[wmfights]

No parent in their right mind would let a child out of the house with a somewhat real looking gun, with no logical place to practice shooting it, under these conditions.

Kids sneak out with all kinds of things. They also act differently when they get together in "packs" and no adult is around.

This whole thing is just so sad. A 12 year old kid is dead and will never have the opportunity to to grow up and maybe mature into a decent adult. A rookie cop is probably done as a police officer and depending on publicity may go to prison.

[grania]

FWIW, I'd wait to make a judgement on this story. There's a lot of context, involving too heavy handed police responses on one hand and on the other extreme neighborhoods without much police presence.

It's an environment where even the child should know it's not wise to walk around with something that looks like a real gun.