Washington man allegedly kills teen because he mistook an airsoft gun for a real firearm

ABC News ^ | 06/10/2024

[Decombobulator]

The King County, Washington, Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged a man with second-degree murder and assault, both felony counts, for allegedly shooting a teen he thought was holding a gun and who he believed was about to rob a sporting goods store.

Aaron Brown Myers, 51, told police he believed the 17-year-old victim had a gun and was going to rob a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in the Seattle suburb of Renton last Wednesday as the teen headed toward the retailer with two others, according to court documents filed by the prosecutor, Leesa Manion.

The boy was holding an airsoft gun, according to a police affidavit. An airsoft gun is a replica firearm that shoots low-power, nonmetallic pellets.

The two teens who were with the victim told police they were going to the sporting goods store to either return or exchange the airsoft gun because it was malfunctioning, the affidavit said.

[Candor7]

Excellent Photos.

I could not tell the difference in a split second.

Easy to mistake them.

[Candor7]

Alahwahoo Whackbar?

Just a kid playing in the street, playing Cowboys Jihadhis and Indians.

Huge tragedy.

All three of them dumber than dirt, brandishing naked gun replicas around in the street.

I wonder if the parents knew the three boys had them?

[Candor7]

Oh, you mean the Floyd effect?

[Candor7]

Surveillance footage showed the boy’s right hand “briefly lower[ing] to his waist area” before being shot, police said.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“So it is that necessity is the pervasive theme of the well defined conditions which the law imposes on the right to kill or maim in self-defense. There must have been a threat, actual or apparent, of the use of deadly force against the defender.[42] The threat must have been unlawful[43] and immediate.[44]
1230
*1230 The defender must have believed that he was in imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm,[45] and that his response was necessary to save himself therefrom.[46] These beliefs must not only have been honestly entertained, but also objectively reasonable in light of the surrounding circumstances.[47] It is clear that no less than a concurrence of these elements will suffice.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12233090126446728563&q=%22483+F.2d+1222%22&hl=en&as_sdt=2006

[Candor7]

There is no way this is a good shoot because the victim was innocent. You call him ignorant, but he was only making a transaction with a business. He was only guilty of not obeying some prick who had no business confronting him at all.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Forg9t to mention.........

In that case I dare you to acquire a replicant hand gun, and walk down the streets of South Chicago, waving it around.

[Bon of Babble]

Yes, but a police officer is expected to instantly tell the difference in a split second as a gun, fake - or possibly real - is pointed in his face.

I am reminded of the case of black teen, Tamir Rice, who pointed a fake gun at cops, who then shot him.

Here is the fake gun Tamir Rice pointed at the police:

And here is the child (according to the media) who pointed the gun at police:

All hell broke out against the cops, of course.

"I knew it was a gun and I knew it was coming out." The officer shot twice, hitting Rice once in the torso. Rice died the next day.

A grand jury refused to indict - but the city of Cleveland paid out $6 to Rice's family.

[JayGalt]

They were carrying BB guns walking into a sports store, not playing cops & robbers with them. You are leaning over too far to whitewash this situation.

Carrying your premise out a bit anyone could decide someone was a threat & blow them away. Screaming orders at people and demanding those people follow them to the letter or shooting them 7 times w/o an actual threat to your or another’s life is insane. There was no eminent threat. The shooter should have called the police if he was concerned.

[Unassuaged]

Nope. That is cop-style coverup bullshit.

[Unassuaged]

Except that is not what happened here - AT ALL.

[Unassuaged]

Yeah, grampa might play out a cop/murder fantasy if you do not take steps to look harmless!

[Unassuaged]

OK, sneaky deflection, nobody pointed a gun at anybody except the pretend cop.

[Unassuaged]

You mean the murderer? or are you just spouting slurs and buzzwords to blow off steam without knowing any details?

[Unassuaged]

Were they brandishing? or was it open carry?

[samiam5]

Did this 17 year old boy wave his airsoft gun around, or was he merely transporting it?
You don’t get to shoot someone just because you think he might be doing something wrong. If this perpetrator thought something was amiss, he should have followed the victim and kept eyes on him. This was a sporting goods store, a place that likely sells firearms, and certainly sells airsoft pistols that look like firearms.
The teenager was innocent. The jerk who killed him is guilty.

[samiam5]

Oh, and I don’t own any replica handguns.
They used to put orange tips on the replicas. That might have prevented this low IQ jackass from killing the innocent boy.

[Mr.Unique]

Ignorance.Its happening all over the pace.

True. Take post 18 in this very thread as an example.

[Candor7]

If so, I need to recalibrate. There us a whole quantum lot more ignorance about the use of firearms than I thought.And you have made a more than generous contribution.

[cyclotic]

The shooter isn’t a cop.

[Round Earther]

Mall Cop Myers needs to get his story straight or his is going away for a long time.

As it appears now, he shot the kid seven times, with six in the back.

Unless he wants to take the stand at his murder trial, he can’t talk his way out.

[Candor7]

No murder charge......Excellent