USCe student shot dead last night in 2nd Amendment lesson

To me, there’s a big difference between ringing a wrong doorbell and trying to open the door. I don’t know what I do if someone was trying to open my door.

What puzzles me is that the guy had already called 911 to report a burglary and police were on the way. From the time of that call to the time of the shooting, what happened? If the guy knew the police were on the way, he could just stand there with the gun and wait till they arrived.

Did the kid get the door open somehow? Did he start pounding on the door? I think we need some more details before drawing a firm conclusion.

 

Disagree - the 2A is a major issue in the U.S. Otherwise, why is gun violence more prevalent here than in any other developed nation?

 

True - cause drunken 20yr olds deserve to get gunned down in wild wild west . . . errr . . . the good ole' U S of freakin' A. Yay guns!

 

Good point. If they ring the door bell, it's a no-shoot. If they jiggle the door handle, blast 'em!

 

A picture of the victim on the news tonight showed him wearing a Gator shirt.
Wonder if he transferred.

 

Yes they do, I read all the time about drunk drivers killing innocent people. I also read about fentanyl deaths or other drug related deaths. There are hundreds of millions of people in this country. Although it is a sad story I don't think posting this kind of story every few days necessarily means everybody is doing it.

 

The issue here is the gun. If the owner didn't have a gun, the student is alive today. Nobody disagrees that the drunken student screwed up, but he's dead because somebody shot him.

When I was in college, we came back to our apartment after a night out to find a guy we didn't know passed out on our couch. One of my roommates was home, left the front door unlocked, and was back in his room. He didn't know anybody had come in.

The passed-out guy was harmless. Just somebody who drank too much and went into the wrong apartment. Good thing he didn't wander into a gun owner's apartment. Might be dead. Sad how afraid some folks are of the world we live in.

That was in Ocala, FL.

 

20yr old kid from Connecticut drinks too much while a college student at Univ of SC. Goes to the wrong house and gets shot dead.

Cons: But 2A!

 

I lived in intown Atlanta, about 7 blocks from gangland, for several years, two different times in my life. I heard gunshots, usually at night, on average about once every two months. I was in several clearly dangerous situations on foot and in my car every year.

Never had a gun. Never needed a gun in any of those situations. Once a couple of guys clearly looking to rob me or run some scam, came to my door after midnight, singing some ridiculous story about someone chasing them with a gun, and wanting to come in for protection and to call the police (more BS about losing their cell phones in the chase). I went out the back and came around front with a Louisville Slugger and told them to take me in to the guy with the gun. They hemmed and hawed and I told them it was time for them to leave. End of conflict. But I could have ended it even easier if I had just not gone out at all and ignored them (or called the police, and told them so). These were two guys I knew I could take, and I would not have come outside against bigger guys, or guys with obvious bulges in their jackets. Also, I had high ground with a stairway bookended by a steep slippery hill, so I knew they couldn't flank me faster than I could knock them out. And the very fact that I came out with just a bat and supreme confidence told them I knew how to use it, which was immediately evident on their faces and compliant body language.

Reason for giving all these details is to say there are always several ways to avoid trouble that don't involve guns. Your brain is a much more powerful defensive weapon than any gun.

If I had a gun in some of those situations, and pulled it, I no doubt would be dead today. Guns cause death, period. Quite often the death of the gun owner.

 

Unfortunately, this is lost on all too many gun owners. Those of us who own guns imagine ourselves blasting the bad guy(s) while protecting our families. It's similar to the sports fans full of confidence because "we got all these great players" but failing to realize that the other team also has great players and coaches.

 

I meant in this individual case. I agree gun violence is a major problem, and that Heller was an outrageous decision. The issue here, however, is a legal one under South Carolina law: was this homeowner justified in killing that young man. I suspect not, but I hesitate to go off half cocked.

 

My point exactly.

 

You own guns, plural? Why do you own any at all?

 

What point? That a kid trying to open the wrong door deserves to be shot? I'm not trying to be cynical. How is that justified?

 

No. I own a gun. "Those of us who own gun" didn't seem right. Why is this relevant?

 

The issue here is that a drunken student at 2 am is now dead.

 

Good questions.

 

Which no one said… at all. Emotion is t the the way to find an answer. Did the homeowner know it was a drunk 20 year old harmlessly trying to enter his home at 2am?
Or did the homeowner wake in a fog to someone trying to break into his house and feared for his family?
Do we know if he called out? Turned on the lights etc? No.
Again,I do not shoot at anything I can’t see. But i can understand how and why this happened and it’s mostly because of the alcohol.

 

Let's point out that no one knew it was a 20 yr old kid until after the fact. This is not a justification but a point of order.
I'm with the majority here. If the door was locked, you call the police and take up a defensive position within your home and wait. If the door is forced open, you protect yourself and family.

 

LOL. That's true.