SWAT team shoots 8th grader

[ZfrkS62]

LONGWOOD, Fla. - An eighth-grader was shot and wounded by a SWAT team officer in a school bathroom Friday after he pulled out a pellet gun that resembled a real weapon and later raised it at a deputy, authorities said.

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Sheriff Don Eslinger said the 15-year-old boy brought the gun to Milwee Middle School in his backpack. Eslinger said two students saw it and one persuaded the other to report it, causing a scuffle.

The alleged gunman ordered one of the students into a closet, dimmed the lights and ran from the classroom. He then went around the campus carrying the weapon, Eslinger said. Deputies eventually isolated him in a restroom, and the school was evacuated.

Eslinger said negotiators tried unsuccessfully to start a dialogue with the boy, identified as Christopher David Penley.

"He did not respond," Eslinger said. "He refused to even comment. All he said was his first name. He did not drop the firearm."

When the boy raised the gun at a deputy, he shot the youth, the sheriff said.

Penley was taken to a hospital, where he was on "advanced life support," the sheriff said.

"He was suicidal," Eslinger said. "During this standoff, and during the chase, the student said he was going to kill himself or die." At one point, the boy held the gun to his own neck.

No one else was injured. The sheriff's office confirmed later that the weapon was a pellet gun fashioned to look like a 9mm handgun. The tip of the gun had been painted black, covering brightly colored markings that would have indicated it was nonlethal.

Investigators did not know why Penley brought the weapon to school. "We are looking into his past, and all kinds of different issues possibly." Eslinger said.

Classes were canceled for the rest of the day, and frantic parents arrived to pick up their children from the 1,100-student public school in suburban Orlando.

"When I saw the news, I just couldn't believe this was my daughter's school. I came right away," said Anil Santos, whose daughter, Aleister, is in eighth grade.

Sarah Tivy, 12, said some students were frightened, but she appeared calm.

"I just figured that if someone is going to bring a gun to school, then they need to be taken out of school," she said.

Kelly Swofford, a neighbor whose 11-year-old son is close friends with Penley, said he visited their home Thursday night and complained that "people were picking on him at school. I told him he needed to talk to his guidance counselor."

Her son Jeffery said Penley talked about wanting to die when the two had breakfast Friday morning. He said Penley had been fighting with another boy, allegedly over a girl.

"Everybody knew they were going to fight," Jeffery said. "I heard a rumor that he had a BB gun, but I didn't think he really had one."

Phone calls to Penley's home were not answered Friday, and a person who answered the door declined to comment.

As dusk fell, Marie Hargis stood in front of the school with a sign that read "Stop the violence." Her 14-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter attend Milwee.

"My youngest daughter is just very emotionally messed up. She started crying and said, `Mommy, I don't want to go back.' They should not fear having to go to school."


I've got to side with the cops on this one. If i was faced with a gun that looked real, i'd have pulled the trigger as well.

I really want to know though, why is it only Florida that is reporting shit like this? I know there's got to be some fucked up shit going on in the other 49 states, but why is Florida suddenly the worst?

[dingo]

Good stuff, just a shame he didn't finish him off properly.

[graywolf624]

Darwin needs to do his job.
Not that we would lose an especially bright one.. Not many 15 year old 8th grade einsteins. Pretty bad when your almost old enough to get statutory rape charges against you for dating someone in your grade.. lol..

[5vz-fe]

if he's stupid enough to raise the gun at the SWAT, I don't think he'll survive the world when he gets old anyways......

[ZfrkS62]

if he's stupid enough to raise the gun at the SWAT, I don't think he'll survive the world when he gets old anyways......

It was his intent to die one way or another. It's called Suicide by Cop

[pharzo]

It was his intent to die one way or another. It's called Suicide by Cop

You don't know that. Suicide by Cop is done with intent, all we know is that the kid said he wanted to die and raised a BB gun to his neck. A BB gun for fucks sake! That does not show suicidal tendency

[graywolf624]

Pointing a gun at a cop does.

[gucom]

Pretty bad when your almost old enough to get statutory rape charges against you for dating someone in your grade.. lol..

LOL :lol: btw the cops were ofcourse totally right to shoot him, those things are often indistinguishable from real guns unless u have them in your hands...and not giving up your toy gun when a swat team is standing outside the door is er...not the brightest idea in years...

gotta say i did bring a BBgun (which are illegal here) to school once, got busted by a teacher and got it back wrecked...but thats a whole other story :)

[DeMoN]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

[Mattk]

I don't think a lawsuit would really work, considering he was in the wrong. He's pretty stupid for a 15 year-old. No wonder he's still in the 8th grade.

[ZfrkS62]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

I think one is brewing. The kid died later that day and according to the family's lawyer, his dad told the cops it was a pellet gun before he was shot, and that if the cops had let him talk to the kid, he could have talked the gun out of his hands.

Of course i call bullshit.

I'll try and find the article again

[Mattk]

I know a bloke who wanted to test out his pellet gun by shooting at me (mainly because I felt it would be interesting to see if it hurt). He missed from around 20 cm.

[RC45]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

I think one is brewing. The kid died later that day and according to the family's lawyer, his dad told the cops it was a pellet gun before he was shot, and that if the cops had let him talk to the kid, he could have talked the gun out of his hands.

Of course i call bullshit.

I'll try and find the article again

If this turns out to be true - then the cop who called for the shot to be fired should be tried for murder.

But as you say - may not be true.

[ZfrkS62]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

I think one is brewing. The kid died later that day and according to the family's lawyer, his dad told the cops it was a pellet gun before he was shot, and that if the cops had let him talk to the kid, he could have talked the gun out of his hands.

Of course i call bullshit.

I'll try and find the article again

If this turns out to be true - then the cop who called for the shot to be fired should be tried for murder.

But as you say - may not be true.

In all honesty, i'd still er on the side of the cops. What if his dad was just saying it was a pellet gun so the police wouldn't shoot him? Not a chance i'd be willing to take.

And there are .177 cal pistols.

[RC45]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

I think one is brewing. The kid died later that day and according to the family's lawyer, his dad told the cops it was a pellet gun before he was shot, and that if the cops had let him talk to the kid, he could have talked the gun out of his hands.

Of course i call bullshit.

I'll try and find the article again

If this turns out to be true - then the cop who called for the shot to be fired should be tried for murder.

But as you say - may not be true.

In all honesty, i'd still er on the side of the cops. What if his dad was just saying it was a pellet gun so the police wouldn't shoot him? Not a chance i'd be willing to take.

And there are .177 cal pistols.

"er on the side of the cops"??

This isn't some puppet dictatorship - although with that mindset it may as well be.

What kind of a society has this country become if it's ok for a grown armed cop to blow the head off a scared 8th grader - ?? It's not like he was acting like a subway terrorist ;)

All the cops needed to do was send the father in with body armour.

[ZfrkS62]

I wonder if a lawsuit comes along... knowing americans, its highly possible.

I think one is brewing. The kid died later that day and according to the family's lawyer, his dad told the cops it was a pellet gun before he was shot, and that if the cops had let him talk to the kid, he could have talked the gun out of his hands.

Of course i call bullshit.

I'll try and find the article again

If this turns out to be true - then the cop who called for the shot to be fired should be tried for murder.

But as you say - may not be true.

In all honesty, i'd still er on the side of the cops. What if his dad was just saying it was a pellet gun so the police wouldn't shoot him? Not a chance i'd be willing to take.

And there are .177 cal pistols.

"er on the side of the cops"??

This isn't some puppet dictatorship - although with that mindset it may as well be.

What kind of a society has this country become if it's ok for a grown armed cop to blow the head off a scared 8th grader - ?? It's not like he was acting like a subway terrorist ;)

All the cops needed to do was send the father in with body armour.

Wasnt sure how to spell it :lol:

Scared? The kid knew all along what he was doing. Depending on what kind of pellet pistol it was, he still could have killed himself with it had he known where to put it, which he may have.

I really think the family is trying to pass the blame for their son's death. They knew he was troubled yet i have seen nothing to show that they were trying to help him.

Now i've been against the tazing of the kids by the cops. But the second a cop is put in a situation where his life may be in danger, and makes the decision to pull the trigger, then fine. It's part of their job and who are we to say that they can't do it the way they need to. Or would you prefer the cops give up their firearms?

Now if it comes out that the father DID tell the police that it was a mere pellet gun, then whoever is responsible for not passing on the info is the one that should be held responsible. Not the cop who didn't get the info.

[RC45]

It's part of their job and who are we to say that they can't do it the way they need to.

Who are we?

The rest of the socalled "free" society.. again this isn't a dictatorship.



Or would you prefer the cops give up their firearms?

In certain situaitons they may have to - tazer or simply rushing with a billy club - or even calling in Chuck Norris might be appropriate - but let's remember to keep the presumption of innocence in mind at all times ;)


Now if it comes out that the father DID tell the police that it was a mere pellet gun, then whoever is responsible for not passing on the info is the one that should be held responsible. Not the cop who didn't get the info.
Actually - the gut instinct to shoot a kid at point blank range is probably NOT one I want to have innstilled in city cops.

The cop is also at fault here - when they put themselves into the situation just so that they can then justify using deadly force you also have to quesiton their procedures.

The cop wasn't in danger until he moved in - all he had to do was move out to remove the life threatening danger - even if it ever existed.

Just like the "high speed" chase is almost something of the past, so too must these "un in guns blazing in case they have guns too" procedures.

;)

[SFDMALEX]

So they have sharp shooters, and a dad who said that the kid has a pellet gun, who asked to go talk to the kid?

Hmmm so wtf was the kid shot?

Here you have a person willing to go speak to the kid and they call a shot?



Sorry this sounds all way fucked up.

There are a number of things they could have done, it is a kid afterall.

[ZfrkS62]

or even calling in Chuck Norris might be appropriate


I think i missed something again...when did chuck become a joke??


Who are we?

The rest of the socalled "free" society.. again this isn't a dictatorship.


ok, that came off wrong. What i meant was, to a certain extent they need to do it the way they need to do it. Backing out of the bathroom and leaving the kid alone could have resulted in the kid shooting himself in the jugular and bleeding to death. Guess who gets sued for allowing the kid to shoot himself.

We don't know how the kid raised the gun. all the article said was that he raised it and and was shot. If he slowly raised it, ok, cops fault. but if he just whipped it up suddenly, then the cops instinct is to shoot or be shot. He shot the kid once, and it turned out to be fatal. not a head shot that killed him instantly.


I have a pretty good feeling that the schol is going to get sued too.

[Mattk]

This kid was waving his gun around threatening people, and even forced a bloke into a closet, and then barricades himself into a bathroom. Not your everyday weirdo who's showing his new gun off to his mates.

The cop can't be blamed for shooting the kid. You threaten a cop with a gun, you'll get shot. At least he had the sense not to shoot him more than once. So what if it was only a BB gun? They all look the same.

I would question whether the father actually did tell the cops that it was only a BB gun. The press will report anything.