Teen pulling prank killed by neighbor

The Palm Beach Post ^ | Sunday, October 26 | Sarah Eisenhauer and Cynthia Kopkowski

[Neil E. Wright]

Also, i forgot to mention that saying Mark was 6'2" 210lbs is a gross exaggeration. He was close to 6'0" and maybe 190 at most.
203 posted on 10/26/2003 10:13 AM MST by durham62

I would call 190# near 200+

for durham62: I'm sorry your friend got shot. But he was an idiot who was doing WRONG and paid the price. As someone else pointed out above, he was committing "malicious mischief" also called disturbing the peace. Granted that its a misdemeanor and he probably shouldn't have been shot, I'll not fault the homeowner without knowing ALL the facts.

[Robert Drobot]

"Something tells me there may be more to this story....."

I'm with you.

The media is anti-gun, and have in all likelihood framed the story in a typical bigoted socialist mind-set.

[untwist]

Thank you for your rational response. Being close to the incident, my son is friend and classmate of the boys involved. Indeed they used poor judgment in this game but they weren't armed and were NOT breaking into the house. Some of the responses on this thread are extremely disturbing. All I can say is when the facts all come out and they will, it is going to be clear whether the homeowner was legally right to open the door, step out and fire. The kid's location at the time of the shooting and whether he was facing the guy or running away will all be clear. Legally you can't just shoot somebody who is outside. He wasn't armed. As a parent of teenagers it is sadly amazing how cold and stupid some of the "adult" responses on this thread have been. Again, thank you for your lucid response. I too fully support the 2nd Amendment.

[muawiyah]

The people posting the "homeowner is always right" responses can quite regularly be counted on to do just that. At the same time only one of them has ever admitted putting up a fence at the lotline with a lockable gate. He "posts" the rest of his property with notices. Still I doubt he would just shoot some kid he found on his front porch.

The rest of them are clearly dangerous people. They leave the front appearance of their properties open and inviting just as if there were normal folks inside. We can imagine them cowaring behind their front doors, loaded firearm at the ready, just waiting to shoot the first person foolish enough to ever ring their doorbell.

They will plead self-defense as they are hauled away to the gurney for their last trip.

[Frunabulax]

I'm shocked at some of these comments here. Yes, it's irresponsible behavior, but who of us was a model, responsible citizen at 16?

Lots of us paid the price for being irresponsible little brats. You're taking a risk when you mess with other people or their property, and if some frightened homeowner mistakes you for a deadly threat it isn't necessarily their fault.

My friends and I used to TP other peoples' yards late at night when we were about that age. We's sneak out from slumber parties and the parents wouldn't even know. We played ring and run when we were a little younger, although it was never at 12:30 a.m.

Yeah, and you knew better, too. I don't think there's any huge risk in playing ding-dong ditch in broad daylight, but would you have done the late night stuff if you knew then what you know now? I'm surprised any of us survived childhood.

Thank God nobody was quick on the trigger at us back then, or I guess I'd be dead as "deserved."

Have you researched this? I'll bet you that kids occasionally got shot by mistake even back in the good old days. Once again, "deserve's got nothing to do with it". It's almost always an accident. No decent person would knowingly shoot a kid who was pulling a harmless prank.

[Lion Den Dan]

I am glad that none of these brainless reactionaries are on my jury. All the information is not in. On the surface of the story, I go for the home owner. People don't just cap some one without provication. Punk had no business doing what he was doing and banged on the wrong door.

[Squantos]

typical of the breed....sounds like someone sold ya black poodles with a rottweiller bar code on their butts by mistake......or ya got a bunch of inbreds of bulldogs and shitsu's ....Thus explaining the mutts ya wound up with.

If you weren't being sarcastic then stay with that cell phone , walls , concrete and locks thing. The world will indeed be a better place.......... eventually.

[Shooter 2.5]

Good points.

The problem I have with the book is it's out of date. At a time when the best ammunition you could buy was being used by the police, it may have been a good idea to copy them. When I first started using a handgun as a defensive tool, I bought Speer "Lawman" ammunition.

Today, I don't care what the police are using. I'm using a 1911 with Hydra-Shoks. My son uses a 1911 with Gold Dots.

Preparing to survive and during a shooting, the least of your problem is worrying about what a jury will do.

[tiki]

This young man was in our new priest's former parish. He is very hurt and I can see why. Please pray for his family and our priest, Father Andy, as well.

[Squantos]

The evidence will indeed be interesting. Seems the initial evidence at the scene led the LEO's to "not" arrest the homeowner. Had the small child been shot in the back , no close quarters powder burns on his clothing or a shot thru the screen or storm door, or evidence of damage to the doors I will be suprised if the homeowner doesn't go to jail. Blood splatter, powder residue ect will prove where the shot was made from in the long run.

But the lack of an instant arrest by the LEO's suggest that the child and his "friend" were not playing a game of knock and run away.

If ya see local nooooze about this I'd be interested . Please ping me if ya will when it's discovered as to what the DA or Grand Jury decides please.

Stay Safe .....Sorry about your kids friend. Hope his death teaches all involved a lesson.

[Shooter 2.5]

Here's his comment:

Also, i forgot to mention that saying Mark was 6'2" 210lbs is a gross exaggeration. He was close to 6'0" and maybe 190 at most.

I'm sorry for his loss but his comment makes the estimation at a 10% error for the weight and less for the height.

If he wore the type of clothes that I have seen on some teenagers, I could see myself overestimationing by as much as fifty pounds.

[Thumper1960]

Certainly not. His string of bad choices began when he opened the door. Being armed, he held a much greater responsibility. He failed at every juncture. He didn't assess the situation properly. He didn't identify the intended target. He opened his door. A big no-no. He apparently didn't turn on an exterior light. He didn't, at least, first call 911 if he felt in mortal danger. Manslaughter may be the least of what he should be charged with.

[SLB]

I am glad that none of these brainless reactionaries are on my jury. All the information is not in. On the surface of the story, I go for the home owner. People don't just cap some one without provication. Punk had no business doing what he was doing and banged on the wrong door

Early this morning when I first read the story the comments were almost leaning in the direction of the homeowner, although the information is sketchy at best. Now, the liberals are awake and the home owner is waiting the executioner. FR sure ain't what it used to be.

[Normal4me]

I addressed this earlier through a freepmail to another poster as I didn't want to thread jack. The article, I don't believe, mentioned the fact that it was a Catholic school. I did a google search and discovered it was in fact a Catholic school. It just struck me odd as I was thinking it was a public school. Sorry for the post and the confusion. ;-)

[Timesink]

The defense was rather savy. They had a mockup of the homeowner's window setup in the courtroom. Without warning, the defense atty, whipped out a slingshot and fired a projectile through the double paned window.

Now THAT'S the kind of lawyer I can respect!

[BOBWADE]

It kind of reminds me of when a cop shot a boy with a toy gun. He was hiding in the shadows and when he came into view the officer saw what he thought was a gun and made a split second decision. The 4 year old was dead and the cop aquitted. I feel bad for this kid's family but he put himself in a bad situation and was mistaken for someone with bad intentions. Ringing a doorbell late at night is a bad idea and shouldn't be used for entertainment.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Sorry, but towards the end you might note the following:

Many of Drewes' classmates would learn of his death at Pope John Paul II High's homecoming dance Saturday night, said the Rev. Guy Fiano, the school's president. Counselors were scheduled to be on hand at the dance and Monday at the school, a Catholic private school attended by 925 students, including 250 in Drewes' sophomore class. A prayer service is planned Monday for the "very well loved" student, Fiano said.

[Timesink]

and if you really believe he did something wrong and it was his fault he's dead I hope you see some of the footage of our homecoming dance where kids were hysterical to the brink of nearly passing out.

If you intend to stick around on FR, you'd better learn the basics of logic very quickly. False "appeals to emotion" like you posted in the quoted sentence fragment above don't work too well around here.

I'm sorry your friend is dead, but any after-the-fact crying jags are 100% irrelevant to the facts of the case.

[Timesink]

No he wasn't he was not trying to break into anyone's house, he was not destroying property, and was not holding a weapon of any kind.

You were not there. You have no way of knowing that any of those assertions are true. I'll wait for the police and DA to make a finding of fact.

[Timesink]

Stupid bunch. We ended up putting them on the barby. Still got some packed away in the feezer.

Tastes like chicken?