Boy, 11, home alone with sister shoots & kills intruder

[katietornado]

Link

An 11-year-old left at home to defend himself and his 4-year-old sister staved off several home invasion attempts before finally shooting and killing a 16-year-old intruder, police say.

Police officers arrived after 2 p.m. Thursday to the home on Hallwood Drive in north St. Louis County to discover the body of a 16-year-old lying in the front foyer.

The boy, whose name has not been released, had been shot in the head while breaking into the home, according to police. He was shot by the 11-year-old boy who lived inside, and who -- along with his 4-year-old sister -- had been left there alone.

Sgt. Brian Schellman said it was third time that the 16-year-old had attempted to break into that house that day. Neither sibling was hurt in the incident.

Some neighbors, however, questioned the account.

One woman told CNN affiliate KMOV said the two boys were on the front porch of the home when the 11-year-old took out a gun and fired.

"They were just arguing loud, you know, back and forth," she said.

The woman told the affiliate the 16-year-old didn't enter the house.

"He was always was just sitting right there on the porch," she said. "He never did once go inside the house."

It wasn't immediately known Thursday why the two were left alone in the first place or why an 11-year-old had access to a firearm, but police said the mother was cooperating with the investigation.

CNN affiliate KTVI/KPLR reported the mother, whose name has not been released, purchased the handgun because of prior attempted break-ins.

[glinda]

I've seen this making the rounds on FB and it has given me ample opportunity to unfriend people whose reaction was "see??? This is why guns are great! Good for him!"

Another child died. He wasn't in the home. This kid is 11 and has to live with the fact that he killed another person forever. He could have just as easily accidentally shot someone else or his sister. He is 11 and felt the need to protect his house this way instead of calling the police.

I have a lot of feelings about this but can't find the words to articulate other than it makes me sad on so many levels.

[zoegirltx]

hmmm.... why did an 11 YO have access to a gun & why didn't he call cops after the first 2 invasion attempts??

something doesn't add up in this story, especially with the neighbors account.

[underwaterrhymes]

This story is both terribly sad and terribly fishy at the same time.

[gretchenindisguise]

This article has more information. I'm skeptical to say the least.

m.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/year-old-st-louis-county-boy-fatally-shoots--year/article_a2898e6e-37aa-5eea-9bb6-14c71622f03a.html?mobile_touch=true

[Deleted]

I hate to be skeptical but it does sound like the home invasion story could be a cover-up for something. I hope not but will wait to hear if anything more comes out.

Either way, I feel terrible that this 11-year-old has to live with this.

[iammalcolmx]

Sept 4, 2015 5:46:41 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

This article has more information. I'm skeptical to say the least.

m.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/year-old-st-louis-county-boy-fatally-shoots--year/article_a2898e6e-37aa-5eea-9bb6-14c71622f03a.html?mobile_touch=true

Ok if this is true , I don't even know what to think.

[cap]

What a horrible story - who knows what really happened, at this point.

I will place a lot of blame on the parents of the 11 year old. Who the fuck leaves an 11 and 4 year old home alone together with access to guns?

[ttt]

Sept 4, 2015 5:46:41 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

This article has more information. I'm skeptical to say the least.

m.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/year-old-st-louis-county-boy-fatally-shoots--year/article_a2898e6e-37aa-5eea-9bb6-14c71622f03a.html?mobile_touch=true

 

[blink]

I too am skeptical. Why didn't he call the cops? Why didn't he hide? Why wasn't the door locked? Who leaves their children home alone, with gun access (for protection) but doesn't tell them to lock the door? How did the 16-year old try to come in 2 times before, and how was he stopped? It doesn't make sense!

[zoegirltx]

Yea- those other details and background make a big difference. So tragic & avoidable.

[ttt]

2 pm Thursday, shouldn't this kid have been at school?

[penguingrrl]

WTF? This story is so sketchy.

[aurora]

Ok, so even at face value I would hardly call this a victory - leaving an 11 year old to deal with the fact that he killed another human for the rest of his life is hardly something to celebrate (though if the original story is true then of course I am happy the 11 and 4 year olds weren't physically harmed).

But with all the other details, it sounds much worse.

[Cicero]

This sounds completely believable.

[heyjude]

So the 11 year old lured another kid to his house and then shot him in cold blood then claimed home invasion? This kid is a sociopath.

[cinnamoncox0]

If I read the second story correctly, neighbors saw him out waving the gun around earlier in the day?! No one called the police?
Everything is fishy about this.
Access to gun at 11
Home alone with 4 year old at 11 (some may be mature enough at 11 but I think it's safe to say this particular 11 year old isn't)
Not at school at 225
Neighbors seeing him with a gun and not calling the police

I wonder what the person with the 16 year old has to say about t all. They must be wicked shaken up wow

[heyjude]

School may not be in session yet guys. Many start after Labor Day.

[heyjude]

Also the 11 year old is a known cell phone thief and the 16 year old was trying to sell him cell phones? Is this kid some 11 year old cell phone king pin of the suburbs?

[tictac]

Sept 4, 2015 8:09:09 GMT -5 ttt said:

2 pm Thursday, shouldn't this kid have been at school?

Depends on where they live. The district I live in doesn't go back until next Tuesday (School always starts after Labor Day here). So that much, I can believe.

However, that's pretty much the ONLY part of this story that I'm NOT questioning.

[ttt]

Interwebs is telling me St Louis schools started August 17th.

www.slps.org/Page/2

[Deleted]

Sept 4, 2015 8:09:09 GMT -5 ttt said:

2 pm Thursday, shouldn't this kid have been at school?

School hasn't started for everyone.
I feel like an 11 yr old could stay home alone with a 4 year old for a few hours with no meal times in daytime.
But no gun access and don't answer the door.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Sept 4, 2015 8:09:09 GMT -5 ttt said:

2 pm Thursday, shouldn't this kid have been at school?

We don't start school till Tuesday here. That part is believable to me.

[downtoearth]

None of the articles said it, but the 16 year old was unarmed, right?

This isn't adding up. I can't fathom an 11 year old planning a cold-blood murder, but I can't fathom leaving an 11 year old with a gun.

[jln]

Can someone post the article linked above? I can't get it to open on mobile.

[jln]

As for this, what I have read is insane. This would be negligence or child endangerment to leave a child with a gun but not lock the door or have them call police.

[Mashara]

Sept 4, 2015 8:04:49 GMT -5 pennypenny said:

I don't believe this story at all. And who leaves an 11 year old a 4 year old home alone? Especially if that 11 year old doesn't know to call the police if someone is trying to break into the house. And why did this 11 yo have access to a gun? There are so many questions here.

Aside from the gun, lots of people leave an 11 year old and 4 year old home alone. I'm pretty sure I was left alone to babysit way younger than that. Some people just don't have money. Or they think it's okay. 

[WOT?*]

Sept 4, 2015 11:48:24 GMT -5 jln said:

Can someone post the article linked above? I can't get it to open on mobile.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • Police believe an 11-year-old boy fatally shot a 16-year-old boy who was trying to break into the child’s house Thursday, but some in the neighborhood question the circumstances of the shooting.

At least two witnesses say the younger boy was the aggressor.

What appears clear is that 11-year-old shot the teen about 2:25 p.m., even as the shooter’s 4-year-old sister was inside the home in the 10700 block of Hallwood Drive.

Authorities have not released the name of the dead teen.

St. Louis County police issued a statement describing the incident as a home invasion. The statement said another person had accompanied the 16-year-old who was killed.

“It’s troubling to say the least and shows that too many young people have access to handguns and the results are usually tragic,” Sgt. Brian Schellman said.

Schellman said police believe the two suspects had tried to break into the home in the Castle Point neighborhood in north St. Louis County several times Thursday.

Police said Thursday afternoon they believe the door to the home was unlocked, as there were no signs of forced entry.

Once the suspect got inside, Schellman said, the 11-year-old fired one shot and it struck the teenager in the head, fatally wounding him. His body was found in the front foyer of the home.

Schellman said the second suspect might have not have entered because the shot scared him away.

But that narrative doesn’t square with Donna Jackson, who lives across the street.

She said she saw the 11-year-old shoot the 16-year-old point-blank in the head as the two were talking on a half brick wall near the home’s front door. “It was not a break-in,” said Jackson, 45. “He shot him in the head.”

She said it was traumatic to see something like that. “There wasn’t a reason why it happened like it happened,” she said. “It was really sad.”

Another neighbor two doors down from the shooting offers a similar account.

Jazmyne Clark, 18, said the 11-year-old was on the front porch when he called to the 16-year-old to approach him. She said the teen might have been seeking to sell the younger child a cellphone. When the 16-year-old reached the front door, Clark said, the 11-year-old shot him, with the teen falling forward into the open front door.

“He was never in the house,” Clark said. “He wasn’t breaking in at all. He was just trying to sell him his phone.”

Clark said the 11-year-old had been in front of the house earlier in the day waving a gun around. She said that the boy had caused problems in the neighborhood before and that this kind of thing was bound to happen eventually.

Another neighbor, Anna Carvin, 25, said the 11-year-old had previously broke into her own home and stole cellphones.
Sharon Taylor, who lives next door to the shooting and says she is the cousin of the 11-year-old’s father, disputes the notion that the boy is a problem child. “He’s respectful,” Taylor said, “very respectful.”

Even so, she said, she doesn’t buy the home-invasion account.

“I don’t believe someone would come through the front door at this time of day,” Taylor said.

When told of the witness accounts from the neighborhood, Schellman, of the county police, stressed that the investigation was developing.

“Obviously the investigation is extremely early,” Schellman said. “Many, many interviews have to be conducted. We would urge more strongly than anything, that anyone up there who has pertinent information about the case, we have to hear from them.”

When asked if the police still stood by the home-invasion account, Schellman said: “Until we’ve talked to everybody, I don’t know if we can contradict or back off of that right now.”

Earlier, police said the person who accompanied the 16-year-old was in custody. Police said they were trying to determine why the young children had been left home alone with access to a gun.

The children’s mother told police she had purchased the gun for protection because the family had previous incidents of break-in attempts.

Crime-scene tape surrounded the home, a modest white wood and brick ranch, on Thursday afternoon.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect age of the deceased suspect.

Valerie Schremp Hahn of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

[debatethis]

I'm surprised we're all surprised about an 11yo having access to a gun. Everytown.Org (and others) have published scary stats on this very topic.
-1/3 of American children live in homes with guns
-Of those homes, 43% have guns that are unsecured
-Of those homes, 13% have guns that are both unsecured and loaded/stored with their ammo
For the quick math, that's 1.7 million kids live in homes with guns that are both unlocked and loaded.
Hundreds of kids are shot in accidental* discharge situations by other kids each year.

*From the little we know, this doesn't sound accidental by far, but none of this story seems out of the ordinary - everything from kids being unsupervised too young to kids having unsupervised access to guns is all SSDD here.

[WOT?*]

I'm not surprised at all. People are careless, uneducated and stupid where guns are concerned.

We need more than "buy a license and wait two days for the background check and come pick up your gun." People that allow kids access to guns, whether purposeful or carelessly, need to be held accountable. People need to take classes, not only on gun safety, but on statistics, on how to handle, store and care for weapons. Not a quick 15 minute tutorial (at best) when they come to pick up the gun and then hope for the best. People need to learn that guns are weapons, not something you just pick up "for self defense" and not know how to handle them. People need to test for licenses to drive vehicles, they should have requirements for licensing for weapons as well, and continuing testing, just like they do for cars. People get careless or they think "it won't happen to me."

My sister and her daughter shoot at the range together. I've seen FB postings of them shooting, the targets, their guns, and comments of "nobody will be breaking into MY house" and "You go girl!" responses. That makes me feel some sort of way, and it's not warm and fuzzy.

People need to quit being stupid "self defense" and "Second Amendment" and viewing guns as an extension of their manhood or whatever. They are tools and they are weapons and they should be respected and even feared.

That poor boy. He has to live with this.

ETA:  Didn't somebody post once upon a time about a study that showed that kids that witnessed violence were more prone to using violence as a way to solve problems?  I wish I could find it.