitting on each leg?

If there was a clown, you are it.

If you go looking for a fight then you have to expect that something like that might happen. Kids are out of control these days. Maybe the next group of young thugs will think twice about looking for trouble.

If you go looking for a fight then you have to expect that something like that might happen.

You've got to kidding,Nvart. Three youths, aged 14 to 16, short dead, and your response is that it was a good object lesson.

we could pack 8-10 people in a 73' Grand Prix so not a feat uneasily accomplished. considering you have room for 2 in front, 3 in back almost naturally not sure why people are so wide-eyed. I am sure the mayor and his pep talk left them all in smiles about the "we love you all" speech.

you 3 kids are dead. dont lecture parents on parenting, not teach your kids manners, and civility, this is what happens. it isnt the guns, its the kids and their parents who need training, and to be made accountable for their chiildrens actions, seeing how until the age of 18 they are the parents responsibility.

Seven boys tried to assault 3 other boys - and one guy decided to even out the odds with a gun - sounds like yet another gang related crime.

Peace on Earth! 3 people won't ever fight again. If they had a brain it would be 7.

I always say tht when I start a sentence with, "Kids these days..." it is a sure sign that I am getting old.

But I gotta tell you, kids these days...

The kids threatened to fight. Since they were beefing on facebook, I can bet the 7 were bold enough to threaten they were coming over to kick some ass. They didn't expect someone they were fighting to be prepared? Stupidity killed these kids.

Axel Barreto, welcome to death row!

7 People show up at my house looking for a fight same thing would happened just 7 would be dead

Rest in peace Javy, Fatty, and Dante. Such a shame, all this wasted life and so young. I bet the arguement was a ridiculous one too. Name calling or over a girl.

freedom- Really? a bunch of teenagers show up, not armed and your answer shoot them? Not maybe call the police, not just 3 but all 7 keep bragging, you sound real bright. What, watch faux noise and your IQ about the same as your shoe size? Thought so!

freedom_monger:

I hear your point but as it stands, this step father was involved in an "ambush". Is that what you mean? I would imagine that you would at least wait for the legal opportunity to fire in self defense.

While I don't condone these kids getting shot dead at all, at the same time, I do agree that if you show up looking for trouble, bad things can happen. Again, a shame this happened, but they put themselves in a situation where something bad was going to happen one way or the other. I mean 14-16 year old kids out at 11pm on a school night looking for a fight, bad news. Still doesn't justify the guy coming out and opening fire on the car before anyone got out.

I hope this horrible incident is a teaching moment to the youth of today. Don't bring a Corolla to a gun fight.

freedom- Really? a bunch of teenagers show up, not armed and your answer shoot them? Not maybe call the police, not just 3 but all 7 keep bragging, you sound real bright. What, watch faux noise and your IQ about the same as your shoe size? Thought so!

I for one happen to agree with Freedom. If I don't know 7 individuals that pull up to my house and are seemingly looking for a fight, I may not shoot them to start off the situation, but I'll damn sure be walking out of my house holding a gun.

Fact is, these 7 children looking to JUMP 3 others got a dose of their own medicine the way I see it. They wanted to beat the crap out of three people by over-weighing their odds and someone got the jump on them instead. Sad that they died, but ya know, lesson learned for those in and around this incident. To me, these kids were where they shouldn't have been.

I'm not saying it's "justifiable", but reasonable. Honestly, I think the step-father over-reacted to initiate the incident. He didn't have to use the gun first off, but then again, do we understand the region and locality of which they live? Is it a crime infested area? Are gangs prevalent? I would be asking more questions, it may be more justifiable.

BigJeff-2931255

I always say tht when I start a sentence with, "Kids these days..." it is a sure sign that I am getting old.

But I gotta tell you, kids these days...

I hate when people make comments like this. It's not "kids these days", it's parenting and media these days. It's not as if kids are just being born without the same brain functioning that was provided to the generations before them. Kids behave this way because this is what parenting and the media have provided them. Instead of pointing your finger at "kids these days", take a look around at what they're growing up with. Not to mention, seven kids loading up in a vehicle to go fight some other kids is hardly a new thing. There have been group fights between kids since humans took over the Earth. Yes...believe it or not there were "kids" when you were growing up that did this exact same thing. But I'm sure you wouldn't like to be grouped in with those people would you? People need to stop with all of the "Kids have no respect these days" and "when I was a kid we never..." comments. If you don't want the kids in your families to act this way, raise them as good as your parents and grandparents must have raised you. Because it's not always the kids that are failing. Many times their failure and inadequacies are the product of poor parenting, bad surroundings and the awful media they're being presented with.

No good guys in these story. Its a tragic outcome, but don't lie down on train tracks then complain about the train hitting you.

Stepdad should have just called the cops when the gang came to the house. Then again, nothing would have happened, and his sons would just get beat up at school.

"I hate when people make comments like this. It's not "kids these days", it's parenting and media these days. It's not as if kids are just being born without the same brain functioning that was provided to the generations before them. Kids behave this way because this is what parenting and the media have provided them. Instead of pointing your finger at "kids these days", take a look around at what they're growing up with"

Serendipity, totally true... in my neighborhood, we have a google group and all these parents/adults talk about is ways of capturing the young kids from a local high school making bad decisions, they spend money and time of figuring out ways to catch them in the act, but none of them offer ways to help these kids. I hate that adults had declared war on teenagers and don't understand that is us who should be setting the example. These kids are just looking for guidance and people to look up to. We can't complain that their heroes are professional athletes or people on tV when all we do is put them in front of a tv. It's sad and pathetic...

Well I guess all those parents sets a shining example of what America is all about and then We all are shocked when they play out what they see everyday here in America, take the blinders off and look around laws not being applied equally, one law for the RICH and one for the normal everyday citizen, one for the Whites and one for the Blacks, a dysfunctional government with two political parties constantly fighting leaving the citizens to suffer in this hard economic times a country that is being over whelmed by pure greed and We are shocked at all those senseless killing happening almost everyday, really what do you all expect to happen ...

AM I reading this correct: the three brothers were shot and died but they were shot by THEIR STEPFATHER? Is that correct? The three boys were meeting with whomever they had a beef with to fight it out and the stepfather was there and shot his own stepchildren?

How could the writer just throw that into a sentence towards the end without expounding on it? Why would the stepfather shoot his own stepsons? What was the motivation? what the heck?

You are not reading it correcly.

john-3403713 Maybe they were Mexicans, or clowns?

No, I don't think the other four boys were Perry, Paul, Gingrich and Romney...

Begin the airlift of Jesse Jackson!

I just wonder if this man had not shot these kids, would the headline instead have read "7 Teens Arrested for Beating 3 Other Teens to Death"?

With 7 on 3, it's a definite possibility... just something to consider...

Guess they should have stayed home instead of starting more trouble than they could handle. I suppose the step dad could have called the police and waited the two hours it would take them to get there while his three son's were getting the shlt beat out of them or worse.

Don't call them kids; they're "thuglets".

You forgot about the part "they went looking for fight." Yeah; I'd say it's a good object lesson for all of us. Condone it? No. Sad tragedy on so many levels.

-----------

dman-353357

If you go looking for a fight then you have to expect that something like that might happen.

You've got to kidding,Nvart. Three youths, aged 14 to 16, short dead, and your response is that it was a good object lesson.

usa1967, you make a good point. I mean, how did this man know these kids were unarmed? Perhaps he felt by "ambushing" this carload of teenagers who he knew were there with the intent to cause harm, he felt he was protecting his family... Perhaps, for all he knew, they may have been psyching themselves up to storm the house with guns a'blazing, and felt that by the time police arrived, it would be too late. Maybe he thought if he just threatened them, they'd pull up guns of their own and gun him down, then gun down his kids.

I know that if a car full of kids showed up with the express intent of doing harm to my kids, I'd resort to protecting them in whatever way possible. I guess I'd just like to see what this man's statement regarding his actions is before I pass judgement... and again, I think that the average police response time in that area should also be looked at as well.

This is basic uncivilized tribal style disputes. Basic human fighting. Foolishness... It's been going on since man walked on the earth. It's like caveman mentality. Me stronger than you. bru ha ha!! No me beat you!! mu ha ha.. All beating their chests until the bullets start flying.

Foolish...just plain foolish..

New York and New Jersey thugs go to Pennsylvania to get guns because they have less restrictions - so I assume that those in PA assume everyone who lives there is armed. With so many guns floating around PA you would think people there would learn not to pop off - isn't that what gun advocates tell us; if everyone is armed then crime goes down...lmao. (got em again)

With any luck, it will be chalked up as DSAF (Did Society A Favor) and let the stepfather do what he does best - protect his family.

No, he did what most men do so well , settle their problems with violence instead of thinking rationally and finding a solution that works without the use of force,especially deadly force. I bet you would be thinking differently about this situation if it had been your child that received a bullit by somebody who shoots first and then thinks. I just bet he is already sorry but too late for them and him.

Three in the front, three in the back seat, one in trunk. ;-)

Its sad that these kids lost their lives, but these kids were thugs in the making. None of the mothers will say that their little angels were doing anything wrong. Well, if your little thugs weren't going over to pick a fight, they would be alive today. They should have been at home doing their homework, if they ever did their homework. Its the CULTURE, ladies. You need to look at how they were brought up and who they were allowed to associate with. Again, sad.

Clearly if they would have been armed this would not have happened. More guns is always the solution.

It's funny, I live in the Philadelphia area and I've been thinking about this and figured I'd be the only one who thought the step-dad may have been justified.. It's not a nice area of the city, the 7 boys specifically threatened the step-dads 3 boys... and here on the news they haven't said how long this has been going on. I really thought I'd be the only person who could understand where the step-dad was coming... it may have been excessive but in that area of the city there is no such thing as excessive.

Fighting among teenagers has always happened but now you can continue the fight on social media which usually escalates the insults and threats. This happens I believe because it's easier to say something about or to somenone when their not in front of you. So this brings us to the parents what was he thinking (mabe he shouldn't have been responsible for kids); don't tell me he thought these kids were going to storm the house ,call the cops, they told you they were coming over if they had guns then they would have been found with them. Point is it seems that we are losing our ability to reason and not have a knee jerk reaction over words, they are just that words not actions if someone hits you then defend yourself otherwise man up and deal with the fact that people are going to talk about you regardless Whatever happened to having a thick skin or mental toughness?

you roll like a thug, you die like a thug.

and sadly, no one in this community is going to learn any lessons.

NONE OF THEM will say "what idiots we were for even looking for any kind of trouble like this, what were we thinking?"

no, im betting they are currently plotting how to kill the 3 kids they intended to beat up, ya know, to even the score.

stupid is as stupid does, and yes...I and many others lack complete and utter sympathy.

good riddance.

peteMT Post 1.28 Jesse is not needed. The White House has this under control. With a mere trillion or two added to our existing debt they will pass, with the help of Obama's new chief of staff, the "Hamilton Project." A modest proposal, developed by the Brookings Institute.

michael "hispanics dont value life, if they did they would disapline their kids more, rather than letting them run around in gangs killing others."

you're just plain ignorant if you believe this reality ONLY applies to hispanics...and you're simply just plain ignorant of history, when white people were the immigrants...they formed gangs and were thugs too, the irish and the italians to be exact.

it tends to happen when they are kept out of the quality work force and relegated to crap jobs at crap wages...

learn a little history before spouting off ignorant racist remarks.

You live by violence, you die by it.

MrCool - no,no, no. The Pres will just go buy a 6 pack of beer and go have some cold ones with Mr. Barreto.

You know it is a sad story because they were so young and obviously stupid but this is why you don't fight. You never know when you are going to try to fight someone. They just be a madman with a gun or their step-dad has a gun. It's not worth it. I'll bet the argument was over something incredibly dumb and unimportant. Not only that but what were 7 kids going to do to these 3 others? One or more of them could end up dead.

There's an old Johnny Cash song that says, "don't take your guns to town." It's true. If you go looking for trouble you will eventually find it and possibly more than you want.

To michael (post 1.39):

Spoken (and spelled) like a true redneck. You made a lot of assumptions there Tex. Believe it or not, some of us can read, write, punctuate, and spell. A crapload of us are US citizens (in my case Naturalized). Some of us have advanced college degrees. Some of us are in the top 5% income bracket. Hell, some of us even have pilot licenses (something only about 1% of the US population has - hey at least in one way I'm a 1%'er). Us cockroaches make up 25% of the US population and weild increasing political power (something I bet pisses your type off to no end).

We are not a monolith. We are not all Mexican. There are some a$$h0les, and there are some decent, hard-wroking people. So let me suggest to you that you make an attempt to look at the world throught something other than your red(neck) colored glasses.

The best retort to your comments comes from this T-shirt (www.amazon.com/Gringo-Legally-T-shirt-Hilarious-Funny/dp/B003ZKE69I):

"Relax Gringo, I'm here legally."

7 in a Corolla is probably doable.

Back in my youth, including myself as the driver, we once had 7 people in my 1980 Honda Civic hatchback. It wasn't easy, nor comfortable, and some of those guys were rather large, and I KNOW we went well over the rated maximum load limit for weight in that car. But we did it....

Two in front, three in backseat, two in the trunk.

Too bad this was not in Texas. Show up at someone's house looking for a fight in Texas and with the castle law, you will get just what these weenies got. Too bad.

Guess they should have stayed home instead of starting more trouble than they could handle. I suppose the step dad could have called the police and waited the two hours it would take them to get there while his three son's were getting the shlt beat out of them or worse.

...or he could have just shown the gun, and defused the situation. But there was no need to confront these teenagers. He, the step father, only needed to exercise normal parental control and keep his three step sons in the house until the police arrive.

If the teenagers in the corolla attempt to enter the house, then you have justification to use the gun, not before.

Wait till you see 14 people climb out of a chevelle...

Yes dman - If the kids hadn't gone looking for a fight they would still be alive. It is a lesson and a damn good one. I don't condone the step-father's use of gun to stop the conflict, however, as the saying goes "Stuff happens" and one can never be sure how someone will react to situation.

Time for a ban on handguns and automatic weapons.

Too late. There's more guns out there than there are citizens. That genie will never get put back into the bottle, as much as people might like it to be, it just won't happen.

Why are todays kids so quick to pick up a gun? Doesn't anyone throw punches anymore?

Live to fight another day and leave the guns at home...LOCKED UP.

It was an adult with a gun. The kids had fists.

Actually the kids were the one's who were looking to throw punches (as far as the article states). It was the step father, the grown-up, the adult who picked up a handgun and went out and put at least 12 rounds into a car full of children.

takenaka

Quote "Time for a ban on handguns and automatic weapons."

Why do you hate freedom?

Why punish the whole country over the crime of one citizen?

If everyone was like you we would still be a British colony.

No comment needed. Just shaking the head.

Takenaka, why not ban shooting people, or just killing people instead of trying to ban handguns and automatic weapons?

Takenaka - time to get a new line.

Rockyroad:

You asked: "Why punish the whole country over the crime of one citizen?"

One citizen? This goes on each and every day. Murder after murder after murder. There comes a point when you have to decide to make the choice between safety and carnage. Handguns have to go.

texasbob: You asked: "Why not ban shooting people, or just killing people instead of trying to ban handguns and automatic weapons?'

Shooting people HAS been banned. Killing people HAS been banned. That doesn't seem to be working out, does it?

The time has come to ignore the handgunners and their pitiful excuses. Yes, there are plenty of folks who are law-abiding citizens and it is a crying shame that they would have to give up their weapons. However, the gunners offer no solutions. None. If they fought as hard for the enforcement of existing gun laws as they work to ignore the daily barrage of reports of murders and mayhem by handgun, something might get done.

That's not happening either, is it?

Right on, David!

Texasbob - typical unedumicated Texas blather... got any more good candidates for us?

Mo - it takes lots more effort and determination to kill with a knife. Having a gun makes it all too easy to pop your anger off on someone else. Got it? Say, isn't it time for yer platinum-level NRA renewal?

i think the point being made is we all know killing people is banned, why would banning guns make a difference? did it help Chicago, Detroit, or any other city when they banned them? not at all. so why not in this case take a look at the criminals (usually kids-young adults), and fix the problem, obviously part of the problem is parenting, and lack of to include morals. fix the problem at the root rather than swatting at the leaves.

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lol, newsvine another means of a waste of time? i think your "spam alert" needs fixing being EVERY time i post i have to dork around waitng for "spam gaurd" to load and do wth its supposed to do that moderators fail at?

mo nig:

I must have missed your solution to the handgun carnage. That, or as I said earlier, your post is just another hollow screed.

You people have never come up with a solution. It's always the guns don't kill people, people kill people nonsense. Were your position to have any meaning whatsoever, you would contrast the death rates BY WEAPON at the hands of criminals. You would compare deaths by stabbing and deaths by handgun.

Do that, and your argument is exposed as worthless. Handguns are the weapon of choice for cowards who will not engage in fights with knives or fists. This very article was a perfect example.

But you will make the same argument tomorrow after more senseless handgun murders.....and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, ad nauseum, ad infinitum.

What people like David Walker always fail to understand is that taking guns away from the public is borderline pointless. The majority of crimes committed with guns are made by people that don't own registered weapons in the first place. So what David Walker would like is for everybody to be in a state of helplessness when we realize that we took guns away from the wrong people. Do you really think that people in gangs and other dangerous groups are not going to own guns as soon as a gun-ban is put forth? The majority of the people using these weapons to harm others aren't walking into a Gun Store to purchase these weapons. They get their un-registered weapons from outside vendors. All you're doing by taking guns away from the public is making them vulnerable to those who truly intend to use those weapons to harm others. Are there instances such as this where gun owners committed horrible acts? Most definitely. But taking guns away isn't going to these acts magically stop. People will find another way to acquire a weapon if they truly want too. All you're going to achieve by banning guns is the sweet feeling of knowing you helped make this country a less safer place. What do you plan on moving over too if they ban guns? Knives? Ropes? Forks? You laugh, I've heard of somebody getting killed with a fork. We should probably ban all kitchen utensils.

It's been a while since my training but I can still do some damage with just a spoon. Outlawing weapons means only outlaws will have weapons.

"Time for a ban on handguns and automatic weapons."

Right, cuz then the guy would've used a handgun or automatic weapon ANYWAY. He was willing to murder, so what possible cause do you have to believe he wouldn't have been willing to violate the ban if one existed?

Mr. Serendipity:

You wrote: "The majority of crimes committed with guns are made by people that don't own registered weapons in the first place."

I'm pretty sure you can't back that up with any kind of proof.

I also note the absence of an answer to the handgun carnage. It's just the same re-hashed and tired blather we hear - as I wrote - ad nauseum.

Finally, you people always get yourself in such a dither that you fail to read AND comprehend. I specifically targeted handguns. HANDGUNS! H-A-N-D!

So for those of you who say we should ban guns... what happens when the criminals go get their guns on the blackmarket or streets and then come to your home and break in while your family is there? Do you think you can depend on the police to get there in time to save you? Or do you think you can fight them off with your fists? Sure, maybe sometimes, but honestly, the odds are against you. I'll take my guns... if an armed person breaks in my house or attacks me or my family I'll gladly use my gun. (and you would too) Obviously, I don't go around shooting people and we teach our children early about guns so they too are responsible, but when it's a life or death situation, it's not going to be my life that's taken.

Ultimately there will always be death/murders... guns or not. Heck, somebody could argue the same about cars. How many violent car crashes cause deaths each year? Should we outlaw those? You can kill somebody with a rock, or even with you own hands. Violent people will always find a way.... why take away victims abilities to protect themselves? If you don't like guns, then don't have one. You can fight your battles your way. Let me fight mine my way.

Let us not forget these boys went looking for a fight. And anybody who wants to argue that they were kids... there were 7 of them. I doubt it would have been a one on one fight. Now, should the father have called the cops? Yes. But we also don't know how violent these kids were or how much time the father had to prepare for this. There are many unknowns.

Yup, here comes the ban guns chant from the liberal crowd. Take away honest citizens rights because we can't control crime. What an idea.....................................

I don't know about the rest of you but at 11pm on a school night at that age, I was at home in bed. When I was older and had a midnight curfew, I was home at midnight. When I asked why, I was told that there was never anything good going on after midnight that I was going to miss out on...only bad things happened then. How about we raise kids with fathers and not kids with "baby daddys". Guns are inanimate objects and alone are not inherently dangerous. The answer is not to take away the rights of law abiding citizens because criminals are killing people with them. The real reason the Founding Fathers gave us our right to bear arms was to keep government in check. One of the first things people like Castro, Hitler, and Pol Pot did was take away the ability of citizens to defend themselves and told them it was for their own good. People like David will never understand this. They are happy to be told what to do by the big power hungry government machine.

Good luck trying to take my handgun away from me.

And BTW usa1967 and others on here I am a liberal.

To David Walker, who said:

"I'm pretty sure you can't back that up with any kind of proof."

Per the NRA, of all gun crimes in this nation, less than 1% are committed by people who have not ALREADY violated the law by carrying the firearm illegally (either not registered, or illegal for them to be carrying a firearm for other reasons such as conditions of probation/parole/etc.)

By comparison, only a single person with a valid concealed carry permit has been arrested for a gun crime in the USA since 1997. ONE PERSON.

According to the 1997 survey of prison inmates, the source of the guns they possessed at time of arrest was: Flea market/Gun show 2%, Retail store or pawn shop 12%, illegally obtained from family/friends/other illegal source 80%.

It is a well known fact among law enforcement agencies that criminals who shoot people do not register their firearms.

takenaka: look closer at the story, they're hispanics, hispanics do gang related crimes in every city and state, ban handguns, no deport these hispanics that came here illegally, going all the way back to where reagan and bush granted amnesty to illegals.

Instead of baning guns, why don't we just ban hispanics?

While I think this was excessive force, I do understand why the stepfather was armed. I live near Philly and this area is the pits - it's ripe with thugs and gangs. I really wouldn't be surprised if this was gang related. Everyone who is saying these 7 kids were just going to use their words and fists need to realize that if they weren't armed with guns, they were likely armed with bats and other weapons.

I gotta tell ya, if someone from that neighborhood was coming for me, my gun would be drawn. Most likely not fired, but definitely drawn and ready to go. It is NOT a game in those parts.

and who is to say that the car of kids didnt have guns too? Sounds like a gang thing...they prob had guns. They should not have been at their house...going to cause trouble...step on someones property and threaten....you will get taken careof

OMFG, you guys are stupid. No wonder the country is dysfunctional. A 30 year old did the shooting.

Grab a weapon with a larger magazine. :P

In Philadelphia especially, there is a deep distrust of the police. There is a horrible amount of corruption in the police force, and quite frankly, some of the most deeply racist people I have ever met were from Philadelphia, so I am sure that carries over to the police force. (Seriously, I grew up in the south, but I have met people in Philadelphia who were way worse than any sheet wearing cross burner.) Besides, if they called the police, (assuming they showed up), the car would have driven off and the fight would have continued the next day at school. Seven kids against three isn't a fair fight anyway! No honor. No pride. Just a merciless beat down.

These are probably some of the same kids who would play "Knockout King" or do a flash mob in Center City and beat some defensless old guy up. Where do they learn this crap? The internet? Video games?

What this guy did was wrong, and he should go to jail. But, like Chris Rock said in a skit, "DON'T DO IT! But I understand..."

14 & 16 years old - Where in the Hel— were the parents of those 7 kids and were the Hel— did they get the car.... Yep I know it is not PC to ask these blunt questions.....

Why do you always have to ask where their parents are? Parents don't follow their teenagers around everywhere they go. Teenagers DO hang out, and the expectation should NOT be that their parents should accompany them to hang out with their friends. Also, 16...see that? Legal driving age. Why does it matter where he got the car? He's old enough to drive, he has a car, really not rocket science.

Jasonhad:

I would call 911 then wait for the legal opportunity to fire. As it is now, the three boys will be visiting their stepfather in prison while he may be going to death row.

I'm a parent... My kids DON't "hang out" anywhere except my house, or organized activities. They don't "hang out" at football games without supervision. Take back the schools! Parents attend and supervise. Stop the stupidity!

At 16 years old, the license is restricted from being used after 9pm, or dark. 11pm seems to be an infraction on the rules of valid driving privledges. A bit harsh of a penalty to pay for that but the boys should not have been at that residence looking for trouble. Kids are out of control nowadays and it is both their own and their parents fault for not supervising their activities. I know my 14 yr old wouldn't be driving around with his thug friends at 11pm at night. This is what we get by pampering kids today. Most lack respect and wouldn't think twice to inflict violence on another.

When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.

Seven kids looking for a fight - this was a gang, but maybe an impromptu gang. They didn't realize it, but they came to a gun fight unarmed - not a wise action.

It was obviously a super over-reaction by the step-dad shooter. If he were actually trying to protect his family, he would have locked his step-sons and himself in the house and called 911. Then if the gang had broken into his house, he could have let loose a few clips with much smaller repercussions. Now his step-sons and wife have to get by without his help or income. No winners here.

Sure lock yourself in the house and hope they don't have guns and decide to shoot though the walls. Look at the neighborhood this is in you almost would expect a bunch of thugs driving up to your house to have guns. This is like most crime now days the police will do nothing until someone gets killed. The father should have been able to have the police involved just for the threat to attack his kids even before they came over to the house. Call the police and see what happens when you tell them someone threatened you. You can have restraining orders and they will still do nothing.

calling thepolice and waiting would resulted MAYBE in safty for the night.....but what after that? SOmething else would have happened

We didn't even realize you were gone.

@ *Jack Knowlton* I'm glad at least one more stupid person without a gun has left the country. One less vote to infringe on my god given right to protect me and mine.....

What they said

Yep

mo nig.....................mega ditto's

Tell that to Norway.

mtguide

you mean like Mexico?

@ *mtguide* dude! Seriously...have you been living under a rock? Countries with total gun bans are living with dictatorsrunning the country, rampant crimes commited by the crimminals with guns and the Government. If you want a gun free country, please move to oneof those available...

mo- nig- Ever heard of Canada or England? Talk about people living under rocks, or is it a cave?

TO: empty-guide (mtguide), your name says it ALL! What an imbicile.

You mean like Finland?

Bazinga!

Remember the woman with the baby last week that called 911 and waited 21 minutes for the police while someone intent on raping/killling her beat her door down? When these "boys" went looking for a fight, they put down their "boyness" and entered the realm of responsiblity.

Cops would have taken the step fathers gun, or arrested him for possession. Then the kids would have been killed the next day instead.

1) Race is not a factor here, poverty may be. Your comment about the father's actions being different if he were white is stupid. For all you know, he was, in any case, it's irrelevant.

2) Given than the step-father murdered people in cold blood, maybe its not so bad that he is no longer a daily influence.

3) Hopefully "your taxes" afford the children a better education than the poor one you received. Your English is atrocious.

They say guns don't kill, people kill. Take away the guns and people will fight instead like when I was growing up. Most times you become closer friends after the fight.

arthur.................It's a different world than when you were growing up. I guess if we "took away" cars there would be no car crashes that take lives..................pretty stupid, hugh??

A white step-father would have called the police and stayed in the house with the gun protecting the kids.

More likely, a hispanic or black step-father would be out working.

Where on earth do you people come up with this stuff? A white father will act no differently than anyone else, regardless of race, color, religion, job, or how many dogs they own when facing a dangerous situation! No one knows what they would do in a similar situation, and as a white woman, if sa gang of miscreants came to my house to harm my kids they too would meet LEAD if I felt our safety or lives are in jeopardy!

Unless it's happening to you, you don't know what you would do or how you would react in any given situation. Should he have called the cops, SURE and in a perfect world they would show up within seconds and diffuse the situation, however that is usally not the case whereas those who call are oftentimes the ones carried out in a body bag!

Where are the parents?

Apparently at least one of them was dressed in a hoodie and spraying bullets into a car full of kids.

Their parents were probably at home...the same place YOUR parents were when you hung out with your friends.

Ha! Parents? In that neighborhood? They were probably out getting drunk and high while their kids ran around in gangs. This is not a nice area of town and I highly doubt that any of those 7 kids were innocent.

The article clearly says he's 30.

Could the stepfather not have just called the police? He is no "hero."

The step-father should have called 911 and then fired when in imminent danger. Article reported this was an ambush. He will likely face the death penalty.

Sure, call the police and wait an hour. Maybe this was a deal where seconds count!!

when second's count the police are only minute's away !!

When people can't feed their family its going to get worse. Why not just call the police? Are they still police in philly? I guess were headed for the wild wild west, east, north and south. Sounds like a step in the wrong direction if you ask me. But whos very stable these days anyway? not these malicia type i don't think.

all people can feed their families. for all the things that make the news have you ever heard of a family starving to death? there is actually an obesity problem in this country. people of little wealth get food stamps (now a card cuz god forbid they be embarrassed). some of those people buy food with it and use the money saved to invest in their children and help future generations in their family have it a little better. Others buy food and take the saved money to buy flat screens, smart phones, beauty salon visits, chrysler 300s. you know how often i see people in front of me in the grocery store use their stamp card and then load their groceries in a pretty nice car? anyone who gets social assistance should have to provide a monthly accounting of where all there money goes.

the 7 of them were going to fight 3 others. the odds were MORE than 2 to 1. they were no angels.

crises4ever: What this man SHOULD HAVE DONE was call the police and bring them in. Instead he laid in wait and killed three and wounded one. Now the attorneys are going to have a great time with this case. They will be the only ones that will come out on top. If you are suggesting Martial Law then that too will be up to the authorities. Point is: no one wins when you take upon yourself to kill people. Look at New Orleans and you will see unbridled killing and where it led them during Katrina. Martial Law will be handled by troops and I have a serious feeling that Philadelphia doesn't want that vision out there. These are mean streets and I think the American people that think it will never come to them better think again.