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

[zenkai]

Source

A Texas homeowner who reportedly believed his house was being fired upon, fatally shot a 19-year-old man who was part of the group creating the "disturbance" in the Houston neighborhood — but police later found paintball splatter at the scene and are reportedly now unsure if anyone besides the homeowner had an actual firearm.

Houston Police Department Sgt. Joshua Horn said the residents inside the Houston home "were alerted to some sort of disturbance" — involving more than a dozen people — and at some point "believed" members of the group started shooting.

“They believed that they were — that their house was being shot at," Horn told KHOU. "The homeowner, the father, came outside to the disturbance, approached a suspect who was standing out here. Believed that he was a threat, fearing for his safety, fired a round at him."

The father also reportedly fired rounds at the vehicle that belonged to the 19-year-old, who was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Horn said the homeowner's 17-year-old son might've been the group's target.

Bullet casings — along with paintball splatter — were found outside the home, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone in the group outside of the house was also armed with real guns.

Neither the homeowner or the 19-year-old man were immediately identified. Authorities are investigating the incident.

I am betting he will get charged based on the limited info.

[Saucexorzski]

i bet no one fucks with the kid, whos dad will kill you, at school again...

[Misuteri]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I wouldn’t take any chances with people shooting at my house.

[Acelius]

Imagine living in a country where you have to fear that everyone around you is armed, and people shoot first and ask later, lol.

[zenkai]

Imagine living in a country where you have to fear that everyone around you is armed, and people shoot first and ask later, lol.

I don't get involved in criminal activity so I don't fear anything.

[Monster Hunter]

Imagine living in a country where you have to fear that everyone around you is armed, and people shoot first and ask later, lol.

Imagine being so fucking stupid that in such a country you shoot paint balls at a house.

[Acelius]

I don't get involved in criminal activity so I don't fear anything.

Plenty of innocent people bite the bullet daily in the US

[Flurryfang]

I never really get the entire "shoot to kill" mentality, that seems to be in the US. Unless you have a reason for somebody to shoot at you or your house, i would more use my weapen to scare them away. Going out with the intent to actually kill somebody dead in a family neighborhood, is insane in my mind.

But if things goes as always, the father will proberly not found guilty of anything because he thought they had real weapons and that he was in danger of being killed.

[minteK917]

Imagine living in a country where you have to fear that everyone around you is armed, and people shoot first and ask later, lol.

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.

[Flurryfang]

I don't get involved in criminal activity so I don't fear anything.

Imagine being a kid, running around in an abandoned house playing cops and robbers with your friends. You go out in the back door garden, somebody shouts something and in the next moment you are shot.

It sounds like it requires very little to shot nowadays. Better stay inside all day and make sure, you are not even breaking the speed limit or gets suspected of having a firearm somewhere on you.

[LiiLoSNK]

He came with dye, he left with die.

[Segus1992]

I don't get involved in criminal activity so I don't fear anything.

Imagine being naive enough to think only criminals get shot in fucking America of all places.

[minteK917]

Imagine being a kid, running around in an abandoned house playing cops and robbers with your friends. You go out in the back door garden, somebody shouts something and in the next moment you are shot.

It sounds like it requires very little to shot nowadays. Better stay inside all day and make sure, you are not even breaking the speed limit or gets suspected of having a firearm somewhere on you.

Imagine breaking windows of a neighbours with a ball like when i was a youth. Instead of the old guy calling your parents, the old man fucking kills you, only natural, you broke his window bro. The ball could have been a grenade, how is he to know his life is not in danger.

[Nurasu]

I am betting he will get charged based on the limited info.

I doubt it. Sounds like the kids were pretty stupid to me, plus it's Texas.

[ChampionChains]

Never seen a paintball gun that remotely looked or sounded like an actual gun. Even the ones that are roughly modeled after real guns have massive ball hoppers and CO2 canisters. Any gun owner should know the difference.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Ah yeah you can’t do any of that. The home owner is an idiot who went way over the line. The kid was an idiot also. But yeah the man should be charged based on the information so far.

[Endus]

This was minor vandalism, by the kid. At best. Maybe not even that, if the paint's water-soluble and they didn't break anything.

Responding to that with lethal fucking force is just . . . fuck.

Guy needs to be in prison for 2nd degree murder.

[Reaper0329]

I doubt he'll be convicted.

The Texas Penal Code seems to support the contention that provided he had a reasonable belief that his life or the life of his family was in danger, he could employ deadly force without any duty to retreat. Given it doesn't exactly sound like he falls into the presumption of reasonableness in subsection b, from what I can see, the attorneys (if it gets to trial) will be arguing over things like the youth's behavior, how similar the paintball gun looked to a real gun, and the nature of the confrontation once the homeowner came outside. I'd like more details, but my wager is that he'll walk.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I wouldn’t take any chances with people shooting at my house.

^ This, more or less.

[Saucexorzski]

Ah yeah you can’t do any of that. The home owner is an idiot who went way over the line. The kid was an idiot also. But yeah the man should be charged based on the information so far.

Naw, he will get fuck in the civil suit for sure...but i doubt they will even get manslaughter on him...depends on how wealthy the family of the kid who was killed is i suppose...

[OGClennisell]

The law in the South is funny...if the homeowner can show that he was in fear of life, injury or sexual assault he is allowed to defend himself. If he believed that people were shooting at his house that might qualify. People in Texas don't look kindly at people shooting at their homes. I say at least 50% chance he walks. Worst case some sort of manslaughter and he does 1-3 years.