Homeowner fatally shoots teen who was part of group shooting paintball guns at home

[Logwyn]

On a humid day, I bet a high psi paintball gun and a low caliber gun sound pretty close.

No no they don't.

[kail]

So you're comparing the loudest (legal) gun to a paintball gun?

No, the quietest actually. What would be the quietest legal firearm?

And the loudness of a paintball gun depends on the barrel and the gas it uses. If you clapped as loud as some of my guns your hands would break.

What paintball guns do you own? Nothing I've heard from 5+ years of arena visits has ever sounded loud whatsoever. The impact is always louder but if you ever shot in the open distance, not much. If there is a paintball rifle designed to be deafening loud, I question the purpose of that.

How many people have heard the sound in person of a paintball hitting a house?
How many people have heard the sound in person of a bullet hitting a house?
/snip

I ultimately agree that the small details will matter; like the look of the paintball gun, some of them can very well resemble actual firearms. But here is where I'm confused:

The homeowner, the father, came outside to the disturbance, approached a suspect who was standing out here.

Did he approach them in person? Why if he thought his house was getting shot at?

[stross01]

No no they don't.

They do. A low-powder round isn't even as loud as a cap gun.

[Vargulf the Happy Husky]

You can when you understand that paintball guns don't look or sound like actual guns. Any "responsible gun owner" should be able to tell the difference.

sure, in the middle of the day, with sunlight shining directly on the paintball gun. my guess is that this happened at night time though, and i'm on the side of shoot first ask questions later at that point. especially if i have a family inside and especially after i already feel threatened. i've handled both real and paint guns. some paintball guns have an all black appearance.



Looks like a paintball gun huh? /s (btw all i did to find that was search "paintball guns" and it was one of the first 5 images.)

now, when he starts taking shots at the car as its fleeing that i believe is called reckless endangerment, and he should probably be punished for that.

[cuafpr]

well from what i've read no charges should be filed and likely needs to keep a sharp eye out in case the mob comes back ... hopefully those kids get charged.

[Kumorii]

Love it how people think being shot at somehow gives you enough time to rationalize and think things through before the instincts to defend the ones you love kicks in.

You don't really have time to think and argue "is this the sound of a real bullet or not?". Just maybe don't give people a reason to be scared for their life. Remember that US and Texas especially is a gun loving place... Which makes it even worse.

Compared to if someone were shooting here I think most would just be confused what the sound was rather than "Im being shot at".

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

sure, in the middle of the day, with sunlight shining directly on the paintball gun. my guess is that this happened at night time though, and i'm on the side of shoot first ask questions later at that point. especially if i have a family inside and especially after i already feel threatened. i've handled both real and paint guns. some paintball guns have an all black appearance.



Looks like a paintball gun huh? /s (btw all i did to find that was search "paintball guns" and it was one of the first 5 images.)

now, when he starts taking shots at the car as its fleeing that i believe is called reckless endangerment, and he should probably be punished for that.

Yeah, someone else linked that very same image...also ignoring that the majority of the other images looked like typical paintball guns (large hopper on top, CO2 cannister off the back). Also trying to insinuate that these were the typical model for a paintball gun...despite the fact that the majority of paintballers don't even own a paintball sidearm. They're typically considered a "backup weapon" and most tournaments have a "one marker per person" rule. Certainly, if it was my plan to shoot up a house...I'd probably be more inclined to take a marker with a higher paintball capacity.

[Vargulf the Happy Husky]

Yeah, someone else linked that very same image...also ignoring that all the ones before it looked like paintball guns (large hopper on top, CO2 cannister off the back. Also trying to insinuate that these were the typical model for a paintball gun...despite the fact that the majority of paintballers don't even own a paintball sidearm.

dude have you seen some of these things? these paintball guns have gotten ridiculously realistic since my day. some of them look like AR's and AK's. i dont even see where you could put the hopper and Co2 tank. i won't post all the pictures because THERE ARE SO MANY but you can look if you want.

i get it man, you don't like guns. this isn't your country, though. you just get an opinion because internet.

btw i don't own a gun and never plan to, but i believe in the right to own one should someone choose to.

[Kuja]

Another life would have been spared if guns were illegal there.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Not going to read 11 pages, but just curious if we know already: Was the 19 year old as much of an asshole that brought it upon himself as the article in the OP suggested?

I might be inclined to have more compassion here if the guy was 14 or something, if you are an adult and you play stupid games, well yeah, you win stupid prices. If the hazing angle turns out to be true my pity for the guy will be gone entirely. Either way seems to be a massive parenting failure, I would never even have come up with such a stupid idea in my life.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

dude have you seen some of these things? these paintball guns have gotten ridiculously realistic since my day. some of them look like AR's and AK's. i dont even see where you could put the hopper and Co2 tank. i won't post all the pictures because THERE ARE SO MANY but you can look if you want.

i get it man, you don't like guns. this isn't your country, though. you just get an opinion because internet.

btw i don't own a gun and never plan to, but i believe in the right to own one should someone choose to.

Yes, I have seen them...and some do look quite realistic...without the Hopper and CO2 tank. But since the gun is useless with those things...we can safely assume they were present. They also don't sound like real guns when they are fired or when the paintball impacts with a solid surface. I expect a gun owner knows what a gun sounds like.

I haven't said anything about being anti-gun. People get this idea that Canadians are anti-gun. We're not...we have lots of guns in Canada. I don't support taking guns away from any Canadian and I wouldn't vote for a political candidate that did.

What I am against is irresponsible gun owners killing kids.

[Flurryfang]

That's because you've never had a gun pointed at you...

You have a right to an opinion but its as light as a feather.

- - - Updated - - -



So what your saying is that you would walk out into an unknown situation and be like "hey stop firing that gun at my house!"? Not knowing exactly what is hitting your house but you see weapons pointed at you. Those critical seconds if you have them determine if you live or die. Being an internet person weighing in...you don't have that on ground feeling to give a 100% answer. Hence why your opinion is just that...an opinion. If those kids were there to target the son and possibly "Kick his ass" or whatever then that's still grounds for self-defense. The father was protecting his son from possible life threatening injuries that could incur from a fist fight. Yes that can happen. So, what to take away from this? Don't screw with people when you don't know what their capable of.

Indeed i have never had a gun pointed at me, but i have been tried to be stabbed and have been threatend with a knife several times when i have worked as a bouncer. In none of those situation have i wished i had a gun and i never wanted to kill the guy with the knife. If i had a gun, i would have showed it and told him to fuck off, which he proberly would have done.

Its also beside the point. What i think the problem is, is that some guy, in his own house, in his own neighborhood, thought he was in danger of being killed...Like, what kind of life do you have where you believe people are actually trying to kill you or your family in your own home?? Even to the point of when you get outside and see a kid with a gun-looking thing in his hand, you shoot for lethal intent? O.o

- - - Updated - - -

Shooting to scare has a higher possibility of getting you killed than shoot to kill.

If you are shooting to scare, where exactly are you pointing the weapon when you squeeze off a round? Do you know for certain the projectile isn't going to hit another innocence?

Shooting to scare have a higher possiblity of getting you killed, if people are actually trying to kill you. If you are not 100% sure, that they are trying to kill you, you should atleast shoot into the air once or twice to see if they are gonna run away.

The entire idea, that you are meet with a "kill or be killed" situation often enough, that you have to think about if shooting to scare will increase your chance of winning a gun-fight, is just insane. If you live in a place, where that is mind state is needed, you should proberly move.

[zenkai]

How many people have heard the sound in person of a paintball hitting a house?
How many people have heard the sound in person of a bullet hitting a house?

In person, not a tv show or movie. Likely in the single digits of percentage. The average person will not have heard these sounds and thus you can't argue "he should have known".

Things released so far in the news:
- 12-15 people were ON his property, firing at his house. Not on the street, not randomly hitting houses. Specifically his house, and from his front lawn.
- Occurred around 11:30 pm, so it was dark
- Some of the people were there specifically to fight his son.
- There were multiple casings found at the scene, and the police haven't identified who they came from yet.

Aside from that the important questions are still unknown:
- What did the paintball guns look / sound like?
- Was the son aware that the people outside wanted to fight him, and did he tell his father as such?
- What, if anything, was spoken between the father and the people outside when he came outside?
- What actions, if any, were taken by the people outside once the father came outside?

This could go either way as more details come out.

Maybe the father just went out and shot a guy holding a clear paintball gun.

Maybe the group on the lawn texted the son and told him they were here to kick is ass, and when the father came out one of them took a shot at him. You then have threat of violence against your family, violence by a mob directed at him and they're on his property. Pretty sure that will clear grounds for self defense.

You are indeed likely not to get killed by a paintball. However, there are also reasons why everyone in a paintball match wear masks, specifically eye protection. There are also reasons why they tell you not to pick up any paintballs off the ground and put them in your gun.

The group were idiots. No one deserved to die from it, but sometimes when you do stupid things people die.

I wish I could upvote post

[Flarelaine]

Time and again I am astounded how natural it is for Americans to casually, callously, take a life.

[Crillam]

Time and again I am astounded how natural it is for Americans to casually, callously, take a life.

To kill someone that is 19 years old seems to be more okay then "killing" an unborn child... In some states. Pretty fucked up but that's Murica for you.

[Ghostpanther]

It's not. I've gone paintballing through all of highschool and an entire arena of simultaneous paintball shots pale in comparison to any firearm shot. If a person can't tell then they have never heard a gun shot, which I question what sort of training a legal gun owner went through.

Maybe none. That was my point about the homeowner. I have never shot or used paintball guns. But other people on here who have, they said they can be loud as a small caliber firearm. Now, who am I to believe. You or them? And why you?

- - - Updated - - -

I wish I could upvote post

It was a excellent one. The best post in this thread.

[Acelius]

dont attack somebodies house/property then?

Would you kill a man for painting your fence without your permission?

[Krastyn]

I ultimately agree that the small details will matter; like the look of the paintball gun, some of them can very well resemble actual firearms. But here is where I'm confused:

Did he approach them in person? Why if he thought his house was getting shot at?

This goes back to the complete lack of detailed information on what happened.

Did he walk out with a rifle in his hand, approach the group, exchange words, and then fire?
Did he walk out the door and immediately open fire?
Or was it somewhere in between?

So many key aspects of the encounter are missing.

[Flurryfang]

This goes back to the complete lack of detailed information on what happened.

Did he walk out with a rifle in his hand, approach the group, exchange words, and then fire?
Did he walk out the door and immediately open fire?
Or was it somewhere in between?

So many key aspects of the encounter are missing.

Indeed. We can really only skim at the situation and its outcome.

[Lenarific]

Yeah its an hillarious country to watch. Here the old guy walks out and yell git off my lawn you little twirp. In the US their gun boner is so big, guy walks out, start shooting at someones car lmao. Country full of no fucking balls, even an eldery woman in other first world countries go outside without a gun to tell people to piss off.

Come to america Keyboard warrior and run that sweet mouth here and you will find out about no balls.. I bet you have nvr left your 3rd world shithole anyhow....