Two Pennsylvania teen boys attempt to rob gun shop at gunpoint

Two teen boys, ages 15 and 17, entered the Suburban Armory gun shop in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, brandished a handgun, and attempted to rob the store.

The shop owner pulled out his own gun and fired a shot.  The shot missed the boys, but the boys fled.  They were later captured.

From an article:

Two juveniles, ages 15 and 17, are in police custody and will be charged as adults with multiple offenses, including robbery, possessing an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance, Police Chief Robert Adams said. 

According to Adams, officers responded to a silent alarm at the business in the 1000 block of MacDade Boulevard at about 1:40 p.m. 

The owner reportedly told police that two black males entered the store wearing “Muslim-type clothing,” one of whom pointed a silver handgun at him as they announced the robbery. 

The incident was captured on video, according to Adams.

The article didn't say how the boys got their gun.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

17-year old boy shot and killed by Chicago police

A 17-year old boy in Chicago, named Christian Green, was approached by police.  When he pulled out a gun, he was shot and killed.

From an article:

Shortly after 1 p.m.Thursday afternoon near 57th and State, Chicago police shot and killed 17-year-old Christian Green after police say Green ran from officers who tried to question him. 

Pat Camden is a spokesperson for the police union and says Green was armed.
"Individual at that point gun in hand pointing it at the officer,' Camden said. "The officers fire in defense of their life." 

But Thursday night, Green's brother is disputing the police account. 

"I know for a fact he didn't point no gun at no police," said Travail Fowler. "I know for a fact that's not my brother." 

And neighborhood residents say they believe Green was merely lighting off fireworks. 

"I heard he, they thought it was a gun, but it was a firecracker, like a Roman candle or something. He pulled it out, and police just started shooting," said Keaara Payton. 

"It's got nothing to do with fireworks," said Camden. "It's got to do with an illegal weapon being carried illegally by an individual who points it at the police putting them in danger of their life. 

Camden said a semi-automatic weapon was recovered at the scene. The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting.

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17-year old boy killed and 2-year old girl injured during apparent home invasion in North Carolina

19-year old Kashif Antoine Lang was at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when a group of young men attempted to get into the home through windows.  One of those young men was 17-year old Jashun Ladonte Ingram.

Lang opened fire, hitting and killing Ingram.

He also fired on a car in his driveway.  In the car was a 2-year old girl, who was wounded in the leg.

Lang was arrested.  The girl is expected to survive.

From an article and news video:

Kashif Antoine Lang, 19, is accused of shooting and killing 17-year-old Jashun Ladonte Ingram at Lang’s home at 4144 Macarthur Street around 2:15 p.m. Monday. 

Police said Ingram and several others were involved in a disturbance with Lang and others in the home. 

Police said Ingram and his group were breaking home’s windows and trying to get inside at the time of the shooting. 

Winston-Salem police said Ingram was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency workers and firefighters responded. Police said he suffered multiple gunshot wounds. 

Police said a 2-year-old girl was shot in the leg while inside a Chrysler Pacifica in the driveway. Investigators removed the vehicle, full of bullet holes, from the scene. 

Police said the young female victim is expected to recover after being taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. 

Officers said they detained and identified several people inside and outside the residence until the scene was secured. 

Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division have assumed the ongoing investigation. Ingram’s autopsy is pending. 

Lang was charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

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17-year old Virginia boy shot and killed when entering wrong home

A 17-year old boy had been out drinking with friends, in Loundoun County, Virginia, when his friends dropped him off in his neighborhood, where he had lived for only a year or less.

But instead of going to his home, he instead entered the home of a neighbor, and apparently tried to go upstairs.

The homeowner heard him, got his gun, and shot the boy to death.  The boy was unarmed, and apparently gave no struggle beforehand.  

From an article:

The teenager had been drinking, and his friends drove him to his home in Sterling at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, law enforcement officials said. But instead of walking into his house on the quiet cul-de-sac, they said, the teen entered a similar-looking red brick home in the same block. 

Inside, the startled homeowner confronted the teen, authorities said, before shooting and killing him. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office described the shooting as a homeowner killing an unknown intruder, although officials released few details about the shooting. 

Sheriff’s officials declined to release the name of the teen or the homeowner. No criminal charges have been filed. 

It is unclear why the teen went into the wrong home, how he got inside or what kind of exchange he had with the homeowner. Law enforcement officials said that they believe the teenager did not have a gun and that it is possible he entered the home through a rear window, although they were still investigating. It was unclear whether the homeowner and the intruder knew each other; neighbors said the teen was relatively new to the neighborhood.

The article doesn't mention how the boy got into the home or whether the homeowner gave any warning.

17-year old Florida boy shoots father to death to defend mother

A 17-year old boy, Channing Thorpe, saw his father, Christopher Thorpe, assaulting his mother, Jill Thorpe, in their mobile home in Plant City, Florida, after an argument got out of hand.  Channing then got the family handgun and fired several times, hitting and killing his father, and wounding his mother.

No charges have been filed, and the boy was released to the custody of his mother.

According to a neighbor, the father owned a lot of guns, carried a pistol at all times, often shot guns on his property, and had a "Jekyll and Hyde" character.

From an article:

The shooting happened around 10 p.m. Saturday as a group of family and friends were gathered around a bonfire outside a mobile home in Plant City, a rural area northeast of Tampa. 

Police said the teen's parents went into the mobile home and got into an argument that escalated when the father, identified as Christopher Thorpe, began striking his wife, Jill. 

"He [Christopher Thorpe] was beating her; [he] kept punching her," Debbie Carter, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, told Fox affiliate WTVT. 

"Then they went from the living room to the master bedroom where he kept beating her." 

The couple's 17-year-old son, Channing Thorpe, rushed in and shot his father when he saw him beating and strangling his mother in their bedroom, according to police. 

The teenager fired several shots at his father from a handgun. The boy then called the Sheriff's Office to report he had shot his father. Deputies later found Christopher Thorpe, 36, dead in the master bedroom. 

One of the bullets also hit 35-year-old Jill Thorpe in the thigh. She was treated at an area hospital and later released. 

Police did not arrest the teen, who was left in the custody of his mom. 

The Tampa Bay Times reported that there was no known history of domestic violence, and that the father, mother and son had no criminal record.

From a related article, with more details about the family:

“I thought, ‘Wow,’” Bill Dunlap said. “It shocked me, but I wasn’t surprised as fixated with guns as he (Christopher) was.” 

“I just keep thinking about poor Channing and how this will affect the rest of his life,” Linda Dunlap said. 

The Dunlaps said they could hear gunshots coming from the back of the Thorpes’ property on a regular basis. Christopher Thorpe was an avid hunter and had many guns in the house. He often would shoot target practice with friends, and he always carried a pistol. 

Christopher and Jill Thorpe had just returned from a hunting trip in Kentucky the Sunday before Thanksgiving, according to the Dunlaps. Jill Thorpe recently had started sharing the hobby more often with her husband. She even butchered the deer they brought back from Kentucky. 

Bonfires were a common activity at the residence, and the Dunlaps said Christopher Thorpe cut down on drinking beer after being diagnosed recently with diabetes. 

There were never any signs of domestic abuse that the Dunlaps saw or heard in the seven years they lived across the street from the Thorpes. But the Dunlaps did describe Christopher Thorpe as a “Jekyll and Hyde character.”

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12-year old Oklahoma girl shoots home invader

In a rare example of justified defense by a child, a 12-year old girl was alone in her Bryan County, Oklahoma home when a stranger rang the doorbell, then went around back and kicked in the back door.  She called her mom, then with her mom's advise, took the family gun and hid in a closet, calling 911.  When the intruder started to open the door to the room, she shot through the door, wounding him before he fled.  The intruder was captured by police just down the road.

News video.

17-year old girl shot to death while involved in armed home invasion

Emani Puckett, age 17

A 17-year old girl, Emani Puckett, invaded a home in Anderson, South Carolina, with two men.  They attacked the home owner, and a shootout occurred.  Emani was shot and soon died from her wounds, her semi-auto handgun at her side.


The homeowner was hit in the head but is fine.  The two men with Emani escaped, but their names are known to law enforcement.


From an article:

The teenager, Emani Puckett, entered a home on Burris Street in west Anderson along with two men on Sunday night, according to a deputy’s report. 

They had come to rob homeowner Kevin Pierce, 21, who was hit in the head with a handgun by someone in the group, Pierce told deputies. 

Pierce and Puckett struggled in the kitchen while the other men rummaged through the house. In the altercation, Puckett was shot several times, the two men and Pierce’s girlfriend fled the home. 

Puckett was found, barely alive, outside of the mobile home next to a semi-automatic pistol and she died hours later at AnMed Health Medical Center. Pierce was taken to AnMed Health Medical Center, too, and released. 

The other two men fled the home, said Chad McBride, spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

According to another article and video, Emani may have been shot with her own weapon after one of the homeowners wrestled it out of her hands.


Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

(image from HERE)

Two Oregon teens shot by neighbor because of party noise

Christopher Carson, age 14, and April Hamilton, age 16

A man in Springfield, Oregon, didn't like the noise coming from next door.  About a dozen teens were at the party.  The man came out to  the road between the homes, armed, and yelled at the teens to be quiet.  A confrontation ensued, and the man pulled out a gun.  He tried to shoot one teen in the chest, but the gun misfired.  The other teens ran, but the man opened fire on them, hitting one 14-year old boy, Christopher Carson, in the rear and hitting a 16-year old girl, April Hamilton, in the thigh.

The man is currently free, pending an investigation.

From an article and news video:

"First thing I seen was having the gun pointed to my friend's chest, and I was in shock," Carson said. "He pulled the trigger and nothing came out - I just heard a click."

Carson said he ran, then heard three shots.

The rest is a blur.

The shooting happened on 6th Street in Springfield. Witnesses said a man came out of a house carrying a gun and approached members of a party going on at another house.

That's when a confrontation started that ended in gunfire.

"It all happened in the middle of the road," said April Hamilton, 15. "That's where I got shot."
    
Hamilton said the bullet is still lodged in her left thigh.

"I think he was coming out to tell us to be quiet, but I have no idea why he brought a gun," she said.

Police have not released the shooter's name. He was released after questioning. Information has been sent to the district attorney for review.

KVAL News knocked on the man's door to get his side of the story.

"I do not wish to share that story with you," he said from behind a closed door.

No charges have been filed.

Hamilton's friends and family aren't happy.

"No charges have been filed! Why?" said Tawnya Thirachith, Hamilton's aunt. "Two innocent children got shot here."

A related article, which gives Christopher's age and describes how he was not one of those who confronted the neighbor, but rather went to the aid of April after she was shot, only to be shot as well.

14-year old Arizona boy shoots intruder

In a very rare instance where a child has a defensive shooting, 14-year old boy in Laveen, Arizona was home with his three younger siblings when a man with a rifle invaded his home.  Having seen a strange woman in the yard beforehand, the boy had armed himself with a handgun and shot the intruder, then the children fled and got help.

From an article:

The boy was home with his three siblings, ranging in age from 8 to 12, when he saw a woman they did not recognize at the front of the house around 4:30 p.m. She began pounding on the door, said James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The boy went upstairs and got a handgun, police said. A man with a rifle had forced his way into the home. He aimed the gun at the boy, and the boy shot him, police said.

The boy and his three siblings left the house and went to a neighbor's house, where the boy called police and his father, Holmes said.

"He took an action that no police officer, certainly no one in our community, wants a 14-year-old to have to take," Holmes said. "And yet he's safe, his siblings are safe, and so now we have to figure out why this happened and why these people were there."

Police were unsure whether the man and woman were the only two involved. There may have been other accomplices, police said.

The man was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition, according to Jonathan Jacobs, a Phoenix Fire Department spokesman.

Authorities were still looking for the woman Friday night. A description of the woman wasn't available, Holmes said.

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14-year old boy shot to death in attempt to rob a drug dealer

A 14-year old boy in Orangeburg, South Carolina, is dead after an attempt by him and two others, including his 17-year old brother, to rob a drug dealer.  The boy was carrying a rifle when he was shot.

From the article:

Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the boy was carrying a rifle when he was killed just before midnight Monday.

Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the boy was carrying a rifle when he was killed just before midnight Monday.

Authorities say the boy was with two men, 20-year-old John Riley and his 17-year-old brother, when he was shot. The sheriff says the men initially told police the shooting was random, but later admitted they spent Monday planning to rob a drug dealer. Both have been charged with armed robbery.

Ravenell says the dealer, 26-year-old Calvin Busby, also was arrested. It wasn't clear if any of the suspects had attorneys.

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15-year old Missouri boy killed by police

Lavon Peete, age 15

15-year old Lavon Peete was in the Glascow Village area of St. Louis, Missouri, visiting his cousin, when he was shot and killed by a St. Louis police officer. 

When the officer arrived to investigate a report of gunshots, he found Lavon with two other boys, and Lavon had a sawed-off shotgun.  After being warned to drop the weapon, but instead turning the gun toward the officer, the boy was shot and killed.

Lavon had prior behavioral problems which put him into a special school program.

From the article and news video:

Police said they heard gunshots, so an officer went to the scene. The officer found three males in a common area behind a vacant home in Glasgow Village that had previously been burglarized. They said one of the teens was holding a sawed-off shotgun.

The officer demanded the teen drop the gun. The teen then pointed the gun at the officer, so the officer fired shots hitting the teen, according to police.

The teen died at the scene.

Police said the officers found shell casings and live ammo in Peete's pockets. They are searching for the two teens that ran away.

Lavon's family is disputing the police story and demanding an investigation.

Fitch said the officer was "clearly upset that he had to take this action" and that Lavon Peete's age "is really weighing on the officer's mind."

"What in the world is a 15-year-old doing in a residential neighborhood with a sawed-off rifle at that time of night?" Fitch asked. "And his family deserves an answer to that."

Lavon Peete was the youngest of five children. Family members said they have a hard time reconciling his personality with the police account.

"He was a very loving, caring little boy and would never hurt anybody," said his sister, Aigner Turman, 19.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

17-year old boy injured while breaking into Tennessee home

A 17-year old boy was shot in the arm by an Ashland City, Tennessee homeowner who discovered the boy breaking in.

From the article:

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the arm early Sunday morning while trying to break into a home on Valley View Road just outside of Ashland City, Cheatham County authorities said.

Detective Travis Walker told The Times that the boy was shot once in the right foreman and he was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville for treatment.

Walker said the boy was inside a home at 1407 Valley View Rd. near Trouble Road shortly after 3 a.m., and the homeowner thought he heard a noise and that's when he got his gun and shot the teen.

The teen fled the scene and made his way to a nearby home to ask for help.

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17-year old girl shoots at intruder trying to get in through doggie door

A 17-year old girl in Glendale, Arizona, was at home when she noticed a man trying to get into the home via the doggie door.  She then fired at the intruder with a gun, scaring him away.

From the article:

The 17-year-old told police she heard her door bell ring but did not answer.

A short time later, she heard someone go over her gate to the backyard. She then saw a younger man reach through the home’s doggie door and attempt to unlock the latch, Coombs said.

The 17-year-old armed herself and fired a shot at the doggie door, Coombs said. The suspect fled, although it’s unknown if he was injured, Coombs said.

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15-year old autistic boy shot to death by police in Illinois

Stephon Watts, age 15

15-year old Stephon Watts, of Calumet City, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) was asked by his father to get off a computer. The boy resisted, and having had numerous problems with the boy that required police intervention, the father called the police again. This time, though, the boy attacked the police with a knife and was shot to death.

From the article:

Calumet City Police Chief Edward Gilmore said officers had been to the home 12 times since June 2010. Ten of those times, he said, were in regards to the boy.

Family members said the teen charged at one of the officers with a butter knife and was shot twice in the head by police.

Gilmore disputed the family's account, saying he believed the teen was shot in the torso after he lashed out at one of the officers with a kitchen knife, not a butter knife. The offer was cut in the left forearm, he said.

The chief said his officers acted in self defense. But Watts' family said shooting the boy was too severe.

"They knew how he was," said the teen's uncle, Wayne Watts, referring to the boy's autism. "They could have [used their Taser] on him."

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15-year old El Paso boy shot by officer after stealing beer and threatening officer

A 15-year old boy in El Paso was caught stealing bear from a convenience store. He threw a beer at the police car, then ran to an alley. He then threatened the police officer with a "sharp object" and wouldn't drop it, resulting in the boy being shot.

From the article:

The officer attempted to detain the teenager for questioning when he threw a bottle at the sergeant's car.

Investigators said the teen then ran into an alley and the officer chased him on foot. The 15-year-old approached the officer with a "sharp object" in a threatening manner.

"He refused to follow the officer's commands to drop the object and approached the officer in an aggressive manner with the sharp object," said El Paso Police Spokesman Chris Mears. "The officer fearing for his safety fired his duty weapon striking the subject."

It isn't known how many shots were fired or where the suspect was hit. Police said he was transported to University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

UPDATE (2/5/12): The boy had threatened the officer with a pair of scissors.

Two teens attack a plain-clothed New York police officer, one teen shot dead

A 15-year old boy and a 17-year old boy, both New York gang members, attacked a man who turned out to be an off-duty detective in plain clothes heading to his job. The detective defended himself, shooting and killing the 17-year old.

From the article:

A 15-year-old and a 17-year-old trailed the detective, who was dressed in plain clothes, as he walked to a Brooklyn subway station around midnight Sunday, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said. The teenagers targeted the 50-year-old detective because he's less than 6 feet tall and weighs only about 155 pounds, he said.

The 15-year-old grabbed the detective's arm and acted as though he had a gun, Browne said. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Antwain White beat the detective in the face with a wooden cane and told him to empty his pockets, police said.

White belonged to a gang called Muckers, whose approximately 20 members have been accused of robbing people in the Bushwick neighborhood, where the attack on the detective occurred, authorities said. It's unclear if the 15-year-old also belonged to the gang.

The detective pulled out his gun and his shield, said he's a policeman and told White to drop the cane, Browne said. White refused to drop the cane and lurched toward the detective, who fired his gun once, striking White through the arm and into the chest, police said. The detective then called 911 and stayed with White as the 15-year-old fled, police said.

White was pronounced dead at a hospital. The officer suffered bruises to his face.

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16-year old Milwaukee boy killed by 18-year old female pot dealer during robbery

Four teen boys decided to rob an illegal pot dealer. One of them was 16-year-old Roderrick Capehart. They faked wanting to purchase the marijuana, but when they tried to rob 18-year old Chasity Lewis, she pulled out a .22-caliber handgun and shot Capehart in the chest, killing him. This stopped the robbery, but it may also put her in prison for 25 years.

From the article:

After receiving a call from one of them, Lewis picked up the four near N. 16th and W. Nash streets. While she stopped at a store to get change, the boys walked to an alley where Lewis met them.
When she pulled out several bags of marijuana, one of the boys not charged punched Lewis, who spun around and grabbed Capehart.
After Lewis and Capehart fell, one of the boys yelled "gun" before they ran away and heard a gunshot.
Lewis told a detective she began selling marijuana about two weeks before to get money for a car and bought the .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol for $75 for protection.
She also said she did not fear for her safety during the incident and that she shot Capehart because she did not want to have her money or marijuana taken from her.

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Three teens knock man off bike and get shot; one dead another injured

A 65-year old man was bicycling on the Thun trail near the Bertolet Fishing Dock at South First Avenue and Chestnut Street in West Reading when three teens approached him, apparently to rob him. They knocked him off the bike and assaulted him, at which point the man pulled a gun and started shooting, killing one teen and injuring another.

A 16-year old boy, Julius Johnson, was killed, a 15-year old was injured and is in the hospital, and the other 15-year old was captured within minutes by police responding to the scene. Johnson had a previous record, and the boys had apparently just jumped and robbed two other elderly men.

Given that the teens were not armed, was this an appropriate use of deadly force? Would it have turned out the same if the man had just given over his wallet?

From the article:

Someone flagged down a passer-by in the 200 block of Riverfront Drive near Reading Area Community College.

Within minutes officers from the city, West Reading, Cumru Township, state police and the Berks County sheriff's office were at the scene. They found the dead boy on a sliver of land that is part of Cumru at the end of the pedestrian bridge.

District Attorney John T. Adams responded with detectives from the county's forensic services unit.

After consulting with Adams, police decided to release the man and charge the juvenile.

4-year old girl's family killed by father while she watched

Sedrick Clayton, a previously-law-abiding citizen, and his girlfriend, PaShea Fischer, had an argument in the bathroom of their home. The argument continued to a bedroom, where the shooter sprayed gunfire, though the article suggests it might have been in defense. In the end, PaShea and her parents, Ricky and Tricia Fischer, were shot dead, and Sedrick left the apartment with his and PaShea's 4-year old daughter.

Sedrick eventually turned himself in. So far charges haven't been filed. The child was unharmed in the incident.

15-year old robber shot in Poway, California

A 15-year old boy was shot in an apartment in Poway, California, after apparently breaking into the apartment to rob or vandalize it.

The teen, whose name has not been released, was transported to a local hospital and his condition is reported as not life threatening. Deputies were called on scene shortly after 1 p.m. when they found the wounded teen in the laundry room of the suspected vandalized apartment.

Police officials were investigating the man thought to be the shooter in the crime, but he was not yet arrested said Sherriff's Lt. David Gilmore.

Deputies are investigating the shooting as a result of a possible home invasion.