[PROCON]

So, because the perp wasn't inside the house, it's murder.

Poor guy, will a Massachusetts jury convict him?

[broken_clock]

I’d invoke the Joe Biden defense, “just fire a shot through the door”.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Seems crazy doesn’t it?

So if someone is breaking in, you have to let them break all the way in, and put yourself in harms way, in order to defend yourself?

The perps had the wrong house? Really?? Do they routinely break into someone’s house? Do they routinely break windows in a house of someone they know, in order to get inside?? Something doesn’t add up here.

[catnipman]

In Colorado, ya do gotta wait until they’re inside before they’re fair game. Shoot inside: OK; Shoot outside: not OK.

[avenir]

Texas, I love you! Poor man, hope the jury is reasonable.

[BenLurkin]

mistook Lovell’s home for someone else’s

Mistook it for the home of someone who was unarmed?

[onedoug]

Not if I were sitting on it.

[stinkerpot65]

American prosecutors are nothing but criminal thugs.

[fuente]

I lived in Mass once. Springfield. NEVER AGAIN.

[Right Brother]

Lovell is currently being held without bail.

Are you frickin' kidding me?

[headstamp 2]

So you have to let them break all the way in before ventilation?

What if one of them had a gun?

He also tried to communicate with them to no avail. He did everything right from what I can see.

The DA has an agenda.

[Marko413]

I was thinking about that law when I saw the headline. If the perp wasn’t inside the house then unfortunately it will fall on the homeowner.

I remember as a teenager a friend’s dad (who was a sheriff) told me that if you want to shoot a home burglar, make sure of three things before you shoot. Otherwise you can be sued or face charges:
1) They need to be inside of your home
2) They need to be facing you when you shoot
3) You need to shoot to kill

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Remind me again. What’s the reason for living in Massachusetts if you are a productive, law-abiding person who wants to protect his home?

[AlaskaErik]

He shot through a closed door. Typical Democrat who is too stupid to own a gun. He violated all the rules of firearms safety.

[Malone LaVeigh]

Something like this happened in Louisiana years ago. IIRC, a drunk/high Japanese exchange student tried to break into a house where he thought a Halloween party was going on. Owner shot and killed him. The owner was cleared of any criminal charges but the civil suit totally destroyed him.

[mad_as_he$$]

“Poor guy, will a Massachusetts jury convict him?”

Probably.

[Farmer Dean]

This is why I advocate having large capable dogs.These idiots would think twice if a Rottweiler or German Shepherd was having a fit on the other side of the door.

[Tenacious 1]

Jeffery Lovell, 42, called the police to report what he believed was a break-in in progress just before 1 p.m.

Was this at 1 PM or 1 AM? The youths were drunk and mistook a house in the middle of the day? Typo maybe? It makes a difference.

[wtd]

PROCON wrote: "Poor guy, will a Massachusetts jury convict him?"

A conviction is likely if reports follow MassLive.com narrative:

• MassLive.com

  Dylan Francisco, 15, of Springfield, who was entering his sophomore year at Chicopee Comprehensive High School, was shot when he accidentally knocked on the wrong door of a home at 120 Boucher St.

  Contrast the news narrative against the quote from guns.com:

  "As the banging continued, Lovell believed the teens were trying to break in, so he called the police and retrieved a firearm. But before the responding officers arrived on the scene, one of the teens struck the door with enough force that it broke a window pane within the door. At that point, more convinced the teens were trying to force their way into his home, Lovell fired a single shot, striking one of the youths.

  *****

  Another MassLive.com article states:

  "Francisco, of Springfield, and two other teens went to 120 Boucher Circle at around 1 p.m. looking for a friend, but it was the wrong house. Lovell told police his wife woke him and said two people were trying to break in.

  Lovell said he saw Francisco walking around in his yard, and then he knocked on a locked door that had three vertical panes of glass. Prosecutors said Francisco's knocking broke one pane, and Lovell shot through another pane, hitting Francisco in the chest.

  Interestingly, the guns.com article mentions another detail avoided/ignored in the MassLive.com narratives:

  "... three teens went to Lovell’s home and began banging on the front door repeatedly. Lovell said he attempted to communicate with the youths through the door, but was unsuccessful.

  Sounds like these kids were looking for trouble and found it.

[Stingray51]

Home invaders who knock and then break in anyway when the homeowner shouts a them through the closed door?

[little jeremiah]

I hope not.