Texas Police Shoot 8th Grader Holding Pellet Gun

[wfooshee]

Oh I'm fully supporting the police on this one, the kid pointed what was assumed to be a weapon at the police, and the only course of action was bullets to centre mass.

The other guy had bolded that the kid was 15 years old and in grade 8, bringing to light that he probably wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and likely failed a grade or two, because my 13 year old brother is also in 8th grade.

See post 47, where I stated my misunderstanding of your post. Sorry I misread it. (I had a mindset of "Where's this guy coming from?" and obviously I had no clue.

 

[Nicksfix]

In my opinion, the police acted accordingly. 1st off (as others have previously mentioned), why in the hell did the kid even bring the piece to school ? Real or not, pellet gun or Glock, it does not matter, the kid 🤬 up ..... bottom line. Don't bring the gun to school and you get to go home to Mom and Dad.As it is, now Mom and Dad get to bury a son because of his stupidity. Smart, real smart.

2nd off, from the police standpoint. In the heat of the moment, as it was, there is / was no time to think about where to shoot the said victim. You are trained to shoot mass - from the shoulders down to the waist, basically as others have called out ... shoot to kill. There is no time time to attempt to aim for an arm or leg, you are working off of your training.The Police gave him several warnings, (which by some state laws, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO DO). In the heat of the moment, you are trained to act upon instinct, kill or be killed. The victim did not heed a single one of them, his bad. The kid waives / aims a gun towards a possible victim (police), game over, sorry pal.

I feel sorry for this kids family that they have to live through such an alarming incident. It is a sad story indeed, but it also is harsh reality.

 

[Sam48]

Edit out

 

[Prosthetic]

Wow... I'm shocked at how people here think that the police should be meat shields.

OMG THE POLICE KILLED SOMEONE BAN HIM FROM THE SERVER!11!!!!

 

[Northstar]

Information about ongoing investigations (generally) cannot be revealed to the press. This is going to be an ongoing investigation for quite some time.

Plus the case is dealing with a minor, so info will be scarce outside what's already been released.

I think one thing people need to keep in mind as well is that a pellet gun IS NOT A TOY!!! They are often used to "hunt" small animals, if they can kill a large rodent, they can do some serious damage to a human. Not to mention they do look a lot like a normal gun.

Also, a bullet proof vest doesn't protect your head.

Edit: And while it may have been possible to shoot for the gun, what if the bullet missed and struck another student?

 

[RTSolvalou]

Good job by police. I would've clapped.
This kid would've gone on to spread bad genes later in life.

 

[BobK]

The kid was shot in a hallway. When they got reports that a kid has brought a gun to school, the police probably deployed at opposite ends of the corridor to stop the kid from running off and potentially harming someone else. When he pointed the toy gun at police, they opened fire. They'd be unlikely to shoot one another since they would have brought riot shields - a school hallway is very open and exposed. They could not confront the kid without some kind of cover in case the gun was real and he started shooting.

I find that scenario to be unlikely in the extreme. You're saying, in essence, the police were at opposite ends of a corridor with the kid towards the center so the cops were firing in each others' direction.

Furthermore, riot shields are reasonably effective against thrown objects such as rocks, not very effective against bullets.

 

[marchi]

I disagree with that, he's a 15 year old kid not a trained soldier, you shoot him in the arm/shoulder and hes gonna drop, along with dropping that gun. They also didn't need to shoot him 3 times.

Pop culture has alot to answer for society's rationalisation.

When they pull that trigger, they shoot to kill. It's why it is referred to as use of deadly force. If you're aiming for a limb, then there is no need to use the weapon in the first place.

They also shoot several times in case the bullet evades the suspect. You're not going to shoot once and say, well **** I missed, might as well give up.


And you know what most of all? The police officer that killed him will probably never work again, the other officers and kids that witnessed it will be in councelling for a long time, and his parents have to deal with a dead child. If he puts the gun down, he probably gets a big slap on the wrist and everybody gets on with their lives. Idiotic and selfish. Yet people are so quick to blame the police.

 

[Dennisch]

As long as you're asking for the death someone doing their job, I can confidentially tell you to shut up.

You're forbidden from bringing anything that even looks like a gun to school, so brandishing it inside a school is just a dumb-ass move.

This is why you don't troll, kids.

?

I meant to say was that the shooting by the cops was justified. Not the way the kid commited suicide.

Or am I misreading your post?

 

[Pupik]

?

I meant to say was that the shooting by the cops was justified. Not the way the kid commited suicide.

Or am I misreading your post?

Probably both...I figured you were asking for the cop's head, so kindly ignore my previous statement.

I wasn't implying you're being a troll, just that any kid who figures they can do what they want, is likely to pay the price of sudden responsibility.

 

[Dennisch]

Probably both...I figured you were asking for the cop's head, so kindly ignore my previous statement.

I wasn't implying you're being a troll, just any kid who figures they can do what they want.

Ow hahaha and I am 29, but yeah, also still a kid.

 

[Tornado]

Edit: And while it may have been possible to shoot for the gun, what if the bullet missed and struck another student?

And, if they miss at what might as well be a trick shot, what is to stop the kid from using the gun you just tried to shoot out of his hand?

 

[a6m5]

I echo many comments on here, but couple or so posters on here are just expecting the unrealistic from the Police, and seems to be ignorant about firearms, or bullet resistant(not 'proof') materials.

The kid was too young, but old enough to know better. While I'm not a fan of the Police, I do have respect for the officers, and their responsibilities. I highly doubt that these guys wanted to shoot & kill a child. It jeopardizes their life, career, even if they were in the right. Possibly affect their mental health. They also know that people & groups come down on you, even in case of shooting some lowlife threatening your life, and these officers had to shoot a child.

I wish the kid had enough common sense to drop the gun, just at the sight of police, even before he was told to.

 

[niky]

They also shoot several times in case the bullet evades the suspect. You're not going to shoot once and say, well **** I missed, might as well give up.

Also note that one bullet came from behind, so of those three shots, it's probable that no single officer fired more than two... though the news reports don't contain a detailed blow-by-blow.

 

[CSLACR]

Just imagine being the guy trying to sleep, knowing you shot a 15 year old kid holding a pellet gun today.
You do what you have to, you can't wait until they kill someone.

It is a shame they didn't kneecap him, but they probably didn't have a chance. You have to figure he made a sudden movement like he was going to shoot, pretty hard to line up a small target on a millisecond notice.

 

[jtv90069]

Also note that one bullet came from behind, so of those three shots, it's probable that no single officer fired more than two... though the news reports don't contain a detailed blow-by-blow.

Yahoo news said 3 shots from 2 officers with 2 bullets hitting. Without knowing trajectory of the head shot or location of officers it may have been he was spun around from the first impact and hit on the way down.

 

[Pupik]

Just imagine being the guy trying to sleep, knowing you shot a 15 year old kid holding a pellet gun today.
You do what you have to, you can't wait until they kill someone.

Oh, I doubt these cops are overjoyed. I'm sure they're parents of children, too. But there's other parents out there that are expecting the safety of their kids inside that school, too. We can't make exceptions for the fools.

It is a shame they didn't kneecap him, but they probably didn't have a chance. You have to figure he made a sudden movement like he was going to shoot, pretty hard to line up a small target on a millisecond notice.

This isn't Hollywood, and every police force in the nation isn't equipped with a long-range marksman with 45 minutes to take a perfect shot. They tried to talk him out of it, and he didn't listen...there was no Plan C.

 

[Max Powers]

Standing behind something like this http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/bullet-proof-glass-demonstration/ I think that they would be perfectly safe and no one would be killed.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. Are you serious? I don't usually respond to things in the opinions forum but this is one of the most asinine and stupid posts that I have ever seen. Please, please, make sure you are never in charge of security or protecting anybody's life...or whoever you are protecting will be ****ed.

I know a lot of police officers, and the most protection the average officer has from being shot is a simple bullet proof vest. Are they supposed to just walk up to him and hope that they don't get shot in the face? Are they supposed to sit there and wait until somebody shows up with some dumb contraption like that while this kid runs rampant around the school with his gun/? The officers gave this kid ample chance to drop the gun and instead he pointed it at the cops, at that point, he's pretty much dug his own grave, it's difficult to feel bad for someone like that.

 

[homeforsummer]

Kid does something stupid and potentially dangerous, kid gets shot. Don't see anything wrong with the Police's actions myself, just as I didn't when UK police shot Mark Duggan, which kicked off the whole London riots thing.

I've no particular problem with people owning guns, but if you're going to parade around in public with a firearm and then turn it on the police, expect to get shot. One fewer stupid person in the world as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Mac K]

I don't want to sound racist, but the boy's last name is Gonzalez, which suggests he is of some Spanish heritage right? Maybe he brought the "gun" to school because he was tired of being picked on by the other kids, which would also explain why he randomly punched another kid, thats the only logical explanation I can think of really.. Again I don't want to come across as racist, but unfortunately as much as we try to hide and ignore it, it still exists within our society today. As for the officers, should they have shot him? Some would say yes, the kid had a "gun" and was a threat, but at the same time, no shots were fired by the kid... I'm going with that they shouldn't have shot him, but to late now.

 

[Loon]

I don't want to sound racist, but the boy's last name is Gonzalez, which suggests he is of some Spanish heritage right? Maybe he brought the "gun" to school because he was tired of being picked on by the other kids, which would also explain why he randomly punched another kid, thats the only logical explanation I can think of really.. Again I don't want to come across as racist, but unfortunately as much as we try to hide and ignore it, it still exists within our society today. As for the officers, should they have shot him? Some would say yes, the kid had a "gun" and was a threat, but at the same time, no shots were fired by the kid... I'm going with that they shouldn't have shot him, but to late now.

I'd think it safe to assume this being Texas, he wasn't a minority in school. Why give him a chance to shoot first? He raised his weapon showing intent. Done deal.

 

[Northstar]

no shots were fired by the kid...

Here is my issue with your whole statement.

This whole thing went down on a school day when the school was full of kids. If they waited for him to fire there could have been 2(or more) people dead instead of one.

From the way it sounds, they didn't just run around a corner, saw he had a gun and fired, they gave him plenty of chances to drop it and he didn't.

 

[SkateNj]

Im happy another idiot was removed from this planet so he cant contaminate the gene pool. The cops were in the right no argument needed.

 

[a6m5]

I don't want to sound racist, but the boy's last name is Gonzalez, which suggests he is of some Spanish heritage right? Maybe he brought the "gun" to school because he was tired of being picked on by the other kids, which would also explain why he randomly punched another kid, thats the only logical explanation I can think of really.. Again I don't want to come across as racist, but unfortunately as much as we try to hide and ignore it, it still exists within our society today. As for the officers, should they have shot him? Some would say yes, the kid had a "gun" and was a threat, but at the same time, no shots were fired by the kid... I'm going with that they shouldn't have shot him, but to late now.

I was a Japanese ESL(English as a Second Language) student, in the United States. Did I get picked on because of my race, or my nationality? Sure. It wasn't bad, but it was 1987. '87 wasn't 1950's, but it wasn't exactly 2012 either.

Granted, my school was in Oregon, not Texas. But as someone who experienced racism in the U.S. as a minority(believe me, I have), also was involved in what seemed like a weekly fights & showdowns at school, my answer never was taking a pellet gun(had one) to school. And had I done that, I hope I wasn't foolish enough not to give it up when the teacher found it, or when they called the Police, or when the cops actually showed up, or when they drew their weapon and told me to drop it.

 

[CSLACR]

Oh, I doubt these cops are overjoyed. I'm sure they're parents of children, too. But there's other parents out there that are expecting the safety of their kids inside that school, too. We can't make exceptions for the fools.



This isn't Hollywood, and every police force in the nation isn't equipped with a long-range marksman with 45 minutes to take a perfect shot. They tried to talk him out of it, and he didn't listen...there was no Plan C.

Your wording implies you disagree with me, yet the meaning is total agreement.

I'm not sure how what you misinterpreted of what I said, but it appears all of it.

 

[Ardius]

Good job by police. I would've clapped.
This kid would've gone on to spread bad genes later in life.

Rather poor taste, no? All well and good backing up a very difficult and nasty decision for the police to make - I'm sure some will find it hard to keep going after having to do such a thing. But to say you would clap is in poor taste 👎. There is nothing to clap or cheer about when someone dies, regardless of what you thought of that person.

 

[Joel]

I don't want to sound racist, but the boy's last name is Gonzalez, which suggests he is of some Spanish heritage right? Maybe he brought the "gun" to school because he was tired of being picked on by the other kids, which would also explain why he randomly punched another kid, thats the only logical explanation I can think of really.. Again I don't want to come across as racist, but unfortunately as much as we try to hide and ignore it, it still exists within our society today. As for the officers, should they have shot him? Some would say yes, the kid had a "gun" and was a threat, but at the same time, no shots were fired by the kid... I'm going with that they shouldn't have shot him, but to late now.

When you're in charge of protecting innocent civilians (students in this case), you can't wait around when someone draws what very much looks like a gun. If you point a gun at police, they're going to shoot you, and that's completely justified.

 

[CMvan46]

Rather poor taste, no? All well and good backing up a very difficult and nasty decision for the police to make - I'm sure some will find it hard to keep going after having to do such a thing. But to say you would clap is in poor taste 👎. There is nothing to clap or cheer about when someone dies, regardless of what you thought of that person.

Agreed, I would strongly advise recording the clapping there. I believe very few people on the planet deserve or need to die. It's a really sad thing that a kid at 15 decided to resort to this. I think it's a wake up call for people to find out why did this happen and ways to help prevent it in the future.

 

[Azuremen]

The kid had issues, and the police acted according to their training.

As for those of you claiming "they had bullet proof XYZ, etc," it seems you are neglecting ricochet concerns along with how people who are carrying deadly weapons are treated. The cops can't afford to wait till the kid opens fire because someone could get hurt, and the guy has blatantly marked himself as dangerous when he raises his weapon. Maybe it is a culture thing, but guns are not to be taken lightly. If you, or another, points a gun at something, you assume they have deadly intent.

Now lets think about this where they waited till the kid opened fire. If it had been a real gun and a ricochet had injured or killed someone, people would blame the cops for not acting sooner.

 

[Schwartz]

This is really a lose/lose situation for a cop. He shoots and kills a kid, he becomes the bad guy. If he allows hior anyone else to get shot by the guy with the gun (under the assumption it was real), he becomes a bad cop for not protecting others. Honestly, I think whoever shot him made the right decision. I can't stand how anyone judges another person from their action with out knowing the situation. Some people were mad the kid was shot in the head. Its not like a cop actually aimed for the head, because that is just stupid. What if the kid was falling and he shot? And the three bullets too. What if they were fired almost simultaneously? It definitely could not have been a "Robocop Scene" where someone has already been killed and the shooter just keeps shooting. I stand by the cops on this one. Its not an easy job, you know.