8 year old intentionally shoots/kills caregiver:No charges will be filed!?!?

Originally posted by Sharingan
reply to post by tanda7

 

As he should... As much as i love my kids, if he were mine, id never look at him the same way

understood....I would also spend lots of time evaluating everything I had, or had not, taught that child.

I don't understand why they keep referring to the deceased as caregiver. The elderly caregiver just happened to be his GRANDMOTHER, shot with her own gun in her own mobile home. Why punish the parents? This is a sick kid, video game or not. He shot and killed his elderly grandmother in the back of the head.

reply to post by StoutBroux
Could you provide a link stating it was HIS grandmother. So far I have only seen her refered to as A grandmother.

If it's true that it was his grandmother, perhaps the officials are trying to be ambiguous about the boy's identity.

That's horrible.

I let my kid play WoW when she was 8 or 9. I did know it was a first person shoot/sword weird-creatures game.

"What are you doing?" I asked her casually one day. "I killed them all, so I have to loot the corpses," she explained.

She was about 12 then. I thought, "OMG. I'm going to hell."

However, I don't think that there is any serious danger that she would have shot someone in the back of the head. In fact I don't think that situation would have been in place when she was even younger.

She might not have had the same full-conceptual-depth understanding of it of course, but she would totally have known what it meant and that it would kill them and horribly.

I'm guessing the kid was angry, was seriously screwed up psychologically, got access to a firearm, and that was that.

Whomever owned the firearm and/or is responsible for it getting into the hands of a child should go to prison.

I think it is abhorrent that in a firearms-oriented society we are so lax about -- even resistant to -- gunsafes, and responsibility for inappropriate usage of them by minors.

By the way, the idea we have in our culture that children are "innocents" is really inappropriate. I have friends who were in combat wars in numerous countries who've made it clear that people surprisingly young can be mercenary brutal killers in a way that most people many times their age never could be.

Scary.

Very scary.

Here in Memphis, on Friday, a 5 yr old child brought a pistol to school and fired it in the cafeteria....the child has been expelled as Shelby County Schools has a zero tolerance policy.

reply to post by thesmokingman


I personally believe by the age of 12 children should know the value of life and the difference between right and wrong. I believe this young boy needs counseling and his parents held responsible for not having their fire arm locked up. If you own a gun, you have to take responsibility if you allow children to have easy access to it.

I wouldn't approve of an 8 year-old to play violent games. They're too impressionable at that age.

One other alternative may be to file a law suit for wrongful death. Since that is civil, not criminal, different rules would apply. The parents would have to cough up, and the court judgment could be continued nearly forever in case the kid gets a decent job.

This is just a horrendous situation. We know nothing about this child or the situation with the "elderly" caretaker. I've known some truly evil 8 year olds, and yes I do mean complete sociopaths that I worked with who could smile at you and pull a butcher knife out to hack you to death as one of my charges tried with his mother. So, was this just a confused child who did not understand the danger of guns and what death really is or was this Damien?

From what I could find, the law says any child under 10 would not be charged criminally. If this child is a troubled child then I hope he gets some really good psychiatric care, but if he is a sociopath, their mores are fixed by age 4 and there is no cure for them.

There are just too many unknowns, and all I can do is pray for each family. This is just so sad.

Yeah lets blame video games instead of the parents

If the law prevents the boy from being charged then lay the burden of guilt at the feet of his parents. THEY (or he or she depending on the situation) are responsible for having a gun in the home and not teaching their child about safety or common sense. I knew how to make sure my dad's firearms weren't loaded and how to handle them safely before I could even ride a bike.

But sure. Let's use the easiest scapegoat available and just blame videogames

reply to post by thesmokingman


The average 8 year old is in no way mature enough to know what they are doing with a real weapon, let alone guns so in my opinion the police in this case are correct.

Now the rest comes down to what I see as the unreasonable attitude of Americans as regards fire arms.

This child should not be instructed on how to make a firearm safe because he should at that age never have seen a real one in the first place. This weapon should be kept where it is totally imposable for the child to have access.

Therefore the parents should be charged with gross neglect of the child and the child removed permanently from the home and both the parents should be sterilized as they have proven beyond doubt they are totally incapable of razing a child.

Now I know that a whole load of gun toting Americans are going to jump up and down on me over those statements but I know I am right and they are totally wrong.

So any comments made by them will just go in the unreasonable American file.

reply to post by thesmokingman


You don´t get it do you? The American society, poisoned by an incredible moral corruption since the late 60s till now has finally began to implode. Murders by all age groups, are now so common in this country it is becoming almost absurd. This latest incident is but one of thousands upon thousands this year. The only difference is the extremely young age of the boy.

Things are about to get much, much worse. You just wait and see. My suggestion is, start looking for another country to move to. The US you remember from your childhood doesn´t exist anymore. This version today is as close to a hell hole you can live in this world.

reply to post by thesmokingman

It's possible the child is not old enough to understand the reality (though that does vary depending on the child). First, an evaluation needs to be done, and not by some bleeding heart type, to determine whether or not the kid understands death, and that murder is wrong, and that guns are actually dangerous. If he understands, then he's guilty of murder. If he doesn't, then someone was an IDIOT for allowing him to play such a violent game. If he doesn't understand, he's going to need a ton of counseling, and even then, should face some sort of punishment. Seriously restricted living comes to mind, with n television, no movies, a controlled educational program that discusses why murder is wrong, and in a place he can't possibly harm another person.

All things considered, this child could easily be an early blooming serial killer. Do nothing, and he could do this again, being more careful later so as to not get caught.

Originally posted by generik
well if the boy can not be charged why have the parents been charged? you know those people who are responsible for him. those parents who LET him play a game that was RATED MATURE 17+, without apparent parental guiding. not to mention that the parents let an 8 year old have access to a gun. while they were not there.

at the very LEAST the parents should be facing gun charges over a LOADED GUN being accessible to an 8 year old. and it would follow that they should ALSO be charged with something like manslaughter over the killing. due to the gun being accessible to the child, as well as letting him play violent games rated for someone over TWICE HIS AGE.

personally i feel the kid should be facing some charges as well, but since the law apparently does not allow for it, then he should be remanded into a proper mental care facility.

According to the video in the link, the gun belonged to the woman who was shot, not to the parents. So, on that issue, they aren't responsible. Neither the article nor the video states who made the decision to allow the child to play the video game.

Either way, people like that foolish woman in the video, who claim a child "cannot know" right from wrong, need to get OUT of the business, and let thinking people handle things. Some children that age CAN understand. That this child LIED shows that he did, in fact, know he'd done something wrong. He wouldn't lie if he thought it was just a game, and that no real harm would come to her.

reply to post by MAC269


That is precisely the attitude that caused this tragedy. It is utter nonsense that a child at the age of 8 should never see a firearm that is kept in the home. While you are correct that a firearm should be stored safely and there should be no way a child could access it, If you are a parent and own a firearm that you keep in your home, it is your responsibility to make sure your children know exactly what to do if for whatever reason they ever come across said firearms. That includes how to make sure they aren't loaded, how to handle them safely, what to do in such a situation, and above all how seriously they need to take the subject.

If for whatever reason you are incapable of teaching your children those crucial lessons then you shouldn't have a gun, period (but I'm sure you would be content to see guns removed from every law abiding citizen world wide and left solely in the hands of police and military).

For the record, I'm not an American, I had guns in my home as a child and was taught from a very young age to respect them and handle them safely, and I have never shot anyone and do not intend to do so

reply to post by LadyGreenEyes


They are absolutely still responsible. If your 8 year old doesn't understand that pointing a gun at someones head and pulling the trigger is wrong, you have failed as a parent.

Originally posted by DeadSeraph
reply to post by LadyGreenEyes

 

They are absolutely still responsible. If your 8 year old doesn't understand that pointing a gun at someones head and pulling the trigger is wrong, you have failed as a parent.

Well, on that point, I agree, IF this was a case of the child really not knowing better. If, on the other hand, this child is simply evil, a serial killer type, that can easily be beyond the control of the parents. Some such killers come from perfectly normal homes, with good upbringing, and no abuse. All the theories on why serial killers are what they are have many "exceptions" that don't fit the rule. I took a class on the psychology of such killers, and the only constant is that they kill,and seem to have no regard at all for other people. In simpler terms, they are evil. Whether to blame the parents in such a case would depend on the circumstances, and if they did anything that could contribute.

Either way, I hope they don't have other children. The more I think about this, the more this kid gives me the creeps. It's the lying about it that started me doubting his innocence. An innocent child, not knowing better, would simply say he shot this woman because he wanted to play the game with her. If he didn't know better, why hide it? This kid lied, though.

There are surely things about this case we don't know. We don't know anything about the parents; what sort of people they are, what they believe, how they raised their son, if they have any criminal record, nothing. We also know nothing about the woman shot but her name, her age, and that she was caring for the boy, and owned the gun. The child could have been abused. We don't know.

Either way, with this being a child of eight, you just KNOW we probably won't hear another detail, no matter what really happened.

Originally posted by thesmokingman
Title pretty much sums it up. An eight year old boy intentionally (as concluded by police) shot and killed his elderly caregiver in the back of the head. At first, police believed it was an accident, however they later determined that the boy had done it intentionally right after playing the video game Grand theft auto. So I guess my question to you ATS, why would the police not charge him? Was it because of his age? Shouldnt they at least charge him with something, anything?
In my opinion, this is a tragic incident indeed, but should this boys age and the fact that he was subjected to a violent video game give him an excuse for doing this? I mean, there must be some kind of punishment right? Tell me I am being to hard on the lil guy, and I am crazy please! Oh wait, here is the official reason why:

However, authorities say they are unable to charge the boy with a crime because of a Louisiana law that protects children from criminal responsibility.

Excuse me?!? Does this mean children under the age of 18 are immune to criminal charges, and are free to kill at will in Louisiana? I may be overreacting but I have NEVER heard of this type of criminal immunity before!!!

www.theblaze.com...

personally I don't think this boy realizes the difference of shooting someone in his video game and someone in the room with him, and that needs explaining to him through councilling or whatever, as for the parents, WHAT have they done to this little childs life, they are the only ones he has that should be protecting him. but at 8yrs old his life is over.. as he grows older he will remember this incident and that will have enormous effect on the being he becomes. 8yrs old playing GTA, Eight Years OLD, these parents need heavy councilling too about CHILD CARE. and where did an 8yr old child GET A GUN, and it was a LOADED GUN, What sort of #?d up parents has he got. whichever of his parents were responsible for him on that day, should be charged with first degree murder. no escape routes... this shows murder can be done and you dont have to pay for it, was it a setup???? does anyone really know 100%???? well do they??

They should give that 8 year old and IQ test. Oh wait IQ tests don't actually test your intelligence...

reply to post by DeadSeraph


DEAR DeadSeraph

Despite the fact that you are not American you still have the American attitude to guns and you comments go in the unreasonable American file.

A CHILD OF EIGHT SHOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN A REAL GUN. THIS IS UNQUESTIONLBE.

IF AS A PREVIOUS POST STATES IT WAS THE CARE GIVERS GUN THEN SHE GOT WHAT SHE DESERVED.

WOULD YOU GIVE A MONKEY A LIVE GRANADE????

THE CHILD OF 8 IS NO MORE RESPONCERABLE.

Get over it guns are dangerous and far to easy to kill with.

I live in a contry where it is very similar to America ie, all the police have guns. Do I trust them to use them as they should???? Not only NO but HELL NO.

Grow up and get rude of your stupid GUNS.

reply to post by flipflop


The gun belonged to the woman who was shot, who was supposed to be his caregiver at the time. So, neither parent was responsible for that, beyond perhaps not knowing that a gun was there, or teaching the child not to touch one.

I suspect this child knew exactly what he was doing. If he didn't, why lie?