[nessman]

NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - A man fatally shot a masked teenager in self-defense outside his neighbor's house during what appeared to be an attempted late-night burglary and then discovered it was his son, state police said.

Connecticut man kills masked boy, then finds out it's his son | syracuse.com

The question I have is - what the hell is his kid doing out at 0100 hrs on a school night wearing a black ski mask? Some news report say the shiny object the kid was holding was a weapon of some sort.

 

[DystruktoBoi1]

NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - A man fatally shot a masked teenager in self-defense outside his neighbor's house during what appeared to be an attempted late-night burglary and then discovered it was his son, state police said.

Connecticut man kills masked boy, then finds out it's his son | syracuse.com

The question I have is - what the hell is his kid doing out at 0100 hrs on a school night wearing a black ski mask? Some news report say the shiny object the kid was holding was a weapon of some sort.

Another reason flashlights on home defense firearms are a super good choice, granted the kid had a mask on but there maybe have been a better chance of him recognizing his son with a good light.

So far it sounds like his son was gonna rob the neighbor and never thought about the possibility that his father would come over ot help her with a gun.

 

[Darthgamer138]

Ehh, if a man in a black ski mask comes into my house at 1AM I can't say I would do anything differently.

 

[sr20sean]

This was the teacher of one of my dad's friend's son. Really sad to hear about it.

 

[THE RAVEN]

NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - A man fatally shot a masked teenager in self-defense outside his neighbor's house during what appeared to be an attempted late-night burglary and then discovered it was his son, state police said.

Connecticut man kills masked boy, then finds out it's his son | syracuse.com

The question I have is - what the hell is his kid doing out at 0100 hrs on a school night wearing a black ski mask? Some news report say the shiny object the kid was holding was a weapon of some sort.

Guess he got what he deserved then didn't he !

 

[cgrutt]

Those of you who don't have kids will never understand how tragic this must be for his father. I know I would have probably made similarly cold remarks a few years ago. Now I know the second shot would have been to my temple after finding out what had just happened. Thoughts and prayers to the family and may the child RIP. I hate hearing this stuff.

 

[GROM]

Assess and identify
Flashlight on a primary weapon is a must.
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[DirgeNYS]

I was taught to never, ever shoot without identifying your target in a low-light/no-light environment, especially in a potential home invasion scenario. If you have family living with you, this is even more important. Having a flashlight or a weaponlight could have prevented this. Even though the son was wearing a ski mask to hide his identity, a light combined with verbal commands from the father could have prompted the son to say something or take off that mask.

What a depressing tragedy this is. It hits home with me, as I'm staying with family in this abysmal local job market.

 

[BIG flash]

doesn't sound like he "mistakes his son for a burglar".
sounds like his son was a burglar and he shot him without properly identifying him.

sh*tty situation though, no doubt.

 

[ChrisWNY]

During what appeared to be an attempted late-night burglary, a man fatally shot a masked teenager in self-defense outside his neighbor's house and then discovered it was his son, state police said.

So the shooting was outside the house. Doesn't this present some additional legal problems? Not sure Connecticut's self-defense laws are all that different from those of NYS, though I'll admit I'm not terribly familiar with CT's laws.

 

[goperfect]

Ehh, if a man in a black ski mask comes into my house at 1AM I can't say I would do anything differently.

I agree, but according to the story that I read, the would be bad guy was at the neighbors house not his. Either way, this is an absolute tragedy, my thoughts and prayers to all involved.

 

[944turbo]

Regarding it not being his house -- if a woman neighbor, who lives alone, calls me fearing that someone's breaking into her home, I'm going to go help her. I'll call 911 on the way over, but I'm not going to wait around for them to arrive while she's over there helpless.

Being afraid to act to help someone out like that is BS.

 

[BIG flash]

Regarding it not being his house -- if a woman neighbor, who lives alone, calls me fearing that someone's breaking into her home, I'm going to go help her. I'll call 911 on the way over, but I'm not going to wait around for them to arrive while she's over there helpless.

Being afraid to act to help someone out like that is BS.

i agree!

 

[ADKeagle]

I don't like the monday morning quarterbacking going on here. He did identify his target- masked bad guy advancing with weapon, posing imminent danger to his own life. It's a horrible tragedy, I feel for this guy. I can't even begin to imagine the pain. It wasn't just any next door neighbor either, it was his sister who called for help.

 

[ChrisWNY]

Nah I wasn't questioning whether it was right or wrong to help the woman out, I would've done the same. If a guy in a ski mask was approaching me with a weapon in his hand, I probably would've shot the guy as well. Besides, I asked a question, I didn't infer anything, no Monday QB'ing was involved.

The prosecutor will be questioning whether or not the shooting might have been preemptive, and that is based on the fact that the article clearly stated the shooting occurred outdoors, outside the neighbor's house. The shiny object (weapon) in the kid's hand obviously makes self-defense quite plausible. Just doesn't make sense why the guy's son would've pulled a stunt like that, considering the neighbor was his sister. Why would he have had some "shiny" object in his hand (unless it was a flashlight or something)? I'm betting more info may be released in the upcoming days.

I have two little boys, 1 and 3, so I can't imagine the psychological trauma that follows after something like this. A similar situation happened a few months ago - where a LEO mistakenly shot his son, who he thought was breaking into his motel room late at night. Makes you question a lot of things...

 

[ADKeagle]

Little more info in this article:

Conn. man kills masked teen, learns it's his son - Yahoo! News

 

[Catfish787]

Little more info in this article:

Conn. man kills masked teen, learns it's his son - Yahoo! News

This things clears things up a bit more, thanks.

Still need to know if the "weapon" the boy had in his hand was actually a weapon or just a prop to make the final conclusions on this incident though.

Seeing that the "next door neighbor" was actually the guy's sister actually changes some things too. Like, more justification for bringing the gun over to her house and also more suggestion that it could have been a "prank" rather than a real burglary.

Anyway you look at it though, its a sad story.

Side note:

Also... I don't think the flashlight would have helped in this case. Its doubtful.... Even with proper lighting, the guy is still going to see the same thing..... a person with a black ski mask, "charging" at him with something in his hand.

 

[Darthgamer138]

Still need to know if the "weapon" the boy had in his hand was actually a weapon or just a prop to make the final conclusions on this incident though.

Does this really matter?

Pull a BB gun on a cop in a dark alley.

 

[GUNSICK1]

It was a knife just read it on the AP.

 

[ChrisWNY]

Article is national news...

Connecticut teacher mistakenly kills son after neighbor reports robber - CNN.com

According to CNN, the son was adopted (not that it matters, but it's new info nonetheless). Maybe the kid had serious sleepwalking issues?