A woman in Texas was the victim of an attempted burglary in the early hours of Thursday, December 14, and had to fight off the young, male attempted burglar involved. The incident ended with the woman having to fatally shoot the 14-year-old who allegedly broke into her apartment.
According to the police, the woman, who had reported numerous other break-ins at her apartment in the past, called 911 to report an attempted burglary shortly before the shooting occurred. Then, after the shooting, she called the police again. That time, when they arrived, they found the 14-year-old alleged burglar dead with a gunshot wound to the chest.
The police added that she has been cooperating with them and that no arrests have yet been made. The police also noted that the evidence at the scene of the shooting indicates that the teen was involved in a burglary attempt.
The fourteen-year-old involved was an eighth grader at a local middle school, with his mother not realizing he snuck out on the night of the incident until he did not return the next morning. Speaking about the teen’s death, a local youth mentor said, “I connect with these kids like that.”
He added that he was supposed to have a mentoring session with the teen on that Thursday, but was texted about his death shortly before leaving for the meeting. He said, “Today was just like ‘Dang. I wasn’t expecting that. Even though I expect that, unfortunately, in the community and the culture, I wasn’t expecting that today. And that hurt me.”
That youth mentor also said, when commenting on the nature of the alleged burglar, “I could tell he was a pretty good kid, really decent kid, just making some immature and young choices from the lack of being guided or being misguided.”
Similarly, a local, commenting on the nature of the teen alleged burglar killed during the incident, said, “He was such a sweet kid. He was always so polite, always saying ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘yes, sir,’ and he was one of those kids who would never try to take something he didn’t pay for. … I just can’t fathom him doing something wrong. He never rubbed you wrong to think he was that kind of kid.”
Texas self-defense law is relatively permissive of the use of force and straightforward about when a law-abiding citizen can use deadly force to stop a criminal. The state’s castle doctrine law provides, “A person in lawful possession of land or tangible, movable property is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property.”
Similarly, Texas’s “Stand Your Ground Law” allows for the use of deadly force when “the person against whom the force was used . . . unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor’s occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment.”
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