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Subscribe to RSSNEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Tyler Giuliano had no trouble with the law. The teenager loved flying small planes as a Civil Air Patrol cadet and seemed happy as he played an online game with friends Wednesday night.
But hours later, authorities say, Tyler was outside wearing a black ski mask and wielding a knife when he was shot by his father, who thought he was a prowler.
No immediate charges were brought against Jeffrey Giuliano, a popular fifth-grade teacher, in the slaying of 15-year-old Tyler, who was gunned down in his aunt's driveway next door to his own home in New Fairfield around 1 a.m. Thursday.
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"It's something out of a Hollywood script," said John Hodge, the first selectman, or top elected official, in the town of nearly 14,000 people about 50 miles from New York City. He said he couldn't recall another killing in his eight years on the job.
State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the boy had never been in trouble with the law, and some of those who knew him described him as a good kid with an easygoing personality. Investigators and acquaintances said they were at a loss to explain what he was doing outside dressed all in black and carrying a weapon.
"Certainly, that is the major question we are trying to answer at this point," Vance said.
State police said the shooting happened after Jeffrey Giuliano got a call from his sister next door saying that someone might be trying to break into her home in their neighborhood of attractive colonial-style houses. Giuliano grabbed a handgun and went outside to investigate, troopers said.
Police: Connecticut man kills suspected burglar, then learns it's his teenage son
He confronted someone in a ski mask and opened fire when the person came at him with something shiny in his hand, police said.
When police officers arrived, Tyler was lying dead in the driveway with a knife in his hand, and his father, in a T-shirt and shorts, was sitting on the grass. Detectives informed the elder Giuliano several hours later that he had shot his son, Vance said.
"All in all, it's a tragedy," Vance said.
Police were investigating whether the father's gun was registered.
Classmates baffled
No one answered the door at Giuliano's home or his sister's.
Tyler was a student at New Fairfield High School and a Civil Air Patrol cadet. Some of those who knew him said he enjoyed spending time with family and flying gliders and small planes. He was adopted by Giuliano and his wife a few years ago, friends said.
One classmate said many students were baffled by what happened.
"I just thought it was so weird when I heard because I knew Tyler, not very well, but he was just a sweet person and he always made everyone laugh. I met him in the chorus room, actually, and he just wasn't the type to do what happened," said Erin Pallas, 16. "So it didn't make sense to us. It doesn't make sense to the student body."
Brett Rasile, a 14-year-old friend, said he and Tyler were playing an online game called Minecraft while talking and laughing together via Skype until about 10 p.m. Wednesday, when Tyler said he had to go to bed. Brett said Tyler wasn't in any trouble that he knew of, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Same old Tyler. He was perfectly fine," Brett said. "He didn't really leave any evidence, any hints towards what he would do."
Alicia Roy, New Fairfield superintendent of schools, said the elder Giuliano grew up in the town, holds summer music and zoology camps for his students and plays guitar in a local rock band that raises money for charity. He is affectionately known as "Mr. G" around Meeting House Hill School.
"He was the teacher you requested in the fifth grade. He was a great teacher. All the kids loved him," said Rosemary Rasile, Brett's mother.
Brian Wyckoff, 17, said Mr. G "was always walking around with a smile on his face. He always says hi to everyone."
The high school stayed open late to provide grief counseling for students and parents.
"The community is deeply saddened, and our hearts go out to all the family members," Roy said.
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There is something funny going on with the teen. 1.AM he's out with his face covered. What was he doing?
Yes a very very strange story..the police will figure this out. Not saying its a fact..but the father might have more to do with this. Was his adopted son of only two years. Police told the father who he shot hours later..no doubt they said this at police HQ and his reaction on this news was being recorded. Never know a person really even if you think you do!
Just my opinion.
How can the father have more to do with it than has been said ? He did not become involved until his sister called at 1am saying somebody was trying to break in.I would have done the same thing if a masked person lunged at me with a knife.
I wish the aunt had called the police first and then the father. I have no idea what happened that night and I'm not saying who is to blame...why be out at night in dark clothes with a mask that way? But I wish instead of going out into the darkness he had let the police handle it. Turn on your outdoor lights, use a flashlight, scare the guy off. If she had flipped on her outdoor lights and so had the father, I bet he would have run off if things are as they were described. Who would keep menacing in the bright light when people know you are there and can see you?
As I said, I'm not judging anyone since we have no idea what happened, but I can still wish they had flipped on lights and waited for police instead of going out in the dark confronting someone...sigh. Who wants to live with shooting your child whether you should have behaved as you did or not?
How long would you wait for the police to respond ? Long enough for your own sister to be assaulted or worse ? Its a very small town , on the tuesday a different house was broken into at 10pm , dark skinned male and he assaulted the lone female before robbing her.This was only 2 days prior , maybe this wasnt the kids first attempt.I think there may be a connection here.Google Fairfield Ct in the news.
I thought the same thing too, Donald. Cops usually show up with the chaulk to do the outline.
Nah, they are too busy looking to see if the gun is registered.
He is young and probably acting out what he sees on the online games/videos. What a shame.
Just to make it clear "Fairfield" and "New Fairfield" are two completely different towns with different demographics (in response to one comment about "google(ing) Fairfield Ct in the news"). New Fairfield, as was mention in the article, is a sleepy little town of about 14,000 people, whereas Fairfield is about 56,000, on the coast, and more Urban. Fairfield is also located closer to larger cities, and has a higher incidence of crime because of it.
I don't know that anyone can judge the father or the son here without knowing what happened. I have to believe that if anyone received a call from their nervous sister at one in the morning that their first instinct would be to protect their family rather than calling 911 and waiting for help to arrive. We all have the advantage of hindsight here, and it is unfair to judge anyone for their reactions this early. Had the father stayed in his house waiting for police to arrive and his sister was assaulted, all of the comments would have been how cowardly this guy was.
Personally, I feel that he did the right thing, given the facts that he knew, and the situation at hand. It was one in the morning. His sister calls him and says a burglar is breaking into her house. He confronts someone dressed all in black who is completely concealed carrying something in his hand that appears to be a weapon ("something shiny"). The burglar, instead of fleeing, chooses to "come at him (the father)", and the father opens fire. The shooter aims for the largest target on his attacker, which is the chest, and stops the burglar, now assailant.
It is unfair to suggest things that the participants might have done differently with 20/20 hindsight.
the boy's background does not fit his action; wait for a blood test, to see if he was on some drug; interesting that in that State, any many others, you must register to own a firearm, only law abiding people register.
Be careful children of gun nuts, your parents will drop you in a minute - 2nd amendment and all, sorry.
You who say not to wait...if someone is in my house coming at me that is one thing. If the person is outside and "might" as they said be going to break in my house I would not go into the dark after him. I would call police and arm myself with what I had inside and not go out after him. He wasn't in the aunt's house, and look how it turned out? We can say, "what if?" all we want, but all I was saying is that going out in the dark with a gun is a recipe for...you know...someone getting shot. The father is lucky he wasn't shot as well. If the boy had a gun who knows if either would be alive, and as it is there he is knowing he shot his son, justified or not.
I am not criticizing him since I wasn't there and have no idea what the real story is, but I am saying that I personally wouldn't be chasing people in the dark with a gun. It would be awful if the aunt decided to check things out as well and he shot her, or another neighbor on the same mission he was...it can get pretty confusing in the dark with shiny objects flashing or when you aren't sure what you are looking for. It's a bad situation for all and I am sorry any of it happened. The kid shouldn't have been out there like that, either, and the whole thing could have been avoided if he been home in bed. What a sad situation.
Grow up...
You have a serious lack of common sense and intelligence.
My brothers used to pretend they were soldiers on our street.
Same old story....a gun in the home is forty times more likely to kill a family member than an intruder.
Don't let facts get in the way of arming yourself and putting your loved ones in danger though.
Don't worry....it will never happen to you though......until it does. Forty times more likely.....remember that when you grap betsy...or whatever you call your gun....and run out into the night looking to be a hero.
What a retarded comment. He was playing Minecraft, so unless he was outside digging tunnels and stacking blocks to build a castle, you're way off base.
What really pisses me off is the"
Why the f*ck would go knock on his door the day after he accidentally kills his son.
"Sir! Sir! How do you feel?"
I mean jesus, show some f*cking class, reporter.
People get guns and are not trained in using them, as a former police officer when going through school you are told to wound, legs, arms nothing deadly. Under fire it is a whole new story. But if you are going out there with a loaded gun there is a great chance of someone getting killed. Use a blank for that first shot, the sound alone soetimes will make them run away if not the second shot is but a pull away. Think of how many kids might still be alive if the first shot was a blank
Rule of Nines:
"Becareful children of gun nuts"--most of the multi-millions of people who are gun owners are not nuts...neither was the devastated man who just shot his adopted son. But, yes, children of gun owners do need to be careful not to dress in black at 1 a.m. brandishing a knife and come at someone brandishing a a gun; even if you are a kid who is just fooling around: it could get you killed.
"Your parents will drop you in a minute": very stupid statement...no comment.
"2nd Amendment": correct.
Two out of three isn't bad for someone like you.
Kevin,
I'm 40 times more likely to be alive following an assault attempt if I have a hand gun than if I rely on the police.
When seconds matter, the Police are minutes away.
Dominoe's gets there faster than the Police.
Gary,
A man with a knife will cover 25ft before you can raise a weapon and fire, that first shot had better be a live round if you expect to live. Blanks are for starter pistols not defense.
"...as a former police officer when going through school you are told to wound, legs, arms nothing deadly..."
I would REALLY like to know what police academy teaches such foolishness.
KevinD--Of COURSE it must have been the gun's fault, or EVEN the dad's fault for having it, right?
Sad as this situation is, there is a LOT of info on this case that is missing. WHY was a 15 year old "adoptable" several years ago? Did he come from (originally) a 'broken home'? Was he a troubled kid who had been in foster care? Were his 'birth parents' criminals or 'disturbed'?
A NORMAL kid is not out after his family THINKS he is 'safely' in bed asleep, much less dressed all in black with a mask on and carrying a KNIFE. Much less skulking around his AUNT's house.
I suppose you think that the dad should have waited the 45 minutes or so that it might have taken the cops to show up and let his sister be assaulted/raped/killed?
This dad seemingly has much to regret, but in my view, NOTHING to 'repent'.
Remember, supposedly the kid 'came at him' with what the father 'perceived' as a weapon. Turns out, it WAS a weapon. If dad had not had the gun, would we be reading a story now about a 15 year old who STABBED his father to death?
All very good points. Adopted kids bring into the mix whatever predispositions the genetics dictate. Environment does not necessarily cancel those out! Man adopted him without considering or knowing all of the factors in the kid's makeup! CPS and the State seal records and deny complete access to all of those factors in the child's history, as I understand it in order to make the kid adoptable! This comes out of knowledge about a family who adopted a kid who definitely didn't fit into the family well!
GaryJ--gee, and here I THOUGHT that the cops were taught to 'double tap'. Because even cops are expected to try to SURVIVE. If someone comes at you with a weapon, they probably intend to harm or kill you. And they can still do that if they are only wounded.
And PS--if the cops are 'supposedly' taught to only wound in the 'arms or legs', WHY are the targets used in the range of the torso and HEAD of the 'perp'?
Kevin D:
Please site your source. The anti Second Amendment, anti gun Brady Campaign maybe?
The website of the San Francisco Chronicle carried a story yesterday about the teen being a foster kid and said that there had been some kind of problem being a victim of abuse in his background, that had him in shelter care earlier in his life.
After reading their story, I am having to wonder either if the driveway shooting was staged, after some kind of a violent altercation between the father and the boy within the house had gone awry, or perhaps if the boy was also outside trying to protect his family's houses from what he also thought was a possible intruder, and then was mistakenly shot by his father rather than the possible intruder being shot.
His dad said that the masked teen came at him with a "shiny object" in his hand, and the story was later modified to make the shiny object a knife, and it would seem perfectly plausible for the teen to move toward his own father no matter how he was dressed or what he was carrying if the second scenario above had been the case.
Many people seem bent on blaming an otherwise good kid for possibly trying to break into his aunt's house, next-door to his own, and I am guessing one of the two above scenarios is more likely.
As I wrote on this subject yesterday, if his dad had fired a Taser instead of a handgun blindly into the night without thinking to ask questions or shout a warning first, there is a 99% chance that this kid would still be alive today too, and then we would know why he was outside late at night dressed in black carrying a knife, if that is in-fact what actually happened, (alternate scenario #1).
New Fairfield is a fairly well-off suburban community that does not have the kind of crime problems that would justify wildly firing a gun outdoors late at night at a shadowy figure without asking some questions or shouting a warning first, which is what makes me have to wonder if one of the alternate scenarios is not in-fact what actually happened.
http://www.sfgate.com/policereports/article/Father-didn-t-realize-he-d-killed-his-son-until-3902162.php
Are you serious, just turn on the lights or fire a blank to scare them off. So what, they can still move on to rob, rape or commit whatever other ill intent on some other unsuspected innocent. That's as criminal as the perpetrators actions. Oh the criminal is just doing his job. Damn squids you. Don't tread on me!
The usual anti-gun rhetoric is to be expected. However, given the circumstances of this incident as we know them, substitute a known violent felon for the teenager and see what conclusions are arrived at.
The facts as we currently know them, are of an armed masked intruder. I think a reasonable person would do what the father did.
I call BS. Police are trained to shoot center mass, to stop the threat. Shooting to wound leaves the officer vulnerable to being shot by a wounded guy.
Or, using a blank gives the criminal time to get off the shot that kills you.
Where were you a police officer, garyj?
garyj-2081718 I'm calling B.S. not sure where you got your "training" (unarmed rent-a -cop maybe). This is not like the movies, if someone is coming at you with a weapon, center mass is the ONLY thing you are aiming for. BTW it makes no sense to have the first round a blank, if you are drawing your weapon you should already be at a point where it might have to be used.
Thank you for your insightful comment @garyj.
Although I agree with the right to bear arms, this situation does teach some lessons to responsible gun owners. You may have the "right" to kill someone who enters your property and seems threatening but is it worth it of you make a mistake? Police are taught steps and procedures in order to prevent them from taking someone's life.
1) making your presence known and that you have a weapon (i.e. yelling out that you have a gun). This alone may make someone stop their actions. 2) I think the idea of a blank in the chamber is an awesome idea. Scaring someone with the noise of a gunshot will definitely make them stop and think twice before proceeding. 3) Police use items such as tasers and clubs before ever pulling a gun. Immobilizing someone is always a better choice. If that is not an option, as was pointed out, shooting someone in the leg or arm is better than a kill shot.
There seems to be an awful lot in the news lately about people shooting and killing others in self-defense and everyone defending their actions because its their "right". But put yourself in this guys shoes. Could you really live with yourself if you shot and killed a loved one or an innocent person thinking you were defending yourself? Think of how many teens sneak into their house after curfew or try to sneak in a boyfriend or girlfriend after everyone's asleep. Even in this circumstance where this boy did seem threatening, I think this father is going to have a very hard time moving on with his life never knowing why this kid was acting that way. For all he knows the kid could have been acting out a role playing game. Maybe he was mentally imbalanced. Had he shot him in the leg at least he could ask him those questions. Now he just has to live with never knowing what the truth was but always knowing he killed a son he loved enough to take into his home to try to give a better life.
Whatever jobs garyj-2081718 ever had, cop wasn't one of them.
I don't buy that argument that it was staged, and, although I originally thought also that maybe the boy was outside because he heard a noise and wanted to frighten off the real intruder, it doesn't fit. The boy was dressed all in black with a ski mask and carrying a knife, which means either he was already dressed in black for the night and happened to have the ski mask and knife handy or he got dressed like that before going outside. He would not have taken time to do all that if his intent was to go out and scare off an intruder.
Unfortunately, we may never know for sure, was the boy trying to pull a prank of some kind, scaring his family? Was he on drugs (again, it wouldn't explain him dressing the way he did unless he was trying to break in for money or more drugs)? Was he really trying to steal from his Aunt? In any case, I feel terrible for the father.
Are YOU serious? Who has or can get blank ammunition? Why would you want them outside ceremonial application?
When you are being attacked a blank isn't going to do jack diddly and the attacker will succeed in injuring you.
Great ideas but no cigar on this one.
So the gentleman who commented police officers are taught to wound...nothing deadly. I had an uncle who was a deputy. He was not taught to wound...he was taught to negate the threat. I was in the military...and was taught that the Air Force does NOT fire warning shots and to shoot center mass. I will definitely put the threat down in the interest of saving family, friends, or myself. If a criminal is shooting at me and a police officer, which by the way is a public servant, is not willing to put the threat down...then I would definitely report that officer to his superior and there would be a court date for him or her putting my life at risk.
GaryJ- I think you are full of S**t! You were never or are not a police officer! If you went to an academy you would know how they are trained. My son is in law enforcement and they are trainedto shoot center mass! A blank? yeah, warn the perp you have a gun while he blows you away! You must have gone to the the Academy of political correctness in the City of LaLa Land!
@Shanad - a police officer NEVER uses a taser or club if someone produces a gun. That just doesn't make sense. In a situation where the officer can be shot, the assailant is given the choice of drop the weapon or get shot. In protecting my house, my family, my friends, or myself...if someone is in my house threatening lives they are not there to go quietly or sit down for tea and dessert, I surely won't reach for a club or taser. I am going to stop the threat---period.
This kid had a knife. An officer has to determine the level of threat and act accordingly. Maybe using a gun is the right choice, maybe not. But they are taught to use the appropriate amount of force.
And the point of the comment was to say that someone should take some serious thought to the ramifications of taking someone else's life before they consider using a firearm to kill someone. Immobilizing someone by shooting them in the leg is a better choice. Officers that have used their firearms in the line of duty have to undergo mental health evaluation and therapy. Many military personnel return with PTSD because of actions that they themselves have had to carry out. It is not as easy as many say to live with yourself after taking a life. The person may be threatening and you may have to kill them. But living with your choices is also something you have to do. You may be right in your choice but treating it if as if you will wake up the next morning with a smile on your face is not a reality for most people (unless you're a sadist). And in a circumstance like this, I can't imagine being in this poor father's shoes. This will be something that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
They say everything appeared fine up until this night. What they don't say is how they came to adopt this teenager, and what his back ground was before that time. On the outside everything may have appeared okay - but who knew what this young man was feeling emotionally on the inside. They may never know.
Either way, it is a tragic ending.
Yet ANOTHER story of an avoidable death.....
kill him...
Drop the gun talk , you can't win so don't try...
That said, God bless this family and God speed to the child, ...
Probably some of that synthetic weed, aka bath salts..
They need to legalize Cannabis, at least no one runs around eating, killing people on it, only a case of the laziness and munchies..
Not understanding........... Detectives informed the father "several hours" after the incident that he had shot his son. So.. he didn't know before then?? After Guiliano shot the intruder, he didn't go back into his house to (1) -- and most importantly, check on the welfare of his family, which would include his son.. and (2) did he go back into the house to retrieve his cell phone to call the police or did he have it on him? If he had gone into the house, he would have noticed that his son was not there. Way too much missing from this MSN story, as usual.
And, if a police officer shoots a person in the arm or leg, it only means he missed.
There may have been a criminal intent among the three parties. Things to look for. Was there money dispute among the grownups? Such as between brothers and sisters. Check DNA of the son and father. Check the DNA of Mother and Son. Then check if there was an issue between father and mother as early as 14 years ago.
Synthetic weed is not the same thing as bath salts.
Garyi, I am not sure what police force you worked for but, shooting to wound and using blanks? You seriously expect people to believe this? Even the TV shows aren't that naive.
a little fast on the triggggggggggggggggggggggger ???????????these days!!!!
a town with little crime - a "shiny" object ??? a father with a gun yet to be known if it's registered
and instead of shooting to "kill" - as we have absolutely no proof of "imminent danger" in this cheap reporters article - don't you think he could have shot him in the leg, the foot.
i can assure you - a bullet anywhere will stop someone - no need to "blow him away" - as we see all too often being promoted in these g'd video games, on "tv" and in every day news reports. that's all the *****fk'n********* media feeds to people 24/7
then you have a guy who has questionable rights to a gun, never mind wondering if he is qualified to handle it
just because your "sister" calls - "alarmed" by a situation - doesn't mean you simply throw your g'd common sense to the wind!!!!!!!!!!
Moral of the story... We need guns doesn't matter how many people get killed in shootings every week.
Lest make tanks legal ,after all tanks don't kill people its the person pulling the trigger so lets all drive around in tanks.
The kid held a knive in his hands so what!?... is it not the best thing to do yes but it doesn't mean that you open fire like a maniac...
If guns were illegal (what they should be) his father would have grabbed him and taken the knive away... and what about calling the police when something suspicious happens.
We are stupid with our stone age gun laws ,the wild west days are over... yes its in the constitution but when was it written?
Its time for a change ,guns should be only used by police officers and soldiers... they are trained to use them not civilians.
Abby, I assume the dad was brought in for questioning immediately after the event. So he would not have known he shot his own son until the police chose to tell him. Also, he probably wasn't the one who called the police. It appears he did not move after the shooting, which makes me think the police responded quickly.
I believe if the aunt had turned on her porch lights and called the police instead of her brother, her nephew would probably still be alive. So sad.
Same thing could be said for those children born to irresponsible parents. Driving a car requires passing a test, while the only requirement for having an innocent and totally dependant life is a fertile body.
As long as they are trained to use them ON civilians, police officers and soldiers are no better or should not be allowed any more special privileges than the rest of the population enjoy.
We are not, and should not, be beholden to anyone. They are not our "bettors" nor our gods. We are all equal.
maybe he was trying on his halloween costume...after a big dose of meth.
shades of nazi germany tc. there are plenty of civilians who can use a firearm more proficiently than a police officer or a enlisted soldier. just because you are in the corp or are a so-called police officer doesn't mean you can handle a firearm any better than a trained civilian.just ask my son -in -law....he can tell you about all the morons he has in his platoon that don't belong behind the trigger.take your liberal dribble and move to another country like the u.k where if you defend yourself with a gun or even a knife you will be thrown in prison because of anti-self defense laws.you will be sued by the the perp or his family.
Some police officers go to the range on a regular basis. Others go only the mandated minimum. Some civilian gun owners go to the range often. Some do not. My own experience says that civilian gun owners who consistently carry concealed go to the range fairly often. Some police are well trained. So are some civilians. As far as shooting for a non lethal area, that is totally bogus. If you are shooting, someones life had better be in danger, in which case center mass only. A lethal weapon should be met with a lethal weapon.
Kevin, you're completely ignoring the reported facts: the kid was dressed all in black, wearing a ski mask, prowling around someone else's house at night, while holding a knife...and reportedly came at the father when challenged. Whatever your skewed views on guns may be, the reported facts indicate a justified shooting in self-defense/defense of others. Your post is utter nonsense.
Depending on your state laws, private ownership of a tank is already legal. You might want to educate yourself a bit on the subject of guns before spouting off in public...
He didn't just have a knife in his hands, the article says he advanced on the father when challenged. Nobody opened fire "like a maniac." PLEASE learn to read.
1) Guns cannot be made illegal in the United States, barring a change to the Constitution. If you think that guns should be illegal, then perhaps you'd enjoy life in some other country where the right to defend oneself and one's family has already been taken away. 2) You're kidding yourself with the rest of the sentence, except for calling the police--which was obviously done at some point, but the article fails to state when in the timeline of events they were called. Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Hmmm...the rest of the Bill of Rights was written at the same time as the 2nd Amendment. Perhaps you consider the rest of your Constitutional rights to be outdated and want to remove those too? Again, you might find life more to your liking in some other country...the rest of us enjoy our rights as US citizens.
Are you even a US citizen? Do you know ANYTHING about guns? Or about how many civilians have firearms training compared to active duty police/military? Your entire post indicates that you know nothing of guns or gun laws in the United States...
A reasonably clear case of self-defense. Calling 911 to report an armed assailant attempting to break into your house will result in being held on the phone for ages giving names, addresses, a description of your house, what you are wearing and what you look like, directions to your house, descriptions of the assailant, a constant play-by-play of where the assailant is and what he/she is doing and where you are and what you are doing all before the call is ever connected to the police. If you try hang up to call for a neighbor's immediate help, 911 will take total control of your phone and keep you from doing that. They will make your phone ring even when it gives away where you are hiding from the intruder. Calling 911 when dealing with an armed home invader is almost suicidal. It takes the police anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes or longer to respond to that kind of emergency call depending on where you are and what other calls they are already on. They might as well just bring the chalk for outlining where your body falls and the bag to put it in afterwards.
The police are only there to take crime reports and arrest criminals. They are executive officers of the courts. They ARE NOT there to protect you from crime. They have NO obligation whatsoever to protect you or your property or rush to your aid and the courts have stated this repeatedly for decades.
In an armed home invasion, you are dead in less than seconds. She was absolutely right to call her next-door brother first. He was there in seconds. His adopted son was trespassing, attempting a breakin, had a lethal weapon and was threatening his father's life. He was shot and killed while assaulting the father with a deadly weapon and quite possibly attempting murder.
It is almost impossible to hit an arm or leg of any person who is moving unless one is less than inches away from the arm or leg. And where does the bullet go if it misses? Into someone's house nearby??? Self-defense shootings are always aimed at the center of the persons mass because it is the largest target and moving the least. Self-defense shootings are always done to instantly stop the person from doing whatever they are doing through incapcitation. Killing is not the objective. Even though the shot might do that, shooting to the center of body mass certanly life threatening, but it is not automatically a kill shot.
It is an absolute tragedy that it was the aunt's house and that the father killed him in self-defense. It would be one of the worst nightmares for any family.
To the guy who said his police training taught him to wound when shooting, you're a liar and a bad one at that. Center-mass is the only thing you are trained to shoot at, regardless of where you take the firearms training. A proper firearms instructor will NEVER tell you to shoot at anything other than center-mass. To the rest of the gun-control nuts who say either a blank first round or a manual disarm of a person with a knife is a viable option, you people are freaking idiots. In what sane world would a defending party rather take on a knife wielding attacker bare handed or with a blank round? Your fanatic opposition to second amendment gun rights has clouded your judgement to the point of lacking common logic. A gun is a tool that when used responsibly is incredibly useful. It's too bad this guy killed his son, but think of what the story could have ended up being instead, "Boy kills father and aunt in home invasion". This kid was obviously not right in the head to be doing what he was doing but it's a shame his dad was the one to put him down.
In my opinion, there is something very strange about the whole thing..the Dad adopted him 4 years before as he knew him from school.Where was everybody in the family and why was dad, the teacher in shorts and a tee on a school night at 1AM? Wouldn't you recognize your own son's movements? I see from a social sit that the more slept "more on the green then in his own bed' .My question is , if things were great, Why? This needs much more investigation.Sad for the boy and whoever is innocent.Personally, it sounds like a set Up?
A agree Mary Jones. He was fine and had to go to bed then is out prowling around.
I think, at best, this man "mistakenly" shot his adopted son to death thinking he was a tresspasser... THEN put the mask on him and the knife in his hand once he realized that it was his own son and that no prosecutor, judge, or jury would let him off with anything less than "negligable homicide" unless he could clearly prove that he both, did NOT know the prowler was his son, and that he KNEW that his life was in danger. Hence planting the mask and knife on his son. It all comes down to this guy being scared and having a loaded gun in his hand, which no one anywhere can dispute.
At worst, this guy murdered his own ADOPTED son in cold blood, for whatever reason, then enlisted the cooperation of his sister who lives right next door to help him with the cover up.
Hopefully, there is a competent forensics team working on this case. Hopefully, blood spatter investigation will quickly prove that this boy wasn't wearing that mask when he was shot so that these "small town cops" can get on with investigating what REALLY happened to this poor adopted kid at 1am on a school night, just a few hours after he'd said "goodnight" to his online gaming friends.
So much ridiculous, idiotic guessing and conjecture on here from very little preliminary information, but The X Box 360, yours is the most idiotic of all.
The boy has a sleep disorder;intense dreams of being a video game ninja warrior....
or:
Hormones raging, the 15 yr old was stalking the lonely aunt.......
@ericstrong
What's idiotic is immediately assuming that this kid was bad or a troubled teen, based solely off the account of the adult male who shot him to death with no witnesses around. Especially, when everyone who knows this kid are giving accounts of how nice, great, and fine of a teenager he was.
What's idiotic, is hearing that a father, who just shot someone to death several feet away from his own home, would not go check up on his own son for hours after that, and not being supsicious of this man. What's idiotic, is hearing that law enforcment authorities were able to "surprise" the shooter when they told him it was his son.... HOURS and HOURS after he had shot him, this man still had not checked on his child.... and not be suspicious of this man.
This man did one of two things: He either shot the kid to death while knowing who it was, or he shot the kid mistaking him for a tresspasser. However, there is one thing that makes absolutely no sense in either of those situations.... why would a parent not check in on their one and only child after having to kill a tresspasser only several feet away from their home? Additionally, no one (including the father) has any reasonable explanation as to why this kid was wearing a black mask and "supposedly" charging his own father with a knife while his father had a gun pointed at him.
Idiotic? I think, perhaps, you lack the intelligence to completely understand that term or this situation. :)
If the cops had shown up and he rushed, them they would have shot him.. end of story , either way he's still dead.
So where did he think his son was in the hours after the shooting? In fact where was he during the hours after the shooting? Did he have to take the trip downtown? Is that why he didn't know it was his son for so long. Yeah there is still a lot unknown and unfortunately there is not always a follow-up on these stories.
@ The_X_Box_360
I AGREE!!!!!!!!!! something really STINKS with this BS ! Nothing "idiotic" about it at all!
No witnesses, no chekcing on his own kid in the interim - no tknowing WTF he shot for hours and hours later !
Something rots!
@ Xbox 360. Why would he go back in and check on his son after he shot a trespasser or a robber and he didnt know who it was? He thought his son was in his room sleep, just every other parent would assume. And another thing they clearly stated in the story that the father thought the son was an intruder. Did you not read that part?! Your comment was very idiotic. Both of them were very idiotic as alot of the comments that on here with hypothetical situations that are idiotic and totally irrelevant to this situation. They told you what happened in the story and yes it probably is more to the story, that much I do agree with you on. But still your hypothetical situations are idiotic. For one, the father did mistakenly shoot him assuming he was intruder, that actually happened. For two, like I said, who would think to go in the house and check on their kid or kids after they shot an intruder. How and why in the hell would anybody suspect their own child in this scenario? No parent would expect their child to be out at 1 am in the morning dressed in all black with a knife trying to break into somebody's house on a school night. I mean honestly who would think that. And another thing even if the father had checked on him and his son wasnt there, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that his son wouldve been the intruder and that he wouldve known he killed his son. Because there is the possibilty his son couldve been in the bathroom, couldve been downstairs, his son couldve been anywhere in the house or out in the garage, so again its not guaranteed that thew father would have automatically known that his son was the intruder and he killed him. So yes your comments are idiotic.
We will never know what was going through this kid's head since he is no longer alive to share that with us. However, being as he was only 15 years old, it is quite possible that he had been reading or watching on television over some period of time something involving such a prowler, assailant, or perhaps even a ninja of some sort and on an impulsive whim wanted to act it out in private and in a presumably safe place to get a feel for what being such a character would be like.
I'm very familiar with the Civil Air Patrol; it's a great organization. The cadet program is all about education - instead of wondering or dreaming about what it would be like to be in the armed forces or to fly or work around aircraft, it provides an opportunity to actually try it out without having to actually sign an enlistment contract with the US government. Much of the recruiting effort for CAP cadets is along these lines, and young people who are naturally curious and prone to try to experience things instead of merely thinking about them are drawn right to it. The fact that he was a CAP cadet makes me think that he had no criminal intent in what he was doing, but rather that he thought he could 'try it on for size' with no one ever knowing about it and he was taken by surprise when it turned out to not go as he'd planned.
"Why didn't the guy check on his family/kid after the shooting?!? - Because his house wasn't the one he was protecting, and because the threat had been ended so there was no reason to believe his family was in any further danger. Common sense.
"Why didn't he know for hours that it was his own son?" - Because from the information given (Found sitting on the grass, etc...) it seems like he was waiting for the police to show up so THEY could worry about identifying the assailant. My first impression is that he was smart enough to not want to alter the scene (by removing the mask) beforehand. Plus...he had no reason to care about the identity of the victim/assailant.
If you want a less cold and rational reason - Perhaps he didn't want to see the face of someone he just killed.
After that he was likely taken to the police station, where he was no doubt questioned for a while. Likely even the police themselves didn't know the victim's identity right away, because they quite likely didn't know on-sight that the kid was part of the same family (no word on if he was carrying any ID), so they had to go through the process of getting the body identified.
There's absolutely nothing about the immediate scenario surrounding the shooting that doesn't pass the common sense test to my mind. The only thing that seems odd is an apparently all-but-complete lack of misbehavior on the teen's part in the past. Either way, the mental gymnastics some are going through to try to make the father a cold-blooded murderer are ridiculous at this point.
I am so sorry for the grief that this family is going through, and hope that they may find receive a measure of peace in all of this. Some questions may never be answered.
Probably there was nothing wrong with Tyler. Maybe he was trying to reenact some character from one of those video games. He didn't attack anybody, why would you shoot him to death? Maybe he wanted to be that character for Halloween. Call 911 and stay inside..or if you must shoot(???) aim at his legs.
I just wish nobody had a gun..what a tragedy!!
How about just not running around outside in the middle of the night with a knife and wearing a ski mask?
Marta. That's dumb. I hit the wrong button and gave her a vote. SORRY.
You've been watching too many Hollywood shoot-em-ups where the villain comes back in the sequel.
If you are wearing a ski mask at one a.m. and lunge at me with a knife, you are likely to die.
Honestly even if the gun was registered, would it have made a difference here? Does someone (let alone a child) running outside acting weird but NOT harming anyone, deserve to be shot dead? What if he just had a mental break? what if he was just re-inacting some video scene? What if the father didn't own a gun? Why not lock your doors and call 911?.....
VIGILANTE JUSTICE SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.
Why do people with registered guns think they can take the law into their own hands and that they are keeping everyone safe by having that gun?
Of course everyone is baffled....this was a senselss stoopid tragedy.
The kid had a knife and had his face covered. When someone in a mask runs at you with a knife, what are you supposed to do?
Vigilante justice? Aim at his legs? People have been watching too
much television.
The reality is that if someone has a knife in their hand and is within 30 feet, it is considered the same as having a loaded firearm because of the short amount of time it can take for that person to cross to you and harm you. A knife is a deadly weapon. It wasn't as if this young man was standing still, not moving, putting his hands up. He was coming at the father with a knife in his hand. That happens and, yes, you shoot.
As for aiming at his legs, someone has been watching too many television shows. Moving legs are a very small target and if you miss, which you probably will (even trained police would), you then have someone upon you with a knife.
The police should get called first, then if you have family next door, you call them. You turn the lights on and try to scare him away. That being said, if I had a family member next door alone, there was prior assault/burglarly in the area (two days prior), and the police were unlikely to arrive quickly due to the area, I'd be out there too protecting my family.
It's a tragedy for the family, but no reasonable person would be out at 1am in a ski mask, prowling around a home, lunging at someone with a knife, and expect nothing to happen. The father here acted reasonably given the circumstances. To make this into a gun debate or vigilante argument is ridiculous. Once you've been a victim of crime, you'll realize how very, very fast things can happen, and when it comes down to it, I'd rather get home safely to my family, no matter what the cost, than become the victim.
Oh heavens....
Can you say Trayvon Martin? This crazy dad wouldn't have had to shoot the damn gun if he just called 911 and locked the doors, and stayed inside like he should have done! That's why we have police! What if the crazy dad didn't have a gun? Perhaps this whole senseless tragedy wouldnt' have happened. And waht if the crazy dad and aunt are making up this story just cover up a shooting? Either way, dad needs to be charged with murder.
Came here to post essentially the same thing as Heavens, but he/she beat me to it. Aiming for the legs is an abysmally stupid idea suggested only by those who watch too much TV. The dad made reasonable decisions every step of the way. This kid is responsible for his own death-- anyone who lunges at someone with a knife deserves whatever happens to them.
My sentiments too. If the gun was not there this kid would not have been shot. Let this be a lesson. The right to bear arms. What a stupid idea.
All this time you thought it was an OK for you to wear short sleeve shirts. You are the stupid one.
"Watching too many television shows"....that's right. Gun owners who believe they'll be heros or something.....interviewed by Rush Limbaugh when they "kill the perp" are the ones watching too much TV.
The "hero fantasy" is alive and well. Just read how many posters on this thread can't wait till someone attacks them so they can shoot the guy.
That's easy. You call "Kings X or Timeout" and then call lauriesarno or Anuska to take your place, then call time in.
Why would the dad stay inside and lock his doors? The kid what at his aunt's house. His aunt called her brother for help. She did call the police as well as her brother. What's he supposed to tell his sister who is in imminent danger? Oh, just hang on, Sis. The police will be here soon. Until then, you're on your own. I'm staying in my house with my doors locked.
laurie and anusko,
A little off topic but do you think your viewpoints would have made a difference to Adolph Hitler, who disarmed his citizenry before embarking on his madness? Yes, we do have some problems and tragedies at times with guns being available for all legal citizens but that pales in comparison to a rogue government being able to overrun our individual rights and liberty. Think first and choose wisely. You may not always be as free as you now think you are. Also, surely you don't think that running around at 1 AM in dark clothing with a ski mask on and a knife in your hand is normal activity.
Will...
I think you are a little off topic comparing this scenario to a rogue government or Adolph Hitler taking over OUR individual rights and liberty. That being said...
Running around at 1am with a knife and wearing a mask is NOT normal but doesn't necessarily justify any citizen pulling out a gun and shooting this person to death. I get it that Dad was supposedly protecting himself from the knife wielder but ONLY after he put himself in harms way by opening his door and going outside to take the law into his own hands. If the knife wielder actually broke into the house and was lunging with the gun, then I could see how this whole scenario of shooting to kill and ask questions later makes sense.
Tragically, we will never this boy's side of the story or if the Dad and aunt made this scenario up to justify a different scenario.
I don't know why the kid did what he did. I don't know if the kid was actually lunging at the dad or the dad just thought he was. If the kid was lunging though, and the dad didn't have a gun, the kid might still be alive but his dad might not be. How would you feel about that.
When something like this happens the anti-gun crowd comes out in droves and the media makes a bid deal of it but, if you were to take into account the millions of legal gun owners in the U.S. and then figure the number of them who are involved in an incident like this, you would realize that this represents a very tiny fraction of a percent of gun owners.
I was raised with guns in the home. I am 63 and still have guns in my home. In that entire 63 year time frame, not once have I ever even pointed one of my weapons at someone. If you don't want a gun, I am, definitely, not going to force one one you but, please don't tell me I can't own them if I wish.
If you want to do something to save lives, do something to reduce the 40,000 deaths that occur every year in the U.S., on our highways or to prevent the 400,000 deaths that occur in the U.S. as a direct or indirect result of smoking but leave me alone!
Well said, tired of hypocrites. Thank you. Because lauriesarno is completely delusional. Her and other cosigners. Thats exactly why I agree with the perons that cracked that joke and said you call them in to take your place since there are they just so convinced that firearms are not nescessary. I mean did they not read the story. His sister called him because she was alone and she was afraid and her brother responded the normal way any brother would have responded. I cannot stand idiots who make up iditoic and irrelevant scenarios to bring their idiotic anti-gun agenda across. Like I said if you dont like the fact the we can own guns and want to own guns, there are plenty of countries that agree with you and you are free to leave anytime you want. Pack your things and leave. For all the rest of us, we gon stay right here and enjoy our second amemdnment and love every bit of it. This is how it is and this is how it is going to stay.
It was said yesterday that he had threatened his Aunt before , it makes a lot more sense now that it's reported he was adopted.
Couriouser and curiouser.
Sad story all around. You do not wait until an intruder is inside the house to protect yourself or a loved one. A lock only keeps honest people out. Broken windows happen quickly and women alone are especially vulnerable.
We don't have any knowledge of the elements of this child's adoption.....so why would you say this tragedy "makes alot more sense" because the child was adopted? Such a stupid, judgemental, and damning comment, Donald.
jdevassy --
Adopted teenagers often DO come with problems and issues -- that's why they're adopted out.
My daughter and son-in-law were almost killed by a foster son they were going to adopt.
And there are stories all over of a biological child killing a parent. Don't make it sound like it just didn't make any sense until we found out he was adopted. Yes, many adopted kids have emotional scars, especially when adopted at an older age. But still, most do not go after family. And any teen can act out in unpredictable ways.
What Are the Gun Laws in Connecticut? Taken from Google, so why the question above in the article? Perhaps what they meant to write was "Permit to purchase handgun? Yes". This puts a whole new perspective , if he had a permit to buy.
Handguns
Regardless if he was licensed to own or carry the gun is a moot here. Since when does someone running outside with a knife and mask on NOT hurting anyone, deserve to be shot dead? Why didn't the crazy aunt and father call 911 FIRST?! Lock your doors and stay inside and let the cops handle it...
What a senseless tragedy. Vigilante justice should not be tolerated.
The kid ran at him with a knife. Are you supposed to wait until you get stabbed before defending yourself?
Yea because everyone knows that a person wearing a mask and wielding a knife at 1 am never has any intention of hurting anyone. He would have just sat down and calmly waited the 15 minutes or so for the cops to arrive and have a good laugh over the whole misunderstanding. Right?
To paraphrase Dirty Harry.....you can be pretty sure he wasn't collecting for the Red Cross.
I can only imagine what the father is going to have to live with, but he acted appropriately. Seriously, if you find a masked, knife wielding person outside your home, are you going to think "Oh, that's just little Johnny horsing around at 1:00AM?"
As extremely tragic as this was, I believe the father's actions were appropriate. Whether he complied with local ownership regulations is another matter, but this unfortunate event probably meets the definition of justifiable in any state.
@Marta, your thread was collapsed, but something that has been said thousands of times bears repeating. You do not point a gun at anything you do not intend to kill or destroy. Shoot to wound is a Hollywood fantasy. In fact, I think that very idea should be part of the critical logic of any gun owner. In other words, do you really want this person dead? If not, holster your weapon.
This is the most intelligent post I have seen here. Guns are not toys, they are not to scare people, if you point it-then you should mean to use it. Whether it should have been used in this situation is all conjecture, none of us know all the facts so judging this grieving dad is inappropriate.
This is the very reason my mother refuses to buy a gun, she knows things like this happen. I asked her to please get a gun to protect herself, she responsed saying "I would rather die from an intruder than accidently kill my family". I realized then gun owners are weak, scared, selfish etc. My 51 yr mom has more bravery and heart than any of you gun toting b**ches.
Jack--THANK you for the info. I PERSONALLY am female, 5 feet tall, and in my 60's, and I PERSONALLY own a shot gun, a rifle, a 'pellet-firing rifle looking' gun, and three hand guns.
I INHERITED them from my dad. I didn't NEED permission to 'buy'. But I grew up with him as a responsible gun owner, I know how to clean them, load them, and fire them. And would have NO qualms about doing so.
and BTW, my son-in-law didn't have a gun until right before he and my daughter got married, but he came home one night to discover that someone had KICKED in the door of his apartment and stolen a lot of stuff and it occurred to him that if my DAUGHTER had been there she'd have been HELPLESS.
So he went out and bought a gun, and they BOTH took training on how to use it.
And they were NOT taught to 'aim for the legs'.
And ajc--your mom may prefer to die from an intruder, but this man did NOT accidently kill his family--he shot an INTRUDER, and sadly, discovered that they intruder happened to be his adoptive son.
And me--I'd rather this well liked and respected man survive than a teen who had MAJOR problems who was stupid enough to be out after curfew, late at night, with a weapon, and disguised.
For ALL you know the kid's MOTIVE was to 'slit the whole family's throats'.
@garyj-2081718: "People get guns and are not trained in using them, as a former police officer when going through school you are told to wound, legs, arms nothing deadly."
Where did you learn that? Play Station Police Academy?
Which agency and when?
ajc: Car accidents happen, too. Should we all refuse to own a car? As for your Mom, I pray that she never experiences an intruder in or near her home...but if she does, I also pray that she has a gun-owning neighbor she can call, and that that gun owner will be "weak, scared, selfish, etc." enough to use it properly and protect her.
Thanks MoMaid, glad I could help.
tragic ,yes. but here again people blame the gun. people have gun's to protect themselves and their property. exactly what the dad was doing. why was the son coming toward his dad with the knife.?seems if he had saw his dad had a gun the first thing he would have said would have been don't shoot. something just don;t sound right here.
Life is full of mysteries we will never fully understand. Everything is speculation. That's all I can say.
If he was only adopted 2 years ago and he was around 13 he might have had issues unknown to his parents. Perhaps is was joke gone wrong or he was going to something to his aunt. From the kids side he didn't know his dad or aunt well enough or long enough to understand their responses in this situation. Now I think it was less of a joke and more sinister.
My guess is that this was a horrible mistake. He was a 15 year old boy...they have weird senses of humor and they like playing soldier/commando. They are little boys in big bodies. My son plays soldier all of the time and I just pray my neighbors don't flip out and mistake him for a bad guy or a psycho when he is really just playing dress-up and make-believe. Its possible that he was trying to frighten his Aunt as a joke and it all went horribly wrong.
I think had he got in the aunt would have been raped.
cookie--is your son FIFTEEN? Does he run around dressed all in black at 1AM, wearing a mask, and carrying a KNIFE?
If so, you maybe need to get HIM some help. That is NOT normal, and sounds to me like he is trouble waiting to happen.
Regardless, at 15, the kid was out after curfew.
At MY house, when 15, Curfew was 10PM unless they had specific permission, and I had knowledge of where and when and with whom.
Would make sense, cookie, but does your son play soldier with a real knife? If he does, you had better do something to stop him or you will be facing a very sad situation all too soon also.
the dumb ass kid had it coming. if i saw someone with a weapon wearing a ski make id shot them as well. the only person i feel sorry for is the dad.
I think you're the dumb azz. Glad you don't live near me
Laurie, as long as you don't make a habit of wearing a burglar's outfit and charging people with knives, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about.
The father should be in jail for stupidity. Brainless ass.
For shooting someone that was armed with a knife and wearing a ski mask at 1a.m. he didn't know that it was his son, so how can you blame him?
The dad should be blamed for taking the law into his own hands. He didn't NEED to go outside and investigate the supposed prowler with a mask and knife. He COULD have just called 911 and waited for the cops to investigate. If NO one called 911 and they just went out with a gun, then they intended to shoot this masked man (really a child) dead. sounds like the dad thought he was above the law. Can you say Trayvon Martin?
Lauriesarno,
Trayvon Martin, Trayvon Martin, Trayvon Martin, was not wearing a ski mask charging at someone with a knife.
Lauriesarno: Can you say "STFU!"?
Laurie--Trayvon Martin---you've brought him up TWICE now.
You DO know that TRAYVON Martin ASSAULTED Zimmerman? Now, we don't know why, we don't know what was in Trayvon's mind, or if he actually intended to KILL Zimmerman, but the fact is that he had Zimmerman ON THE GROUND, pounding on him.
And Ron--Trayvon WAS wearing a HOODIE, which (since Trayvon was black) successfully hid his face, and the neighborhood where Trayvon was VISITING (and was therefor a stranger) had been victimized by similarly dressed criminals who broke into one home in BROAD DAYLIGHT when they KNEW the woman was at home. So Trayvon might as WELL have been wearing a mask.
And everyone please note: MANY people wear SKI masks perfectly innocently too. But not usually in SEPTEMBER.
YES, I heard that Trayvon Martin assaulted Zimmerman but ONLY after Zimmerman began chasing him after REFUSING to wait for the police. Trayvon wasn't harming anyone and would have been alive today to actually tell his side of the story if Zimmerman didn't think he could take the law into his own hands by pretending to be a cop with a gun and chasing down an innocent person.
Sadly, we will never know this child's side of the story and are left with the scenario that his Dad and aunt are telling, and all the gun lovers posting here are believing.
The whole thing is pretty weird, and a lot more will be learned about this in the next few weeks. None of this makes sense at all. As usual, everyone who met him said he was perfectly normal and a nice, sweet guy. Yeah, a nice sweet guy who likes to dress up in a black ski mask, carry a knife, and prowl around his aunt's house at 1 AM, and then come at his father with the knife, getting killed for his trouble. Very, very strange stuff.
Tuesday night , same small town , a lone female was assaulted in her own home and robbed by "a dark skinned male" ...coincidence ?
Well, to me he looks pretty fair skinned, so I'd say not really connected. Yet.
Not the same town.
Mymomdidnotraisafool--
lol--one of the things that always amazes the cops is how, after a criminal is caught, one of the first things people say is "he seemed like such a NICE person."
They said that about the guy who shot REAGAN.
The more they say someone is "nice", the higher the probability they didn't know him well.
My gun is very loyal to me and protects me as best she can.
adopted with prior unknown issues is my guess
very very strange.....i wouldnt rule out anything at this point
Tragic, yes. It's also tragic that the sister/aunt did not call the police instead of her brother. They might have aimed for a knee instead of aiming for the kill.
Joanna, you have no idea what you're talking about. The police and everyone else, always shoot for "center of mass". This isn't a Hollywood movie, it is a life and death decision you have to make in nano-seconds.
Wes,
Why didn't the crazy aunt and father call 911 and stay inside and lock their doors? This masked person (who was a kid), wasn't harming anyone? Why did the dad need to get his gun at all, let alone shoot to kill with it? What if the kid was having a mental break? What if he was just re-inacting a fantasy video scene? What if the dad and crazy aunt are lying? and btw, in Hollywood they use blanks not bullets.
Regardless, the dad needs to be charged with murder. This reminds me of the Trayvon Martin case. Vigilante justice should not be tolerated.
Joanna,
Have you ever fired a handgun? If yes, what was your accuracy at 30 feet?
Add the nervousness one would have actually firing at a person and Lone Ranger accuracy is a dream.
What if he just wanted to rape the Aunt and slit her throat? that is certainly worth waiting to find out Huh?
The police should be made to practice shooting at little hand targets.
what if there has been trouble in the neighborhood prior that would cause the man to arm himself and investigate...@ Laurie What if the aunt did call 911 while her brother was out investigating? and why would you label her crazy??? she was probably scared to death. People react differently when there adrenaline is flowing, heart pumping, scared.. sad situation all around but that doesnt mean we all have to pack up our guns!! Prayers to the family.
So, laurie, the Dad should have loaded blanks in his gun???? WTF? Maybe the Son should have had a rubber knife too?
lauriesarno
"Regardless, the dad needs to be charged with murder. This reminds me of the Trayvon Martin case. Vigilante justice should not be tolerated."
Just like the Travon shooting this was justified. If you look like a thug, act like a thug, and dress like a thug, you might get shot like a thug.
This was a far cry from Vigilante justice. This was just a man protecting his families life and propriety.
And if he had shot for the knee or somewhere else and missed?? Well then the assailant had time to attack-stab-whatever him?? Then everyone would be on here saying the dad was an idiot for not aiming to kill.
All the arm chair, after the fact with no real life experience to back up the comments about the people should have let the cops handle it........ridiculous. If the cops showed up and he lunged at them with a weapon the outcome would have more than likely been the same. This is tragic but it is nothing more than a family member coming to the aid and protecting another family member.
Joanna--the deal is, on MY phone, all I have to do is push "1" and it calls my son.
Chances are good, that is what happened here. She pushed the one button where she KNEW someone close by would come help her. And we don't know that she didn't ALSO call 9-11, or that he DAD didn't.
Johnny, what exactly was it that made Trayvon look like a thug? Was it the Skittles or perhaps the tea? Or perhaps it was he looked like a thug by choosing to be a black teenager? This case is very different. Trayvon wasn't threatening anyone, at least not until he was threatened first, and he wasn't carrying a weapon, unless of course you're afraid of Skittles being thrown in your eye.
LA99999,
Obviously you do not know much about the Trayvon Martin shooting. He was carrying Arizona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail (not Tea!) and Skittles. Two of the favorite ingredients, along with cough syrup, for making "LEAN".
As tragic as it is, it sounds like the Dad did exactly the right thing. When the unknown guy came at him with a knife, I'm sure Dad was "in fear of his life." I would have reacted the same way.
Guns were invented to kill people. Hunting food was a secondary "benefit", but then either way gun=kill. The very fact that anyone owns a gun is because they want to kill something, unfortunately that something all too often ends up being an innocent person or one did not deserve to die. You can argue gun rights all you want but the bottom line is - a gun is a waste of money until you have killed with it, that is why you bought it. Home protection? Please save me your stupidity of 'protecting' your old, used household goods. Invest in homeowner's or renter's insurance, help them load the stuff in their car and go shopping for your new stuff the next day. If you need to protect yourself and family from killers then you need to evaluate the company you are keeping and how you interact with people, lest you tragically kill one of those you are protecting.
"Sportsmen" don't need high powered, laser sighted guns to hunt with, be a true Sportsman and hunt with a rock.
majick,,they are not always after stuff, it might be to rape, rob or kill, they usually are somewhat devious people that break in,,your some what naive. they are not there for good..
You are not very bright and it doesnt sound you have much worth protecting.
How about if the person just wants to kill you? It's not worth protecting your "old, used" body? Alright, I guess. Then your relatives can load up your old stuff. I have plenty of guns and have never shot my family or other people. I even own an AK-47 and have never thought about shooting up a movie theater or school yard.
Rocks are messy ineffective and can be cruel to the animal. However a well placed bullet through the heart is a lot more humane
Majick...the rock you refer to must be the one you crawled out from under! Pretty sad, out of touch
BS you have written. Do you have your own padded room to keep you from harm (criminal or self-inflected)?
Now go sit down...they will be bringing your lunch soon!!
Majick-what a ridiculous thing to say. I'm sure Dr. Pettitt in Connecticut whose wife and daughters were raped and murdered and his home burned to the ground would have given anything to have had a gun in his hands on that god awful night. Criminals are rarely polite and don't just come knocking on your door asking for your money and possessions. I think you need to take off your rose colored glasses and see what really goes on in the world.
Majick:
Not true. I own a gun not because I "want to kill something"...I own a gun because I want TO BE ABLE to kill something...something or someone who is threatening the safety and well-being of my family or myself. As for my possessions, I could not care less whether they were taken from my empty home...that's what insurance is for - to replace stolen items. How much insurance would it take to replace a stolen LIFE?
Majick-1,
You have obviously not considered family heirlooms or personal papers. I, for one, would not like to see some of the items which have been handed down for generations in my family sold for a bag of meth. Nor would I like to have my name and credit sullied by identity thieves. If you had a wife, girlfriend or kids, I doubt that they would appreciate a bunch of scary men with weapons taking their stuff while you stood there and said, "it's OK everyone, this is a teachable moment. These men are victims of social inequity or a disease called addiction. It's not their fault; it's our fault that they steal." I don't know. Perhaps the only way that you will understand that theft and burglary are "major bummers" is when someone steals your Mac laptop from the tent at the next OWS encampment at which you are crashing out. I just hope that you are not my neighbor and my house gets invaded by people with weapons. I would like to know that someone has my back (as I would their back) and not run to his panic room while I get killed.
Majick-1 As far as I am concerned any thief that has broken into my home and is stealing from me should be killed. Zero tolerance, we have too much of this bull.... going on in this day and age.
check his computer use, porn?
He was a 15 year old male so I'm going to guess, yes, there was porn on his computer. What's your point?
not unless the kid thought he was playing a game '' his dad told him to play '', for some reason like , '' the kid knew a secret he didn't want to come out. or maybe the kid '' was '' a night time thief that needed money for his well known drug addiction in town. maybe at least one of these thoughts come close to the senerio.
The kid had marked up the wall with crayons when he was younger so I suppose he had it coming...
Either a prank gone terribly bad or suicide by cop only stepfather got there first
As a mother of two boys, I know that boys do dumb stuff on the regular.. we don't know if he snuck out with friends and was messing around irresponsibly and the friends took off after the shooting.. or if it was a dumb prank.. automatically blaming the child because he was adopted is kind of ridiculous.. not every child from a troubled background turns out to be a degenerate sociopath.. it is a tragedy regardless. I don't know if I would have grabbed a gun, maybe a baseball bat and I know it wouldn't have been as effective but broken face, broken ribs or even a stab wound is better than two broken lives.. peace to the dad..
My first thought is maybe the kid was on something. Drugs or alcohol. He had 3 hours between when his friend and him stopped playing the game to when he was shot. The other thing is maybe he was leading a double life, sneaking out at night to rob people while everyone thought he was sleeping. Can't really think of any other reason to be out at 1am wearing a mask and holding a knife.
I don't know if he deserved to die, but I don't see anything wrong with the father's actions. To those wondering why she didn't call the police, for the same reason most of us wake our husbands up when we hear a noise. Verification. There was an assault last week in the town a pp mentioned. For a woman living alone, it's enough to stand your hair on end. The fact that he was wearing a mask and holding a deadly weapon was justification enough to threaten him. When he came at his dad with the knife was justification for the shooting. I'm sure everyone wishes he had given him an extremity wound so he could be questioned, but that's 20/20 hindsight since in the dark, you couldn't tell if he may have also had a gun.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Kids need to learn that life isn't a tv show or video game and you can't script the outcome of other people's reactions to your actions.
I'm wondering if the kid was into doing one of those designer drugs going around these days then that would explain it. Seems he was a bit of a geek type by his looks and hobbies and geeks do drugs too!!
So the dad didn't recognize anything at all about the young teenager? No voice exchange at all between them before the guy shot the teen "multiple times"??
I'm not buying it. More like dad and teen get in fight at home, teen runs next door, dad goes after and shoots, then gets the sister to go along with "intruder" story. Mask and knife could easily be staged. Who wears a mask while breaking in a relatives house? In case you actually encounter the person??
Nope, not buying it. I hope they do an autopsy on the teen and check to see if he was being sexually abused.
Wow, that tinfoil must be painfully tight!
Stop watching so much Law and Order. Jeez!
Wow is right.... the man didn't know it was his son until after the police told him. Geez Keepitreal that's quite the tale.
Actually he is probably not that far off. He is the ADOPTED son and he was into all kinds of expensive things. Flying is horribly expensive right now. More like his ADOPTIVE dad was tired of paying for everything and wanted an easy way out of the adoption. I bet they find out there was a nice hefty life insurance policy on his ADOPTED son.
The level of stupid here is astounding.
Sexually abused? Collecting on life insurance? And where exactly in the article is the basis for these ridiculous speculations?
How lucky for the police, that you two geniuses are here to save the day and piece together exactly what happened with nothing more than the vague details given in the article.
All of you conspiracy theorist are idiots,,,gun,,,teenager goofing around,,,tragic accident,,,im not an attorney or a prosecutor so i dont know the level of the law where they are,,,i do know if someone breaks "into" my house,,i have the right to defend myself,,,but i had a police officer tell my aunt one time about a peeping tom in their neighborhood,,,if hes halfway in the window and you shoot him and he doesnt fall in,,,drag him in
Sorry Tanalea, but your wrong and apparently didn't read the article.
If it was a prank the kid would never have run at the father with the knife in his hands, the guy shot the kid cause he advanced on him, he would have never have done that if he was kidding about the whole thing. Plus he knew his dad owned a gun. It wasn't a kid playing a prank.
Or the dad is lying, but your assessment of the situation looks like the one possibility that is the least likely.
Exactly, Red Sun Rising. Many of these people are not about to let the lack of available facts, their confusion about the law, or their complete ignorance of logic or critical thinking get in the way of their rushing to concrete conclusions about what happened and who is at fault. And guess what: Next time you learn about someone convicted in a court by a jury of "peers," it was probably a bunch of people just like these.
Don't be too quick to rule out the prank theory. I'm not saying it was a prank, I doubt it was. But just because he came at the father with the knife doesn't rule it out. A kid that age is going to follow through on the prank as long as he can, and he may or may not have known about the gun, but a kid that age would probably think it would never get that far. Again, I don't think it was the case, but you can't just rule it out.
Just as the statistics show, and have shown for years, if you have a gun in the home, it is many, many times more likely to kill or injure a family member or friend of the family than it is an unknown intruder. When will people learn?
@Sandy, Missouri
I am hoping you are wrong, but it happens so frequently, that I am afraid you're right.
I have thought since I heard this story, that it was the teen trying to playfully "scare" the Aunt. I'm curious to know if they had that type of relationship that he would do that? The earlier person commented that he was a "funny" kid............I could see my 19 year old nephew trying to "scare" me like that, because that's how he is with me. Has anyone thought of it just being as simple as that?? It's so unfortunate that this had to happen like this......and why wouldn't the father (or anyone) announce to a prowler that you have a gun and you're ready to shoot? Did the boy actually "lunge" at the father, or was he just standing there? How tragic!!!