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If you lived in a state where it is perfectly legal to carry a gun out in the open, (and where all it takes is a two hour class to get a concealed weapons permit) would YOU go around knocking on stranger's doors at night as a way of getting your kicks?
It's legal to carry guns in my state, but residents aren't known for being heavy castle protecters. Maybe the residents of your state are more volatile.
We've just had a rash of home invasions in our area conducted by teens. They came in and pointed guns at the residents while stealing their belongings, trashing the homes, and then driving off in the residents' vehicles.
How do you know in advance if it's a teen prank or a teen criminal? These kids should be glad they're not dead.
This post really caught my eye, b/c this is exactly what I was thinking. We have a problem here where I live with ARMED underage kids kicking in front doors and assaulting homeowners and robbing the house. Sometimes there are three or more kids involved in the robberies. It is shocking but the majority of these thugs are under 21 and many are under 18! And the kids have rap sheets and are repeat offenders, at these young ages.
So, homeowners are very on edge here. Anyone beats on my door after dark and I will be toting my shotgun to the door. I certainly would not be shooting without assessing the situation, but we are being told that the thugs kick in doors, and are in the premises and running into the bedrooms within SECONDS. So if one does not have a firearm ready to aim and fire, then homeowners are being overtaken.
My feeling is the father of this kid is sending the wrong message. His son was in the wrong, period. The message he should be sending his son is - you take your life in your hands when trespassing on someone's property after dark. Period. THe father should be emphasizing that what may seem like a silly prank to immature kids may appear to be a real threat to a homeowner.
THe father should have used this as an opportunity to teach his son that actions have consequences. Dad said he was going to punish his son, but then turning around and pressing charges against someone when his son was the one that precipitated the homeowner's response seems ridiculous.
While I don't in any way condone the behavior of the teens who "rang Van Plew's doorbell and pounded on his back door at about 10:30 p.m.", I do think the homeowner overreacted when he "yelled at them and Van Plew followed and tackled Mateo". Apparently he aggressively attacked the teen, giving him a "a cut on his elbow, bruise over his eye and a bloody lip". Both the homeowner and teens were out of line, both should be punished.
I have to disagree with you that the homeowner should be charged. Perhaps he wasn't aware that the person he tackled was a child until he was on the ground. The kid put himself in that situation. I think he got exactly what he asked for.
I never heard of this name for it and in our town it was only played the night before Halloween or on Halloween. Also the kids did not *pound* on the door, they just rang the doorbell and ran away.
Quote:
Police said the teenager and three friends rang Van Plew's doorbell and pounded on his back door at about 10:30 p.m.
Yes, they did.
What a little ass. That teen deserved far more than what he got.
Quote:
Madeo's son claimed he had a knife in his pocket and threatened to kill the homeowner. It turned out to be a cellphone in his pocket. Van Plew also said that Madeo's son kept up a vile barrage of profanities, including crude sexual remarks about Van Plew's wife.
You don't. That is why you don't shoot first and ask questions later.
Kids need to understand that what they see as pranks may get them killed. Another of the home invasions here last week involved a team of criminals, not teens this time, where a woman knocked on the back door of a home crying that her boyfriend had been beating her, and when the elderly resident went to it, the men burst in the front door with guns and beat his wife before stealing all their money and their car.
Once something like that happens, people get a bit jittery, especially when it happens several times in one week, as it did here.
So would you assume that someone banging on your door at night is a teen committing a prank or a criminal out to do your family harm?
What do you think the resident should have done?
And why do you think it's harmless for teens to trespass, disturb the peace, and commit malicious mischief?
What would you have done, given him a time-out? Talked to him about what he was feeling that prompted his bad behavior? Give me a breaking break!
What would I have done if they pounded on my door?
A-If I saw them, I probably would have yelled at them
B-If I didn't see them, I'd call the cops.
If it were MY kid doing that?
Punish them.
See? No guns or violence involved.
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