16-year-old shot by security guard dies (Nov. 4, 2002)

The Dallas Morning News ^ | November 4, 2002 | By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

[MeekOneGOP]

16-year-old shot by security guard dies

Teen theft suspect dies; security guard charged

11/04/2002

By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

A 16-year-old who witnesses said was shoplifting died Saturday night, several hours after being shot in the head by a shopping center security guard.

Leshard Wilson was shot about 2:15 p.m. in a parking lot behind a shopping center as he and two other boys ran from the security guard. Dallas police Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick said Sunday that the two other boys fled from the shopping center in the 1500 block of South Buckner Boulevard and have not been identified. Leshard died about 8:50 p.m. at Baylor University Medical Center.

WFAA-TV

Police take security guard Bernie Pointer Jr., right, into custody.

The private guard, Bennie Franklin Pointer Jr., 50, of Dallas, was charged Saturday with aggravated assault, but the charge was changed to murder on Sunday after Leshard died. Mr. Pointer remained in custody at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on Sunday, awaiting arraignment on the murder charge.

Mr. Pointer's family declined to comment.

Family members and friends gathered Sunday at Leshard's home, less than a mile from the shopping center. They declined to comment on the incident but said that funeral plans were still pending.

A representative of Mr. Pointer's employer, North American Security Group, said Sunday that the company would make a statement Monday afternoon.

Police said that the three boys were thought to have been shoplifting at the Family Dollar store on Buckner, just north of Lake June Road. Sgt. Kirkpatrick said that there was no evidence behind the store to show that Leshard had stolen anything.

Although state law allows security guards to use deadly force to protect property, Sgt. Kirkpatrick said that Mr. Pointer appeared to have overstepped his authority as he fired the single shot that hit Leshard.

E-mail imccann@dallasnews.com

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/110402dnmetshooting.13730add.html

[blowfish]

steal it from me and i don't care if it is a used paper towel, i will kill you over it.

What a fine upstanding citizen you are! Remind me to keep my toddler away from you. He has a habit of picking up pretty toys and wandering away with them. Of course, he would deserve your rough-and-ready justice...

[blowfish]

Without property rights we are cuba.

And where are we when rent-a-cops can gun down kids for the crime of 'fleeing from a rent-a-cop'?

[cajun-jack]

don't be a dumbass...big difference in a child playing and someone sneaking onto your property and trying to take what you work for.

idiot, sissy, liberal dumbasses like you is what is wrong with this country!!!

along with dim o crap politicians!!

[blowfish]

So to clarify: You are in favor of killing teenagers if they try to steal...for instance..a candybar?

[TMSuchman]

I must weigh in on this topic. I was once a mall security officer & armed security officer [though not at the mall]. The law states [usually in all states] that lethal force may only be used if in the mind of the shooter that to a "reasonable person" that harm & or injury or death may occur if that person does not intervene. So the question arises; did this kid do something as to pose as a threat to the security officer? That is what law enforcement has to figure out, & not take the word of the victims friends. Most states & major cities require security officers to undergo at least once a year training [classroom] and on the shooting range at least every 6 months.My former company required me to be on the range at least every 2-3 months. And you had better believe that the rules regarding lethal force is covered at nausea! So lets wait for the results of the investigation, before we jump to any ideas.

[cajun-jack]

not in Louisiana..we have a "shoot the burglar" law...kill him over the flamingo and tomorrow night you won't have to kill him over your SUV.

[cajun-jack]

sure i am...the only reason a person steals something worth only a dollar is because they couldn't get their grubby little hands on something worth a million dollars.

either shoot the kid or go to his parents' house and shoot them for not teaching him better...

[blowfish]

OK. Just making sure
You are a psychotic.

[cajun-jack]

where did you get your degree that qualifies you to make that assessment??

[gitmo]

A couple of years ago I discovered that my 11 year old had stolen something from a store. I took him for a ride, straight to the store. The security guard was waiting for us outside. They took him in the back and scared the heck out of him. I then paid the store for the merchandise, and asked them to put it back on their shelf. He had to work off the cost of the merchandise.

I'm glad they didn't shoot him.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks and welcome to FreeRepublic.com !

[MeekOneGOP]

Yeah, really. You handled that just RIGHT, I'd say ! ;^)

Sounds like it made an impression on your kid for the better ...

[SauronOfMordor]

So to clarify: You are in favor of killing teenagers if they try to steal...for instance..a candybar?

For a candybar, perhaps a thorough working over with a 6-foot bamboo rod would suffice. The point is, a sufficiently high level of response that you get a reputation as a place not to go to if you want to commit a crime

[ladylib]

I have a suspicion the guard is going to get it too.

[ladylib]

I don't think he will be, especially if he shot the kid in the back while the kid was fleeing.

[ladylib]

Who knows -- his butt is probably going to wind up in jail and the store will be sued up the wazoo.

[ladylib]

Ran from the guard.

He got it and the guard will get it too. These mall cops really need better training, if only to protect themselves and their employers. You don't shoot someone who is fleeing in the head, even if he is running off with a Maytag washing machine on his back LOL.

[ladylib]

I'd be surprised if it did, especially when this "guard" is convicted and the news gets out.

[Politicalmom]

Yeah. Filthy little animals didn't deserve a trial anyway....

[neutrino]

I don't think he will be, especially if he shot the kid in the back while the kid was fleeing.

You're probably right - however, one can always hope.