‘Ding Dong Ditch’ Death

I don't think any post has questioned.

Is answering a wrung door bell with a gun in hand or within reach to be able to open the door & shoot at a running target reasonable? To me this sounds premeditated.
 

StarSong said:
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.
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We didn't do that when we were kids. We were taught it was disrespectful behavior. The only time we ever rang a door bell and ran was with school mates on May Day. So maybe the parents need to be a little more vigilant with the children. I'm not saying what the shooter did was ok, I'm just saying people are no longer the same. Why? I don't know. I think it started to get bad with the lockdowns and it's just been nose diving ever since.
 
Does this face look familiar at all?
images


This is John L Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers while I was growing up. His brother, who looked just like him, lived in between our house and our best friend's house. We all had about five acres so going down to the highway, then over and back-up his long drive, would have been a trip. It was much easier to cut across Mr. Lewis's lawn.

He yelled at us a few times and then one day stood on his front porch holding his rifle. We ran home terrified, told out mother, who then lectured us never to do it again. Then she called Mr. Lewis. I felt sorry for him.
 

Knight said:
I don't think any post has questioned.

Is answering a wrung door bell with a gun in hand or within reach to be able to open the door & shoot at a running target reasonable? To me this sounds premeditated.
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Well, some posters seemed to be saying so - in case the caller was an armed criminal ringing to gain access to your house to murder your family :oops: - But even if one were to open doors with gun in hand and if so presumably be able to shoot accurately with it, one wouldn't do so at a child fleeing from the scene.

Later info does confirm premeditation on shooters part though.
 
I wouldn’t want to make a bet on the outcome. Depending on the defense and the results of the Ding, Dong, Ditch from the youth, the jury may surprise everyone. On the other hand, the shooter may accept a deal from the Prosecutor. Maybe the news report didn’t report the full story.

There seems to be a lot of that going on these days.
 
Fritz said:
We didn't do that when we were kids. We were taught it was disrespectful behavior. The only time we ever rang a door bell and ran was with school mates on May Day. So maybe the parents need to be a little more vigilant with the children. I'm not saying what the shooter did was ok, I'm just saying people are no longer the same. Why? I don't know. I think it started to get bad with the lockdowns and it's just been nose diving ever since.
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I was a less than perfect child who — despite being taught to do be a good little girl — was occasionally guilty of the following heinous crimes: getting into mischief, sassing adults, not sharing my toys, not doing all my homework, glancing at a classmate's paper when I didn't know an answer, talking out of turn, shoplifting once or twice, ringing a doorbell or two and running away, and so forth.

Nobody shot me or suggested I was the product of poor parenting. Indeed, the prevailing attitudes were, "Kids will be kids" and "They'll outgrow this"

My father would recount tales of snagging apples from fruit vendors' displays back in the 1920s, and running away. The vendors would give chase, but kids were faster and vendors didn't want to leave their wares unattended for too long, so the kids got away.

Adults who closely supervise their children at all times are derisively known as overly vigilant helicopter parents. Many threads in this forum have bemoaned the relative lack of freedom today's youngsters have. We SFers wax poetic about the amount of unsupervised time we all had.

This child paid with his life for a minor act of harmless mischief.
 
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@StarSong while all that is true to an extent, none of us were harrassing people intentionally and filming it. Things are just different now. I'm not saying the child had to pay with their life. I'm simply saying times are very different and very violent now. That's all the more I have to say on the matter.
 
againstthegrain said:
Fear leads to anxiety resulting in a needless gun purchase, typically a pistol, and then a desire to brandish their new found immense power the way those uninitiated in firearms do.

Fear leads one to equate a random door bell ring to a home invasion.
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Must be terrible to live in the kind of fear that would lead someone to answer a doorbell ring with a gun in their hand. If not in their hand close enough to pick it up in time to shoot someone leaving their doorstep.
 
Fritz said:
@StarSong while all that is true to an extent, none of us were harrassing people intentionally and filming it. Things are just different now. I'm not saying the child had to pay with their life. I'm simply saying times are very different and very violent now. That's all the more I have to say on the matter.
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Well I didnt- I was a goody two shoes who probably annoyed others with pedantic rule following - but, minus the filming bit because everybody didnt have a phone or camera to hand, - plenty of michievious kids did do minor harrassment of others - like ringing door bells and running away.

it isnt a new thing about today's world.
 
GoodEnuff said:
One article I have read in regards to this...it happened at 11:30 p.m. I wonder what parent would allow an 11 year old boy out that late. Am I so far behind the times?
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That's what I was wondering too. Not that it excuses the trigger happy idiot, who I'm glad is being charged with murder. The child ran away for goodness sake. If the man wanted to make a point and scare him, he could have shot in the air. Gunshot would have still been heard and maybe that would've been enough to deter any further mischief. I hope he spends the rest of his miserable life in prison where he'll have plenty of time to consider the better choices he should have made.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
That's what I was wondering too. Not that it excuses the trigger happy idiot, who I'm glad is being charged with murder. The child ran away for goodness sake. If the man wanted to make a point and scare him, he could have shot in the air. Gunshot would have still been heard and maybe that would've been enough to deter any further mischief. I hope he spends the rest of his miserable life in prison where he'll have plenty of time to consider the better choices he should have made.
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It sounds like there was a family gathering that went late into the evening, as weekend gatherings are wont to do. The cousins wandered off and got into mischief. That's my take on it.
 

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