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I hope people reading this thread take their and their family's safety seriously and become proactive in securing their homes and having a means to defend themselves should the time arise. Hoping it's the house down the street and not yours isn't going to help.
I stayed up all night thinking about this. We live in an apartment, so there are limited ways to defend our "home," such as dogs in the yard, an alarm system, or what have you. THe're only one door in, and it's pretty heavy duty. The easiest way in would be to cut the window screens and crawl in through the window. We don't close our windows at night since it gets pretty stuffy if we do.
I though about it for a while and decided the best thing to deter a home invasion (in the event we were inside) was to have a shotgun at the ready (perhaps Remington 870 12 gauge). But then that presents further difficulties, such as how and where is it stored, and would I be able to reach it in the event of an intruder on his way in, or already in, my apartment? But i suppose it's better than nothing.
My heart aches. I've been following this story somewhat compulsively since I posted it here on Sunday, trying to make sense of things. WannaComeHome, you're no doubt right that it's human nature to look for order from chaos, but some of this just isn't coming together for me.
I can see the two Brookline boys had problems. The apparent ringleader (Spader?) seems to have been trouble walking -- a well-known issue. Gribble -- the homeschooled boy scout -- also appears to have gone over the edge some time ago. Even the one whose dad has been all over television (Marks) appears to have been throwing some serious signs that he'd gone way off track. (Arrested w/ Spader for chasing down another carload of kids while Spader waved a tire iron at them out the window. They ultimately rammed the other car.)
But one of the 4 has me totally confounded, and I'm haunted by it. Quinn Glover. Discussed everywhere as a super nice kid. Girlfriend quoted this morning as saying they'd met at a Buddhist place, where he was apparently showing interest. Folks, Buddhists are pacifists. Incredibly popular at school. Has a facebook group named after him, even. ("I'm a Glover lover... and proud of it!"). Wore clothes to school so his friends could write on them. Gave hugs.
What I can't get out of my head is.... of these four people, one of them seriously doesn't fit. And because I'm planning to move to town in 7 months or so -- with a child who will be entering their high school -- I really want to know why. Why a kid that exhibited nothing suddenly did a 180? How is it even possible?
darylyh,
From all I've read, it looks like Spader and Gribble both had deep-seated emotional issues. Spader had troubled accepting he was adopted, and exhibited bi-polar-like symptoms. Gribble also showed signs of bi-polar.
The more I read about those two kids, the more I think of several people I've known over the years: obsessing about "perceived slights," and obsessing about knives and guns because they feel weak. (Really, this is a huge issue, with nearly every teen-aged bored boy I once knew collecting killing knives). In every case I know, the person has required medical treatment and medication to manage their emotional swings. If they don't take their meds, they become angry and violent, first toward themselves, and then toward others (animals or people).
The other two kids seemed like kids who wanted to be "cool" and hang out with the "bad boys."
In all cases, none of this absolves them of any crime. There are millions of people who have the same issues and don't kill others.
But one of the 4 has me totally confounded, and I'm haunted by it. Quinn Glover..... What I can't get out of my head is.... of these four people, one of them seriously doesn't fit. And because I'm planning to move to town in 7 months or so -- with a child who will be entering their high school -- I really want to know why. Why a kid that exhibited nothing suddenly did a 180? How is it even possible?
He seems to be more of a follower than the others. He was known around campus as he was in the school plays with lead roles. My daughter was in a play with him at SHS earlier this year and in 2008. Glover seemed like one of the "cool kids" on campus, not a jock or a nerd. My daughter did say that he had some emotional issues. His mother has MS which has been hard on his father. There is, of course, no excuse for him being part of this or not taking steps to prevent it. I'd put him away for life without parole for what he did. It is sad to see how Glover was influenced by the others....
Seamus, thank you for a more intimate look. That's exactly what I needed. And along with that -- even as I was reading your response, I surfaced this in a google search:
sgthoskins -- it's actually more than just a nasty song list. Many of the bands on that list belong to a genre known as "horrorcore". (Wikipedia link.)
I've been in the cached pages of all these boys' personal sites (still working through a lot of them). This theme is throughout -- with them, as well as many of their friends. They refer to one another as "juggalos" -- another term from the genre. (Wikipedia link)
Unfortunately, it looks to me as if there's a pretty large group of kids in the Brookline / Hollis (and perhaps Amherst as well, though I'm not seeing that yet) area who are deeply into this extremely disturbing "music".
As a parent, I've abruptly been made aware of something that was NOT on my radar. I'll be keeping an eye, though, on the playlists of my daughter and her friends going forward, specifically for these types of bands, and some of this terminology.
Like darylyh, I can't get this out of my head, and have been feeling jumpy the last few days. I have to get up for midnight feedings, and then I lay awake wondering about these boys, about the poor little girl and her dad, and wondering if I'm ever going to feel safe in my own home. Dh and I were talking about it, and for the first time in our marriage he actually brought out the possibility of having a gun. He said later he just wanted to have all the options on the table, and also to see what I thought. I just can't see myself getting something like a gun (unless it was a Taser) with 3 little ones in the house. Even with biometric locks. We are not from gun owning families, and I have only ever seen a gun up close once. It's just so far out of my realm of thinking. We are now talking about getting a security system, but I just saw the other thread, which is funny because ADT is running a special and we were going to check it out We thought having a security system might be a good idea until we're ready to get a BIG dog (in about 3 or so years).
I think what makes me feel so helpless is having 3 little ones. If it were just me and Dh I wouldn't worry so much, but having kids complicated matters. You are responsible for more lives, yet those lives make it harder to stay safe.
In SoCal we were used to hearing a lot about gang violence. Innocent people getting shot by mistake. Which is just as much a loss. But there's something else about a group of young people entering a home by stealth purely for the intent of robbing and killing. This is something we never heard about, no matter how hard I rack my memory.
I think what makes me feel so helpless is having 3 little ones. If it were just me and Dh I wouldn't worry so much, but having kids complicated matters. You are responsible for more lives, yet those lives make it harder to stay safe.
There are home firearm safety classes you can take that will help put your mind a little more at ease. In regards to the kids teaching them about firearms is the key to them staying safe. Keeping children safe in a home with firearms is a pretty easy task, it's all about education.
The problem with a stun gun is in CA it's probably illegal for you to have, you only get one shot, and unless you keep juicing the bad guy he's going to be angry and get up.
I do understand you guys never being around firearms so it must be a difficult thing for you and your husband. In a home with no place to run a firearm is the most effective way to protect yourself. If you want to PM me your location in CA I can probably give you a few places to get some basic firearms safety training for you and your husband if you guys want to go that route.
sgthoskins -- it's actually more than just a nasty song list. Many of the bands on that list belong to a genre known as "horrorcore". (Wikipedia link.)
I've been in the cached pages of all these boys' personal sites (still working through a lot of them). This theme is throughout -- with them, as well as many of their friends. They refer to one another as "juggalos" -- another term from the genre. (Wikipedia link)
Unfortunately, it looks to me as if there's a pretty large group of kids in the Brookline / Hollis (and perhaps Amherst as well, though I'm not seeing that yet) area who are deeply into this extremely disturbing "music".
As a parent, I've abruptly been made aware of something that was NOT on my radar. I'll be keeping an eye, though, on the playlists of my daughter and her friends going forward, specifically for these types of bands, and some of this terminology.
Good to know. One distinction I want to make and I think you will agree is it's not the music that is to blame, it's just one of many possible indicators of someone with a possible problem.
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) with 3 little ones in the house. Even with biometric locks. We are not from gun owning families, and I have only ever seen a gun up close once. It's just so far out of my realm of thinking. We are now talking about getting a security system, but I just saw the other thread, which is funny because ADT is running a special and we were going to check it out
We thought having a security system might be a good idea until we're ready to get a BIG dog (in about 3 or so years). 
