[lifacs]

I don't think this guy should have fired his gun at a door knocker. What say you?

[Trickyguy]

The owner probably would have machine-gunned the whole
neighborhood if he found a bag of flaming dog poop on his front porch.

[demlosers]

Apparently, the shooter had bad judgement.

[MeekOneGOP]

bttt for later read ...

[chicagolady]

It is a new day. Sure it was a kids prank , but I USE TO be able to be out all evening trick or treating and parents did not give it a second thought.

Would you do that in THIS day and age? Never!
Times are a changing. If I was home alone, what would I do at midnight? I have no idea.
I do not totally blame the guy.

[Ches]

Bang

[StatesEnemy]

Manslaughter at least.

[alisasny]

The 16 year old should not have been out wandering the streets at 1230 am.

[Normal4me]

Anyone else find it odd that a high school is named after Pope John Paul II?

[LurkedLongEnough]

The homeowner was at fault because he used deadly force inappropriately. I feel sorry for him, now that he knows what he did, he must feel awful.

However, the kid used bad judgment too, thinking that his imposing frame would be a humorous apparition, in literally the middle of the night.

Overall, a terrible tragedy.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

You are personally responsible for the consequences of every bullet you fire.

I cannot possibly understand how this dead boy was guilty of any crime. Knocking on a front door is not a capital offense. If you fear answering the door, don't answer it or peek out the window to see who is there before you open it. If you don't recognize the person, don't open the door or yell through the door for the person to identify himself.

There were too many common sense options available to this shooter before he opened fire. I'd put the shooter in prison if I was on the jury.

If the boy had broken into the house, I'd be with the shooter all the way.

[JoeSixPack1]

Carhart said ringing doorbells and running is not generally considered to be a crime.

If you're 8 years old, ok.

If you're 6feet 2inches tall and 210lbs, at 12:30 am you don't bang the crap out of a neighbors door for fun or otherwise. Intimidation is not always met with fear, and shouldn't be. The homeowner was obviously intimidated and responded to that intimidation with leathal force out of arrogance, ignorance or whatever.

Sorry the giant kid died.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

"What is so important that you are defending that you need a gun?" said Quiroga, the mother of two teenage boys, before breaking into tears.

Let me answer that one Mrs. Quiroga. My father, who just had a heart attack and was implanted with a pacemaker/defibrillator and is NOT a candidate for heart surgery, was just awakened where he lives by the VERY SAME THING the other night. He picked up the pistol he owns and went to the door around MIDNIGHT to see who it was. No one was there. If it continues to happen, then I am going to go over there and stay with him. Do you need any more information, Mrs. Quiroga? Keep your child at HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Of all the stupid cockamamie things to debate. No further comment.

[Let's Roll]

If the guy had been burgled before ...

Also what kind of burglar knocks or rings the bell? The kind who wants to be sure there's nobody home?

Many questions - was he shot in the back etc.

[Ditter]

I am armed & I would NEVER pull the trigger on someone outside my house. Even if I catch them stealing something, even my car. They would have to be inside my house & refusing to leave before I'd shoot. This man should be in a world of trouble.

[dawn53]

A few months ago we were awakened in the middle of the night to somebody screaming and banging on our door.

My husband and I both got up, he went toward the door, I called 911. It was some guy, high on something, banging and yelling that we needed to let him in because he had been shot (which he hadn't). We have two large dogs which we could have turned out on him. We didn't. We just waited for the cops, they came and carted the guy away.

To go to a door just because the doorbell's been rung, and shoot somebody is nothing short of paranoia.

[Flyer]

He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon.

I do residential deliveries (returning lost airline luggage) and sometimes work the overnight shift. After 10 p.m. I always call before I go to the door. It is not a safe thing to be at someone's door unannounced at 12:30 a.m.

[freep_toad]

"If they thought it was a burglar, what kind of burglar knocks?"

The kind that waits to see if anyone is home?

Just from what the article says, both the resident and the teenager were in the wrong. It's shows a complete void of common sense to run around knocking on doors and ringing doorbells at 12:30 a.m. (night...when most burglaries occur). On the other hand, for the resident to shoot someone who is outside their house makes the resident seem somewhat trigger-happy.

Plain and simply, we do not know all the facts, yet.
Do we know if the kid was actually holding something in his hand(s)? No.
Do we know if words were exchanged between the two? No
Had the resident's home been burglarized in the recent past? We do not know.

The evidence will come out. If the resident over-reacted to a "nothing" incident, he should be locked up for a long time. But if the teenager did something to instigate this, the man should be left alone.

"Teenage boys do things like that," she said.
Teenage boys are also known for things like drag-racing, date-rape, drug use, and bullying. Teenagers do a lot of things that exhibit a complete lack of common sense (hence their extremely high auto insurance rates). This should not be sloughed off as a "boys will be boys" thing. The teenager was running through the neighborhood ringing doorbells and knocking on doors. Why? To annoy and PO everyone in the neighborhood for his own entertainment. Rather stupid, in light of what happened, don't you think?

I gotta love the gun-fearing wussy sentence: "Levin has a concealed weapons permit, according to state records.". Ooooh... I didn't know you had to have a "concealed carry" permit in order to have a gun in your own house. But, then, I live in Texas.
If my doorbell rings at 12:30 a.m. and I'm sleeping, you bet your arse I'm taking my gun to the front door, too.

[elfman2]

Bargy Fife’s going to lose his bullet & spend some jail time if this is the whole story.

[CGTRWK]

Sad story. Kid didn't deserve shooting just for being stupid, but jaywalkers don't deserve being runover either - it just happens. Hope the shooter doesn't get charged.