Boy's action 'justifiable', 11-year-old shoots, kills assailant

South Bend Tribune (Indiana) | February 6, 2002 | Gwen O'brien

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"GUN CONTROL ROCKS "

The best bumper stick I've ever seen is: "Gun Control means using BOTH hands."

[breakem]

damn pharmaceutical employees!

[fourdeuce82d]

"It was a impressive show by anybody, and at 11 years old much more so"

True- hope (but don't know) that I would do as well. good job.

My only point was the .45 has an undeserved reputation for recoil- the low velocity round, large frame, and large slide make it a pretty comfortable gun to shoot, even for kids and petite females.

[Barnacle]

This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. It's just one more example of why we need more box-cutter control.

[quietolong]

That's why we need more gun control...Not all could make that shot.

[BlackbirdSST]

not any less tragic. This doof tried his hand at Armed Theft and got the death penalty. Should have stopped while he was ahead. Blackbird.

[Redcloak]

Situation: 11-year old uses a gun to protect his mother.

Reactions...

• FReeper: "I fell sorry for the little guy; that he had to kill someone. But I'm glad that he and his mom are safe. It would have been terrible had he not known how to handle firearms. (Chuckling) It's a good thing he dailed '1911' instead of '911'."
• HCI Member: (Sobbing hysterically) "This is HORRIBLE! That poor, innocent child, EXPOSED TO A GUN! How AWFUL! We need a law to prevent such tragedies in the future. Children should NEVER have access to loaded guns like that! He could have been hurt or KILLED by it!!"

[harpseal]

That is absolutely exellent shooting. The 11 yr old will endure some trauma as he has taken a life, admittedly the life of a scumbag. Unlike some neighbors of mine, husband and wife, who have the legitimate occupations of drug dealers ( They work for a pharecutical company), I do not think the person with the box cutter was so employed. Now a thought that comes to mind is that if an 11 yr old can take out a slimeball with a boz cutter what does that say about armed citizens possibly aboard civilian aircraft. Is it not at least possible that they could do the same?

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[harpseal]

Seriously it would be good for some of the officers in the neighborhood to take an interest in this young man. Since his father is deceased and his mother is a drug abuser he could probably benefit from an adult male to talk with at times.

Please note I did not say teach them to shoot but an officer or two taking this young man to the range some Saturday may be a very positive influence. He will not be able to discuss this very much in a school envirornmet as it would probably violate a zero tolerance rule.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Travis McGee]

Yep, I'll bet he is "adopted" by his local PD!

[Travis McGee]

Yeah, even a couple of armed 11 year olds could have prevented 9-11.

[Shooter 2.5]

" I even shot my granddad's Singleshot Ruger .250!!!!"

what the heck is a .250? A Savage .250?

First off, a .45 really doesn't have that big of a kick. As someone already mentioned, the design of the frame and weight make if very manageable and the boy only had to worry about getting off the first shot in which he was a success. Blackpowder is also a slow burning powder and it's hard to give them a punishing recoil unless the design of the buttstock is poor. You could bookmark the bang list here or go to some of the other shooting boards for some more advice. There is a book called "The Complete Guide To Guns and Shooting" by John Mallory that I think is excellent. I have a copy and I wish I owned it twenty years ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.

[300winmag]

The .45 is an excellent weapon. That was the point along with yours. It has a slow recoil, not the quick snap and jerk of the higher velocity calibers.

The absolute nastiest, rankest handgun I ever shot was a straight-blowback Astra in 9mm. Straight-blowback 380s are a close second. Just a fast, hard slap to the hand, with no unlocking mechanism to lengthen and soften the recoil cycle. Each shot was a stinging agony.

OTOH, I fired 50 rounds of .44 magnum with no problem. It was THE NEXT DAY that my hand and wrist paid the price.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Your right, there are so many of these type of young people in our "throw away" society. This kid has probably seen more mayhem in 11 years than most of us will see in a lifetime. He could probably go either way.

I know it's a big problem in our city too. My wife recently started working in the public schools and she's getting a real eye opener. She had been praying for one of the boys (elementary school) and one day he said to my wife out of the blue: "you are my momma in God's way" broke my wifes heart.

There are so many. We all need to be involved.

[fourdeuce82d]

"Straight-blowback 380s are a close second"

yup- I'd rather shoot hot 357s out of my 2" taurus than .380s out of my girlfriend's Gaurdian .380-no fun at all.

[Cap'n Crunch]

I'd be proud to let him ride along with me!

It's a sad story when we go to people's houses and they tell their kids "don't you talk to them (police)" "don't you trust them either."

[Dr._Joseph_Warren]

When Tony D. Murry held a box cutter to Sue Gay's neck ...

What is it with box cutters and criminals these days?!?

Is there some box cutter kit they send off for out of 'Criminal of Fortune' magazine.

[harpseal]

We all need to be involved.

Totally agreed.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown