‘Ding Dong Ditch’ Death

outlander said:
And if it was a criminal kicking down your door with a gun to kill your family including your children and you didn't have a gun?

I might respectfully point out that the homicide rate in Australia stayed relatively constant even after strict gun laws were implemented.
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If a criminal was kicking down my door with a gun, I would shoot him for self defense for myself and my family.

Ringing a doorbell rarely precedes an armed killer breaking in. If the home owner is that paranoid to chase after and shoot a door bell ringer, then he has mental problems and should not be around firearms.

I'm not against guns, many responsible law abiding Americans own them. I'm against angry gun nutters who use them whenever they're triggered or disagree with someone.
 

Well now it's premeditated murder. Good.

For all of you who ask people like me what I would do if some home invader was kicking down my door.

I would lock my bedroom door grab my phone and go out my bedroom window. Then I would call 911 while I circled the back of the house to rap on my son's window and get him to climb out to me. Then we would run to the neighbor's or hide somewhere.

That may all sound childish, but I truly think we would have a better chance of survival than pulling out my own gun and having a shoot out with a drugged up criminal who probably also has a gun.

Does anyone have statistics on these two choices?
 

debodun said:
Akin to a news story here a while back. A man shot at a car that was turning around in his driveway, killing a woman passenger.
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Yes, people must be really careful. I used work in lawn care and sometimes pulled up at the address and people would really get irate. People came out with all types of weapons just because someone pulls in their driveway.
 
Fritz said:
Honestly these kids forget that not everyone is mentally stable and can handle being teased by such nonsense. I'm not saying these kids deserved to die but for God sake, why do these kids insist on pestering people? Why can't people live their lives without these kids pranking everyone? It's frickin annoying. They need to find something constructive to do with their time besides harrassing people.

And these people that can't manage their mental stability enough to use the gun properly shouldn't have one in the first place. If you own a gun it's usually for self defense. Not so you can murder whoever annoys you. But the temptation wouldn't even be there in the first place if they didn't own the gun to begin with.

Today's kids are a bunch of little brats and most of the adults are a bunch of nutbags. Ever since Covid people's mental states have taken a nose dive. They're acting like a bunch of maniacs. The kids aren't any better. People need to learn to leave others alone and that it's not acceptable to rage over regular every day things. If a store runs out of the type of bread you like it's not acceptable to pull a gun on or beat the hell out of a clerk.
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I do remember seeing a few news stories about employees getting attacked and even killed at fast-food places for messed up or wrong orders. Like at Popeyes.
 
LoveTulips said:
Too much harassment by young people today. I'd fire a gun if this was happening repeatedly. The parents should have taught their son better, and as noted, who lets their eleven year old out after 11:00 pm? The parents should have been shot instead
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Seriously? You think firing a gun is an appropriate response to children knocking on your door then running away? Or shooting parents who poorly supervised their children one evening?

Guessing you were never a child or a parent.
 
Della said:
Well now it's premeditated murder. Good.

For all of you who ask people like me what I would do if some home invader was kicking down my door.

I would lock my bedroom door grab my phone and go out my bedroom window. Then I would call 911 while I circled the back of the house to rap on my son's window and get him to climb out to me. Then we would run to the neighbor's or hide somewhere.

That may all sound childish, but I truly think we would have a better chance of survival than pulling out my own gun and having a shoot out with a drugged up criminal who probably also has a gun.

Does anyone have statistics on these two choices?
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I have a similar plan, except my bedroom has an exit door onto a deck at the corner of the house, much better than a window. Down three steps and I am into a heavily wooded area where it would be very easy to hide. I actually tried doing this. The time it takes is much longer than the time it takes to get from the front door to the bedroom. I doubt it will work. OR I can grab the pistol from the night stand and wait. I don't like either of these choices.

I agree that the shooter in this instance had no reason to shoot a fleeing person. However, we do not have the complete story. Perhaps a family member had been assaulted the day before and he was just reacting with fear and anger. Who knows? Something like this happens so fast, there is no time to think.

This is why I now live where I do. Out of the city. I don't miss it.

I'd rather face the bear.
 
SeaBreeze said:
All good points, well said. Plus, if someone is in their home and has mobility issues and their doorbell rings, they may struggle to make it to the door for nothing but a prank.

If a new mother has a sickly infant who just fell asleep, and is awakened by the doorbell that was just rung to piss people off, it is a problem.

If someone is awaiting a call from their doctor regarding blood test results for a serious illness, and the bell rings just as a joke, it's very inconsiderate and upsetting.

Kids can play tricks on each other at the playground or in the street. They should not be affecting people's personal lives in their homes. If they find annoying adults and causing them grief to be amusing, they need to seek counseling, or their parents do.
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Exactly. And people with anxiety issues often can be affected by certain things more than others. For me loud sounds really bother me which is why I don't have a gun in the house. I don't trust myself to remain of sound mind when the neighbors music is thumping through my house for 3 or 4 hrs or the other neighbors dog is barking too much.

I worry that I would do something irrational and harm someone in the midst of an extreme anxiety attack so there is no temptation in the house for that. People need to be more responsible with themselves and with their reactions to others. Kids included.

I don't know why there is such an enormous level of hate in this country anymore but it scares me to go to Walmart because people have been attacked there for various reasons. One lady got slashed in the face with a knife by a homeless guy. A crazy man got dropped off at a gas station in town and the guy they dumped there attacked the store manager and customers with a huge stick or something.

People are not the same anymore.
 
These aren't just 'pranks' in this day and age they could very easily be viewed as a threat.

I would be leary of anyone, knocks, rings at my door after dark let alone late on a Saturday evening. I used live on a busy street between bus stops and on more than one occassion I got the "I just need a few bucks to get home'-NO.

I've had solicitors if not posers that would not leave on early summer evenings until they gave their used car lot high pressure sales speech.. One said his organization was for under privileged kids and then told me it would help people like him being an ex gang member from a big city-NO. Not interested , maybe later, need more info etc.

Also when you have other 'challenges' or trends like the door knock AND KICK challenge also being done in the dark of night ANYONE not expected will be viewed as a potential threat and intruder.

Police warns teens about the TikTok door knock challenge

Shooting a fleeing perp if true is another issue. Was it 'a' door bell ring or accompanied by something else.

An 11 year old is out late on a Saturday night because
 
Fritz said:
Exactly. And people with anxiety issues often can be affected by certain things more than others. For me loud sounds really bother me which is why I don't have a gun in the house. I don't trust myself to remain of sound mind when the neighbors music is thumping through my house for 3 or 4 hrs or the other neighbors dog is barking too much.

I worry that I would do something irrational and harm someone in the midst of an extreme anxiety attack so there is no temptation in the house for that. People need to be more responsible with themselves and with their reactions to others. Kids included.

I don't know why there is such an enormous level of hate in this country anymore but it scares me to go to Walmart because people have been attacked there for various reasons. One lady got slashed in the face with a knife by a homeless guy. A crazy man got dropped off at a gas station in town and the guy they dumped there attacked the store manager and customers with a huge stick or something.

People are not the same anymore.
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Things in this country are getting increasingly worse, many angry violent people ready to snap. I can guess why, but can't discuss it on this forum. Much respect for you to be so caring and responsible personally. Hoping you stay safe, we should be able to shop wherever we choose without fear. Perhaps things will get better, let's hope. Hugs.
 
SeaBreeze said:
All good points, well said. Plus, if someone is in their home and has mobility issues and their doorbell rings, they may struggle to make it to the door for nothing but a prank.

If a new mother has a sickly infant who just fell asleep, and is awakened by the doorbell that was just rung to piss people off, it is a problem.

If someone is awaiting a call from their doctor regarding blood test results for a serious illness, and the bell rings just as a joke, it's very inconsiderate and upsetting.

Kids can play tricks on each other at the playground or in the street. They should not be affecting people's personal lives in their homes. If they find annoying adults and causing them grief to be amusing, they need to seek counseling, or their parents do.
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Totally - but nobody is suggesting prank ringing doorbells is Ok

Just that the response of shooting a child running away from doing so is hugely disproportionate response.

If the guy had yelled at them or reported it to the police or been ready and sprayed them with water or anything - or even shot the gun into the air to scare them - that would be reasonable response.
 
January said:
Totally - but nobody is suggesting prank ringing doorbells is Ok

Just that the response of shooting a child running away from doing so is hugely disproportionate response.

If the guy had yelled at them or reported it to the police or been ready and sprayed them with water or anything - or even shot the gun into the air to scare them - that would be reasonable response.
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But the thing is, these people are not reasonable and can't be expected to behave like a reasonable person. I'm not saying it's ok for them to pull pranks just that they need to keep in mind the dangers of what their doing in today's world.
 
LoveTulips said:
Too much harassment by young people today. I'd fire a gun if this was happening repeatedly. The parents should have taught their son better, and as noted, who lets their eleven year old out after 11:00 pm? The parents should have been shot instead. In other news, there have been incidents of youngsters kicking front doors repeatedly, scaring and stressing families to no end. " News outlets report a dangerous social media trend known as the "Door Kick Challenge" where young people repeatedly kick strangers' doors and then flee the scene, often while recording it for online platforms like TikTok. Police departments across the country have issued warnings to homeowners and parents about the trend, as it is occurring in multiple locations and has the potential for serious injury or tragic consequences, notes NBC "
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Somehow we managed to go through 100+ years of ding dong ditch without shooting people.
 
Fritz said:
But the thing is, these people are not reasonable and can't be expected to behave like a reasonable person. I'm not saying it's ok for them to pull pranks just that they need to keep in mind the dangers of what their doing in today's world.
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Unfortunately, kids don't (and can't) yet have the long view. That's why societies have greater tolerance for "childish acts," including in the legal systems. The amygdala, which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control, doesn't fully mature until we reach about age 25.

Heck, the child who was killed was still two years off from being a teenager, never mind in his twenties. His murderer was 42.

How many times were we asked as children (or asked our children), "Why did you do that?" or "What were you thinking?" only to get the shrug and very honest answers, "I don't know why I did it." or "I wasn't thinking."

If a child can get shot for playing ding-dong-ditch, what should be the consequence for the almighty sins of cutting across a neighbor's lawn, playing in the street, being noisy, splashing in public pools, and so forth?

How extraordinarily intolerant we've become.
 
January said:
or even shot the gun into the air to scare them - that would be reasonable response.
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That would be a very unreasonable, dangerous act. That bullet has to go somewhere, it will fall to earth somewhere. Who may be at that spot? A person who is trained in shooting knows NOT to do that!
 
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