Teen Shot In Florida

[MJS]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10838299/

A 15yo boy was shot and killed by a SWAT team in Florida after the boy reportedly brought a gun to school. Although the gun was reported to be a pellet gun by the boys father, it was painted to look like a real gun.

Thoughts on this?

 

[terryl965]

It is sad when tragedy hits a child,but we must ask ourself why would he do it in the first place.
what can make a boy paint a pellit gun so it would look like a real gun, why would'nt he just surrender in the firsat place.

I wish we had a way to tell when a gun was real or fake before tragedy like this would not happen.
Terry

 

[MJS]

It is sad when tragedy hits a child,but we must ask ourself why would he do it in the first place.
what can make a boy paint a pellit gun so it would look like a real gun, why would'nt he just surrender in the firsat place.

I agree, it is a tragedy. Looking through the article, it states that the child had some issues, ie: talked about killing himself, being picked on in school, kept to himself. Yet, to a neighbor, he appeared to be a normal teenage boy. I often wonder why the parents are not able to pick up on the signs that this child was obviously showing?

I wish we had a way to tell when a gun was real or fake before tragedy like this would not happen.
Terry

There were red or pink markings on the gun. Apparently this in addition to giving toy guns colors other than the typical silver or black. From a distance I can see how it would be hard for the police to tell the difference.

Mike

 

[Jonathan Randall]

It is sad when tragedy hits a child,but we must ask ourself why would he do it in the first place.
what can make a boy paint a pellit gun so it would look like a real gun, why would'nt he just surrender in the firsat place.

I wish we had a way to tell when a gun was real or fake before tragedy like this would not happen.
Terry

Unfortunately, it sounds disturbingly like "suicide by cop". What a tragedy that his apparent suicidal signs weren't reported and school authorities weren't able to intervene before he acted out on his plans. This is a real tragedy. I don't see what else the police could have done as being told he has a pellet gun doesn't mean for certain that what he's aiming at an officer at that moment is not a real one.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Painting the coloration black shows clear intent to pass the pellet gun off as real. It seems pretty clear his intention was for the police to perceive the gun as real. Not much you can do at that point but respond to a very real threat.

 

[Martial Tucker]

There were red or pink markings on the gun. Apparently this in addition to giving toy guns colors other than the typical silver or black. From a distance I can see how it would be hard for the police to tell the difference.

Mike

They showed the actual pellet gun the boy had, displayed next to a real 9mm on TV. You couldn't tell the difference from 2 feet away. Also, according to the family lawyer, the boy's father knew that the boy had painted the pellet gun to look real, but apparently didn't think this was any cause for concern.

I often wonder why the parents are not able to pick up on the signs that this child was obviously showing?
Mike

Though there is still much to learn about what really happened in this specific case, there are many instances where the parents are so uninvolved in the kid's lives that it contributes to the behaviour that the parents are supposed to be picking up on, but unfortunately, the parents aren't involved enough to see it. Not saying that's what happened here, because we don't know enough details, but just because a kid lives in your house, if you don't talk to them and spend some time with them, don't assume you know them.

 

[Nanalo74]

Though there is still much to learn about what really happened in this specific case, there are many instances where the parents are so uninvolved in the kid's lives that it contributes to the behaviour that the parents are supposed to be picking up on, but unfortunately, the parents aren't involved enough to see it. Not saying that's what happened here, because we don't know enough details, but just because a kid lives in your house, if you don't talk to them and spend some time with them, don't assume you know them.

Right on. I work with teenagers, and sometimes the warning signs are obvious, sometimes much more subtle. My mother was involved to the point of being annoying, but it kept me off the street.

Be a parent. When they're grown you can worry about being their friend.

Vic
www.combatartsusa.com

 

[jdinca]

The kid was known to have been suffering from depression. This was clearly a suicide by cop situation. He painted the pellet gun to look like a real one. He took the other kid hostage but let him go. When the cops surrounded him, he pointed the gun at his neck and then at the cops, with the obvious reaction by the cops. He couldn't do it himself, so he let them do it.

A tragedy for all involved, but let's be thankful it didn't go the way so many of these do, with the death of other kids or teachers coming before the final outcome.

 

[punisher73]

There were red or pink markings on the gun. Apparently this in addition to giving toy guns colors other than the typical silver or black. From a distance I can see how it would be hard for the police to tell the difference.

As others have said, toy guns do have "markings" on them to show that they are toys, the gun in question though had been painted all black so those markings were not on the gun. They have showed the gun on TV several times and unless you could look at the bore size of the barrel there is no way to tell it was only a toy gun.