News Junkie: Elderly woman shoots bully, no charges!

[Shoqiyqa]

ps. i was bullied a lot at school but the main thing is to never resort to violence i never did at school

Well, that was a mistake. Parents will tell you "just ignore them and they'll go away" and teachers will tell you (and your parents, mostly your parents) that they don't tolerate bullying, but teachers are too busy and too few and don't give a **** about you and parents can't be bothered either and are really saying "I'm ignorign your problems until you go away" and bullies will keep going and escalate and escalate until the one and only thing that reliably stops a bully stops them.

It's not that violence is the only language they understand. It's that fear is the only form of respect they understand. There's something about seeing the kid who was picking on you suddenly pressed against the wall a foot off the floor by someone's hand at his throat that's really gratifying, and there is, apparently, something about having a Sixth Former with eyes like murder grab him by the throat and shove him into the wall a foot off the floor that gets through to **** like that kid and persuades them that the world outside the rules is a place they do not want to be after all.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I'd show it first and fire a warning shot ...

... into WHAT, exactly? The other kid? Someone's car? Someone's bedroom window? Bullets don't just disappear at 50m IRL.

Err....... How about, the ground??? It's not very hard to find something to shoot that doesn't cost money or hurt someone.

 

[Mcupobob]

Never pick on a granny, they will always fight back and are always packing heat. Inless it's granny form the 60's era then I guess you might get away with it.

Oh and I complety agree with her doing that. If she called the cops they might of talk to the boy, money and time wasted on lawsuits and such. She had a right to defender her home and the kid was only shot in the shoulder he'll live and never harrass someone again, hell might even become a better person and not a snot nose brat.

Something simiar happen to me, one kid kept harrassing me in school for 2 years up intill I stabed him in the leg with a penicle. He was transfered to the troubled kid section and suspended. I got off scot free.

 

[Nurb]

I'd like to remind you folks we used to hang and stone people.

Escalation is never apropos as a rule, she should have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, then given the lightest sentence.

But this was justified, we all know it was, and social law as most of us (who I'm sure were rather unpopular in schools) know, responds with massive force.

what should she have done? hit him with a bat? She'd have been thrown in jail then too. She was helpless and saw this as the only action as she saw it.

If he cops were told about this and they did nothing about it, then they should be held accountable for not stopping the escalation. I think its pretty damn horrible children are allowed to terrorize adults for months and years, and the adult victim can't do anything about it without being charged for "harming a child" if they physicaly stopped them. If the parents don't do anything you're screwed.

In the old days, neighbors would dicipline another's child if they were doing something serious, now you're helpless if you're over 18.

 

[Jamash]

So verbal abuse is enough justification to shoot children?

Does freedom of speech not apply to children, who can be shot for being mouthy?

I know it's not quite as simple as that, but it does seem a bit extreme to shoot a child, even if he was being a bastard.

I hope she was a crack shot and was aiming for his shoulder, because if not she's extremely lucky. Six inches out and she could have hit him in the head or chest.

if you actually read the article, he hit her in the chest with a brick

If you actually read other articles, not just the short write up from such a fine bastion of investigative journalism and celebrity gossip that is People, then you'll see that time-lines and versions of events differ greatly depending on who is reporting it.

It's not as clear cut and black & white as celebrity gossip magazines would dupe you into believing.

Reading outer sources there seems to be enough time between her having bricks thrown at her and getting her gun for this to be an act of revenge, not a defensive reaction.

Some stories paint the picture that she got hit by the brick, went inside to phone the police, but then hung up the phone and decided to shoot the kid instead.

A few article suggest that rather than take one well aimed, crack shot at this kid's shoulder, she came out of her house laying down suppressing fire (to the extent that a neighbour and ex-cop thought a drive by shooting was occurring, based on the gunfire he heard)

A few sources even quote her as saying she though the kid was a victim of demonic possession which is why she shot him.

The whole story is very fishy and it's not clear what occurred exactly, but it's obvious it didn't occur exactly as the original and probably biased source reports it... there's enough details missing from People's write up to make me question their version of events.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

I'd show it first and fire a warning shot ...

... into WHAT, exactly? The other kid? Someone's car? Someone's bedroom window? Bullets don't just disappear at 50m IRL.

Err....... How about, the ground??? It's not very hard to find something to shoot that doesn't cost money or hurt someone.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ricochet

 

[Bat Vader]

I do believe that the elderly woman did go too far when she shot the kid. At the same time I can understand why she did it. This kid tossed bricks which broke windows in this elderly woman's house for over a year. I am guessing she called the cops a couple of times yet it seems they did almost nothing to help her. The neighborhood also seemed pretty apathetic towards it as well. If it took place over a year someone in that neighborhood should have seen it and stopped it.

Since he hit her in the chest with a brick he is now going to be charged for assault. This kid needs to sent to a juvenile detention center and be forced to pay back double if not triple the damages he caused to her house. Most twelve year old kids understand that tossing bricks into another persons house is wrong and illegal.

 

[VaderMan92]

well sounds like the kid deserved it, heh good thing for the kid that she wasn't a better shot

 

[PoliceBox63]

She should be charged with assault too. Shooting a 12 yr old? That's not on. Ring the fucking police, woman.

 

[ChaoticKraus]

I seriously can't believe so many people are defending the old lady. First of all you don't shoot people unless they are threatening your life, secondly IT WAS A FUCKING 12-YEAR OLD! That's a child, you just don't shoot a child. Even if the child happens to be an monumental asshole.

 

[Firia]

Ah America. I do love that an you, as a citizen have the right to use up to and including deadly force to stop an intruder. I wonder if this boys relentless tauntings are being considered to be such.

 

[Zorg Machine]

Are you fucking kidding me? A 12 year old? A pree-teen?
Since when is it okay to pull a gun on a child because they annoy you?
Hell, if a grown man runs up to an old lady and punches her in the face it still wouldn't be okay to shoot them while they're running away. That's not self-defense, manslaughter or whatever. It's attempted murder.

This is why you don't let people have guns.

Btw, I consider this old woman (or "Miss Margaret, as she is affectionately known on her block") is a fucking monster and a lunatic. If some kid insults you and breaks your window it's okay to shoot them? Let's just use that as punishment instead of juvie hall.
Judge:so this ten year old child kicked a football into someones window so it broke? shoot him once in each foot.

 

[jp201]

An elderly woman in Amerca was the target of abuse from a 12 year old boy for a year or so. Upon having her windows smashed and seeing the boy flee from the scene only to return and taunt her and throw bricks again, the elderly woman pulled out a gun and shot him in the shoulder.

The boy was in hospital and has come out to charges of misdemeanor of aggrevated assault on a senior, the woman has had no charges filed against her (at least thus far)

This news is rather reassuring, shows that people are slowly being able to get back at bullys in times where it almost seems helpless especailly after a woman died at the hands of a "prank" by bullies earlier this week.

Source http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20430602,00.html

can you actually read the article that you post?

There are two conflicting stories in that article so to automatically assume that the grandmother is telling the truth is just speaking out of ignorance.

If it is true that the boys actually taunted her i do think that it is extreme perhaps something should be done but nothing big.

However if the opposite is true, she should be placed in jail for the remainder of her life.

 

[jp201]

Why am I not surprised that on an internet forum most of you cant read the article and do a little research before forming a complete opinion?

What are your opinions on the story if the women actually just shot the boy and he wasn't actually bullying her?

I don't know why but the ignorance on this post is amazing and sad.

 

[LadyMint]

Bullying is bad, yay for people who stand up for themselves, yadda yadda yadda...

That one article doesn't give enough of the story for me to pat the elderly woman on the back and condemn the kids. I would need to hear a word from a third party witness, since the parents of the child claim that he wasn't doing anything. Of course kids lie all the time. Adults also misinterpret things that happen right in front of them and overreact.

 

[Ambient]

Go granny! She's got the right idea.

 

[jedizero]

I'm sorry, but everyone here seems to be thinking that a shot to the shoulder is no big deal.

It is a very big freaking deal. There is *no* safe place to shoot someone. Yes, the kid was an idiot, but the woman has now potentially permanently injured this child.

People shot in the shoulder have reported chronic pain, and loss of mobility, even not being able to use the limb.

I speak as someone whom suffers from a chronic migraine. My head hurts. All day. Every day. And likely will for a long time in the forseeable future. As you can probably guess, this ****ing sucks. The child could have complications, the child could very easily die because of this woman's belief in her right to shoot a child that is being stupid.

Again, yes, the child was being an idiot. Weren't we all at some point or another? Didn't we all do something that was stupid and not wise?

I for one, without thinking about it, ran right in front of a train, just barely missing it.

Who else has done something stupid due to the recklessness of youth? Now this young boy, who yes, was on the wrong path, was in the wrong in doing what he did, could have permanent consequences, scarring, pain, or worse.

And you people are APPLAUDING this?