14-year-old Phoenix boy shoots armed intruder while babysitting siblings

[mypally]

Since everyone knows where this is headed, ill leave this right here

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/18/506...-provides.html

[Elegiac]

Politicians want to bann assault weapons with large clips to prevent school shootings -> someone used a handgun with small clip to shoot an intruder in his own home -> oh hey we shouldn't ban assault weapons after all.

It demonstrates that good education is the answer, not blanket bans.

But hey, idiots want to feel safe.

[Vanamman]

I was being sarcastic. The parents were being irresponsible, but it does demonstrate how guns can even the playing field between aggressor and victim when used correctly

100% correct. The child obviously knew how to use it too. Not sure how ethical it is to teach a 14 year old how to use a gun, but that is a topic for a different thread.

Mhm or one of the kids could have fired it by mistake and accidentally killed a sibling... And really, who leaves a 14 year old kid to babysit... Isn't there laws against that?

Babysitters are between 14-16 very often. No laws that I know of cover any type of appropriate age. See above for answer to first part.

[Deleted]

"A burglar breaks into a house wielding a gun."

Of course, that's perfectly acceptable, since he sure got his, right?

[Kellerx12]

The kids parent is going to get sued by the intruder. Its ridiculous but it happens. If someone ever breaks into your house, you shoot to kill.

[Elegiac]

The kids parent is going to get sued by the intruder. Its ridiculous but it happens. If someone ever breaks into your house, you shoot to kill.

Nope. Arizona is a Stand Your Ground state.

[Roxinius]

Glad to see some parents like mine taught me how to use a gun when i was younger probably saved the kids lives he was babysitting

[expectwar]

one week guns are killing us next week they're saving us

[Ragnarocket]

I say props to the 14 year old. It's a good demonstration of why super-strict gun regulation is unnecessary and potentially harmful. I have no issue with possibly banning some assault weapons (I agree, who exactly needs those?) but a strict no guns at all law is not the answer. Moderation and education are the keys here I think.

To those saying 14 is young...not really. I was taught how to operate a handgun and a rifle by that age by my father just in case someone were to ever break into our house when they were gone. About that age I was told the code to the small safe that held our handgun. It's up to the parents to teach their kids, and that's what it looks like happened in this case. It's possible that the kid was informed of the location of this stuff as he was the oldest sibling.

[Xanjori]

Dont people have real front doors? Shit if you'd tried to break down our frontdoor where we grew up you'd break a few bones.

[Lazuli]

Exactly what I was about to ask.

Doesn't sounds like responsible gun ownership to me...

It's not at all, but the kid did exactly what he should have.

It may be different if the dad actually taught him how to use the weapon in case of an emergency.

I learned to shoot at a young age and I'm not a psycho killer and had access to my dads weapons so...

It's a very touchy subject.

[Xanjori]

It's not at all, but the kid did exactly what he should have.

Maybe, but there should be better methods. The story of the kid that shot his mum and sister while his dad was away comes to mind.

[Catta]

Since everyone knows where this is headed, ill leave this right here

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/18/506...-provides.html

Need to provide a reason for owning the weapon.

How about: "This is Australia - everything is trying to kill me"

[Dunstinator]

This fourteen year old should be considered a hero, as well as his parrents.

A fourteen year old child, brave and intelligent enough to correctly operate a handgun in a high stress situation most definitely saved his property, but quite possibly saved his siblings and his own life.

Think if this was a world, to where guns were banned. The armed robber would still have a gun, be it smuggled into his possession or whether he owned it, but hid it from the feds. If this child didnt have the availability of a firearm, who knows what could have happened. There could have been four more murdered children on the news.

To all the idiots out there saying all guns should be banned, take a moment to think about this situation...
If you were in your home, and someone started to break in, wouldn't you want to be armed? If you don't have a weapon, what are you going to do? Ask the robber to politely leave? Good luck.

[Zyzzyx]

As has been said, having this easy access to a gun at 14 is pretty irresponsible. Even if he knows every single thing about the gun, he's still 14. People say "oh I did it, it's not too young" might have been right for them, but at 14 your decision making skills *suck*. They suck. Just because everyone on the forum is a prodigy doesn't mean that it isn't true. This situation may have worked out great for everyone, but what about the next time, when it wasn't an armed intruder? What if he hears someone slinking into the house, doesn't say a word, and realizes it was a sibling coming home and being quiet, after he shoots him/her? It could easily happen, especially if the kid had just heard stories about people breaking into houses. He's scared, and he's 14. He isn't going to react in a favorable manner.

Good on him for possibly saving the family, but this isn't exactly a win for either side.

[Deleted]

Yes it is too young, the majority of 14 year olds definitely should not be anywhere near guns; the law needs to be made taking everyone into account. Just because child X is mature for his age and has good parents doesn't mean Child Y will.

14 years old are absolutely old enough to use firearms under supervision. Taking a 14 year old to a shooting range or hunting sounds like fun.

[Xanjori]

If you were in your home, and someone started to break in, wouldn't you want to be armed? If you don't have a weapon, what are you going to do? Ask the robber to politely leave? Good luck.

No, where I lived we took proper precautions. Like for example my frontdoor was literally impossible to break through, the woman next door who did get robbed one night and scared for the welfare of her and her two daughters had a gate across the bottom of the stairs that was locked when they went to bed. If your shit gets rob so fucking what, you've got insurance and if you've taken proper precautions like my neighbour then no robber could threaten her or her daughter, regardless of if he had a gun or not.

[Spl4sh3r]

Not sure why this thread even exists? So someone shot at an intruder to defend themselves? Their age in my opinion doesn't matter at all. So can someone tell me why OP had to make a post about this? :P

[Elegiac]

Not sure why this thread even exists? So someone shot at an intruder to defend themselves? Their age in my opinion doesn't matter at all. So can someone tell me why OP had to make a post about this? :P

It exists in counterpoint to all the "guns are bad" crying going on elsewhere in the forums. Guns serve useful purposes when regulated and used responsibly.

[Dunstinator]

No, where I lived we took proper precautions. Like for example my frontdoor was literally impossible to break through, the woman next door who did get robbed one night and scared for the welfare of her and her two daughters had a gate across the bottom of the stairs that was locked when they went to bed. If your shit gets rob so fucking what, you've got insurance and if you've taken proper precautions like my neighbour then no robber could threaten her or her daughter, regardless of if he had a gun or not.

Do you have autism? You basically just wrote that you welcome intruders into your home, because they can't get you, nana nana boo boo.... In the case that the intruder was invading the home FOR THE REASON of murder. He would have found a way through the gate.

its people like you that make me embarrassed to be a part of the human race. You were probably a kid that tattled to the teacher every time you saw someone doing something mischievous...