Child shoots intruder during home break-in - Port Allen, Loiusiana

[Admin]

Exactly!

Kids left home alone, kids left home alone with unsecured guns?

It's pretty lucky that the story ended this way, it could just have easily ended in "Kid Shoots Sister Accidentally" or "Robbers Shoot Kids With Gun They Found In Home". This story could have been much sadder, everyone's lucky it turned out the way it did.

Where did you grow up? I know it's hard to comprehend but outside of MA kids actually do learn about guns growing up. And a 5 year old in a house with a loaded firearm is NOT a dangerous thing.

10 is young but an unsecured firearm is the least of their concern.

 

[CRSIII]

What a crappy situation for mom to be in. Leave the kids home alone, so you can work to feed them.
I'm glad that the boy had the raw courage to do what he did.
There are grown men that would have shit themselves in the same situation, I know some.
It's been said here that education is the key, I concur.
I am very fortunate that my kids will never have to be left alone.
I would not condemn this woman.

 

[Jose]

kids and available guns is a dangerous mixture period.

Guess you're not always right, huh?

 

[Jose]

Where did you grow up? I know it's hard to comprehend but outside of MA kids actually do learn about guns growing up. And a 5 year old in a house with a loaded firearm is NOT a dangerous thing.

10 is young but an unsecured firearm is the least of their concern.

+1,000,000

That's exactly how my little one (7 tomorrow) is growing up.

 

[Yelena]

That's why it is important to teach your kids gun safety.
Seriously, if (God forbid) something like that would happen to my child, I'd make sure he or she gets professional help ASAP. However, several therapy sessions are still better than what could happen if he met the intruder unarmed.

 

[Yelena]

What a crappy situation for mom to be in. Leave the kids home alone, so you can work to feed them.
I'm glad that the boy had the raw courage to do what he did.
There are grown men that would have shit themselves in the same situation, I know some.
It's been said here that education is the key, I concur.
I am very fortunate that my kids will never have to be left alone.
I would not condemn this woman.

Come on... When I was growing up, it was totally normal for the parents to work and leave their children at home alone. At 10 years old kids like me were able to come back home from school (walking, yes), warm up or cook the food (no microwaves!), and start the homework.

 

[Yelena]

Exactly!

Kids left home alone, kids left home alone with unsecured guns?

It's pretty lucky that the story ended this way, it could just have easily ended in "Kid Shoots Sister Accidentally" or "Robbers Shoot Kids With Gun They Found In Home". This story could have been much sadder, everyone's lucky it turned out the way it did.

I learned gun safety while the only guns I had were toy guns.

 

[Brian48]

Hat's off to this brave boy. Glad he and his sister are safe.

 

[Martlet]

Maybe I am old fashioned,but I believe kids age 10 & 7 should not be left alone for more than a few minutes.Even if these 2 morons were not breaking the door down,kids and available guns is a dangerous mixture period.

You're not old fashioned. You're new fashioned. I was hunting by age 10. I was actively shooting long before then. That's the way it used to be. 30 years ago where I grew up, people wouldn't bat an eye to this.

 

[Martlet]

Exactly!

Kids left home alone, kids left home alone with unsecured guns?

It's pretty lucky that the story ended this way, it could just have easily ended in "Kid Shoots Sister Accidentally" or "Robbers Shoot Kids With Gun They Found In Home". This story could have been much sadder, everyone's lucky it turned out the way it did.

Sure. If your a moron parent who doesn't introduce your children to guns and educate them on their proper usage. I was well versed in firearms by 10, including reloading. I took my first deer at 10.

 

[Blitz1]

I would be more willing to leave a trained, firearms-educated ten-year old with guns accessible than many adults I know.

That's just sad

What a crappy situation for mom to be in. Leave the kids home alone, so you can work to feed them.
I'm glad that the boy had the raw courage to do what he did.
There are grown men that would have shit themselves in the same situation, I know some.
It's been said here that education is the key, I concur.
I am very fortunate that my kids will never have to be left alone.
I would not condemn this woman.

Yup, the Boy was trained well, fortunately.

 

[LTCRN]

Maybe I am old fashioned,but I believe kids age 10 & 7 should not be left alone for more than a few minutes.Even if these 2 morons were not breaking the door down,kids and available guns is a dangerous mixture period.

I agree with you. In the Commie wealth of Ass, I believe the law states that a child, at the age of 11, can be left home alone with a younger sibling if that sibling is over a certain age- real close to age 11.

Do any of the lawyers know the exact law??

 

[Kalahari]

I wouldn't leave an unsecured gun with my children when a parent wasn't home.

Bad things can still happen to good children, no matter how well versed they are in firearms. I might trust my kids well enough, but I won't know their friends (or enemies) as well and certainly wouldn't trust them with guns.

 

[vellnueve]

Sure. If your a moron parent who doesn't introduce your children to guns and educate them on their proper usage. I was well versed in firearms by 10, including reloading. I took my first deer at 10.

+1. I was shooting at age 5 and reloading by the third grade.

 

[Lamina]

Threads like this, and stories like this, are good for my soul.

not only is this the exact kind of story that gets the anti's blood boiling... face it, they are all upset that no child was hurt. the anti's love it when children get shot.

But the one or two posters who make silly (well meaning, but silly) comments about children and unsecured guns are pigpiled on appropriately for it.

to those who wouldn't leave an (appropriatly educated) child with general access to an unsecured gun, what else would or wouldn't you let a child do or have access to?

their bikes? kitchen knives? all the other shit that kids get maimed or killed with each year?

guns aren't dangerous.

kids+guns aren't dangerous.

kids+unsecured guns aren't dangerous.

kids+unsupervised+unsecured guns aren't dangerous.

only when you add "uneducated" or "negligent parent" does the situation become dangerous.

 

[radioman]

Threads like this, and stories like this, are good for my soul.

not only is this the exact kind of story that gets the anti's blood boiling... face it, they are all upset that no child was hurt. the anti's love it when children get shot.

But the one or two posters who make silly (well meaning, but silly) comments about children and unsecured guns are pigpiled on appropriately for it.

to those who wouldn't leave an (appropriatly educated) child with general access to an unsecured gun, what else would or wouldn't you let a child do or have access to?

their bikes? kitchen knives? all the other shit that kids get maimed or killed with each year?

guns aren't dangerous.

kids+guns aren't dangerous.

kids+unsecured guns aren't dangerous.

kids+unsupervised+unsecured guns aren't dangerous.

only when you add "uneducated" or "negligent parent" does the situation become dangerous.

+1

 

[Business]

Nothing mentioned about the mother who left 2 kids home alone with an unlocked loaded gun in the apt? I dont want to sound like a dick but if that happened in mass mom would be in jail and the kids with DSS. Hopefully the kid isn't traumatized from shooting the guy.

 

[Martlet]

I wouldn't leave an unsecured gun with my children when a parent wasn't home.

Bad things can still happen to good children, no matter how well versed they are in firearms. I might trust my kids well enough, but I won't know their friends (or enemies) as well and certainly wouldn't trust them with guns.

Obviously, you don't trust your kids well enough and/or haven't educated them properly.

 

[namedpipes]

I agree with you. In the Commie wealth of Ass, I believe the law states that a child, at the age of 11, can be left home alone with a younger sibling if that sibling is over a certain age- real close to age 11.

Do any of the lawyers know the exact law??

Not your's nor the state's business. That the state has MADE it it's business is a damned shame.

Nothing mentioned about the mother who left 2 kids home alone with an unlocked loaded gun in the apt? I dont want to sound like a dick but if that happened in mass mom would be in jail and the kids with DSS. Hopefully the kid isn't traumatized from shooting the guy.

I'm guessing less traumatized than if he'd been raped or killed...

 

[pipmaster1971]

I'm surprised at so much criticism of the mom here. Certainly I'd rather she didn't have to work (ie. where's the dad?). But you know what? She's out there busting her balls and working to provide a future for her kids, rather than leaching off society like so many others would do. For that I commend her.

 

[Jay G]

All kids are different. Some can be left home alone at age 8. Some shouldn't be left alone at 18. Let's give this woman the benefit of the doubt that her kids were in the former category.

As for the firearms, I literally cannot believe some of the things I've read.

My father was a MA state cop. There was always a loaded firearm in my parents' house growing up. Usually several - Dad left his BUG loaded as well (this was pre-1998, so no laws broken).

From about the age of, oh, 3 or 4 I was taught how to unload - and load - Dad's gun. I was shown that it was a tool, a dangerous tool that demanded respect, but a tool around which to be careful.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I never shot my sister. I never shot any of my friends. I was left alone - or with my sister, who's five years younger than me - from the age of about 12 or so.

It's about training, to be certain - you absolutely have to invest the time in training your kids how to handle guns safely, and many parents who are gunowners do not do this any more.

I do.

My son and daughter know the four rules by heart. They know that daddy's guns are not toys; that they are dangerous tools that must be handled carefully in the presence of a grownup. They know that if they find a gun somewhere, not to touch it, to leave the area, and to tell an adult.

They are no more in danger around an unsecured firearm than around a sharp knife, baseball bat, or washing machine.

As for the OP's story, WTG kid. You saved your sister's life and your own. The only criticism I can offer is to bring enough gun next time (kidding).

 

[Martlet]

I'm surprised at so much criticism of the mom here. Certainly I'd rather she didn't have to work (ie. where's the dad?). But you know what? She's out there busting her balls and working to provide a future for her kids, rather than leaching off society like so many others would do. For that I commend her.

Why are you surprised? This is Massachusetts in the Nanny State age. Someone obviously taught the boy well enough that he reacted in an extremely appropriate manner. He retreated, armed, and safely removed a threat.

The mother, or proxy, educated her children and gave them tools many on here apparently wouldn't. Whose the bad parent?

 

[pdm]

Why are you surprised? This is Massachusetts in the Nanny State age. Someone obviously taught the boy well enough that he reacted in an extremely appropriate manner. He retreated, armed, and safely removed a threat.

The mother, or proxy, educated her children and gave them tools many on here apparently wouldn't. Whose the bad parent?

Deval?

 

[Grendel]

Maybe I am old fashioned,but I believe kids age 10 & 7 should not be left alone for more than a few minutes.Even if these 2 morons were not breaking the door down,kids and available guns is a dangerous mixture period.

You do realize that 100 years ago, a 10 year old was old enough to work and left unsupervised for 10-12 hours at a time?

I was a latch key child at 10.

 

[packingungal]

When I was 10 & my sister was 9, we were left alone on occasion for brief periods of time. We didn't stab each other with the kitchen knives or jump of the second floor porch. (We did that stuff while my mom was home.) . It's easy to say that the mother was negligent, but who knows what the exact situation was.

Right on!!

 

[SeanT]

Assachusets version:

Mother was charged with failure to properly secure the weapon. She was found guilty, is serving 5-10 years in Walpole. Her daughter is in Protective Services custody, while her son is in Juvenile Detention pending attempted murder charges.

Meanwhile, the 'victims' are preparing a law suit, saying they had no reason to be shot as they were just looking for money to help them get by.

Sadly, I think I made a more accurate Massachusetts version



Regarding kids being left alone that young, I have no problem with it, as I was one of those kids (starting at around 8). I'm a little unsure of the gun being unsecured though, despite the son's education. While I know my parents had educated me well, friends are a totally different issue.

From personal experience, your best/loudest protestations can't stop some booger-snot "friend" (former after this) from doing something dumb that they get stuck in their head. I got "taken to the wood shed" for a particular incident, even though I was trying my damndest to stop it.

To use that as an example, the gun is unsecured in the coffee table, the dopey former friend opens the coffee table drawer and uncovers it. Something bad happens despite all protestations.

That said, the kid did the right thing and I'm really glad he and his sister are safe.

 

[Kalahari]

Obviously, you don't trust your kids well enough and/or haven't educated them properly.

I don't care how well educated or how much trust a parent has in a child, there are more kids than just theirs and you have little to no influence on them. It has nothing to do with my or your kids and everything to do with all the other kids out there.

 

[vellnueve]

I don't care how well educated or how much trust a parent has in a child, there are more kids than just theirs and you have little to no influence on them. It has nothing to do with my or your kids and everything to do with all the other kids out there.

Other kids who would not be in my home without my permission.

 

[Kalahari]

That's precisely why I wouldn't leave an unsecured gun in the home when I'm not there.

I'd rather have my guns locked anyways - kids home or not. It'd suck extra hard if your home was broken into and some of your pieces were missing.

 

[Metalhead]

My son (now 15) has been home alone for about an hour or so each day. There are of course guns in the house. He has been trained by me, through the scouts, and by going through hunter safety training. He also knows that my foot would be in his ass if he even touched a gun without permission or let anyone else in the house when I or my wife is not home. It is more than firearms training, it is parenting and setting certain boundaries in stone. I trust him to do the right thing and he does.

Locks of any kind really only work for honest people.