A Gun in the Home
Imagine being a ten year old boy home alone with your eight year old sister. There is a knock at the door. You tell your sister to be quiet. The knock becomes more insistent, and ultimately two grown thugs kick your door in.
That is what happened at a Port Allen, Louisiana apartment complex. The boy and his sister ran to hide in a closet. The home invaders quickly gave chase. They snatched open the closet door, pouring a blinding light on the trembling children.
But the ten year old boy had grabbed his mother's handgun as he closed the closet door behind himself and his sister. Because that handgun was in that home, two children are alive and well, and two armed criminals who would assault and quite probably kill without remorse are behind bars. Their juvenile get-away driver is in jail as well.
In case this video feed ever goes down, the boy shot one of the criminals, Roderick Porter, in the mouth with the handgun. Porter and his accomplice, Dean Favron, turned tail and ran from the armed adolescent. They did not run because they changed their mind about hurting children. They were not reformed. They had no religious conversion. No, the epithany they had was that the boy they had threatened had the means and the willingness to kill them dead, to place them rotting in their graves if they did not retreat. That is why they ran. The boy's willingness came from his resolve to live and protect his sister. The means came from the gun his mother kept in the home.
This home invasion occured in a part of town that is not exactly economically privileged. Chances are, the gun was an inexpensive type, such as a Hi Point or possibly even a Raven or Bryco. The type of handgun used is not important. The thing is, the gun was there, a boy was willing to use it to save lives, and the handgun worked. Tonight, in Baton Rouge Louisiana, three violent armed criminals are in jail awaiting trial because of that boy and that gun. In Port Allen, a mother tucks her children into bed and thanks God she had a gun in the home.
Paul Helmke, put that in your pipe and smoke it.
That is what happened at a Port Allen, Louisiana apartment complex. The boy and his sister ran to hide in a closet. The home invaders quickly gave chase. They snatched open the closet door, pouring a blinding light on the trembling children.
But the ten year old boy had grabbed his mother's handgun as he closed the closet door behind himself and his sister. Because that handgun was in that home, two children are alive and well, and two armed criminals who would assault and quite probably kill without remorse are behind bars. Their juvenile get-away driver is in jail as well.
In case this video feed ever goes down, the boy shot one of the criminals, Roderick Porter, in the mouth with the handgun. Porter and his accomplice, Dean Favron, turned tail and ran from the armed adolescent. They did not run because they changed their mind about hurting children. They were not reformed. They had no religious conversion. No, the epithany they had was that the boy they had threatened had the means and the willingness to kill them dead, to place them rotting in their graves if they did not retreat. That is why they ran. The boy's willingness came from his resolve to live and protect his sister. The means came from the gun his mother kept in the home. This home invasion occured in a part of town that is not exactly economically privileged. Chances are, the gun was an inexpensive type, such as a Hi Point or possibly even a Raven or Bryco. The type of handgun used is not important. The thing is, the gun was there, a boy was willing to use it to save lives, and the handgun worked. Tonight, in Baton Rouge Louisiana, three violent armed criminals are in jail awaiting trial because of that boy and that gun. In Port Allen, a mother tucks her children into bed and thanks God she had a gun in the home.
Paul Helmke, put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Labels: Home Defense
posted by Xavier at 5:31 PM
32 Comments:
That's gotta hurt being outshot by a ten year old. The young man did good.
This illustrates why anyone who is not a convicted felon, or judged mentally incompetent, and has not renounced his (or her) citizenship should be allowed to have and possess a gun (and why children should be taught at least the minimum basics of safe gun handling).
I'm sorry the boy has to live with and remember this but I'd rather he live with this memory that with the death (or rape) of his sister.
Thanks for posting,
Doug
I work right down the road from there, What is missing from the story...
Where the hell was the mother ??????
Yup, good on him. I can almost hear Sarah Brady crying, too ;)
Jim
Dave,
The mother was at work, she says as much in the video. It's not an uncommon situation for single parent families that are not on welfare.
Unfortunately, many of these parents at the poverty level must leave children at home and alone to work. Child care, especially on the night shift, is not affordable for many of these families. It does not mean the mother doesn't care about or love her children.
"This illustrates why anyone who is not a convicted felon, or judged mentally incompetent, and has not renounced his (or her) citizenship should be allowed to have and possess a gun (and why children should be taught at least the minimum basics of safe gun handling)."
The number of convicted felons in the USA is huge (we have the highest prison population per capita in the world), and a lot of those are for the dumbest, petty infringements. Like the guy that killed a snake that turned out to be endangered in his county, like the guy who made a genuine mistake with his taxes, etc. These people should be denied their right to defend themselves?
And what does citizenship have to do with these rights? We don't take away free speech because someone isn't a citizen, nor do we deny them the rights protected by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th amendments.
If there's ever a time to restrict an individual's God given rights it is very rare.
Amazing story, and I love your take on why they ran. Exactly true X, good job. My 17 year old daughter has a .380 by her bed, and can use it, my wife and I have my .45 in our room ready to rock. The Mom said she never told the boy to get the gun, he did it on his own, good on him...
Paul Helmke can shove that up his asshole and pull the trigger. Pepper Spray, that is.
wv: "strof" = past tense of strafe.
By the way, I was being left along at home with my older brother starting from when I was eight (he was 10). My older brother mostly kept to himself and read books in our room. Meanwhile, I was learning to cook. I made my first meal for my family (of seven) when I was nine. It was necessary, since both parents worked till 9 p.m. or later and if we had waited till they got home to make dinner, it would have been 10:30 p.m. before we ate. I started cooking at 8:30 p.m. after I had done my homework, fed me and my brother around 9 p.m. My parents and the older brothers would come home around 9:30 p.m. and started their dinner just as we finished ours. Then we relaxed till 10 p.m.,and got to bed. How did it get to this point where a 9-year-old person can't even boil water?? Sad.
One of 'em just got out for a 2003 charge of Agg Assault Of A Peace Officer, and he only gets $150k bond? I'd have asked for higher, or a No Bond, in the interests of public safety.
Xavier's right-- it's a hard situation. And not all 10 year-olds are the same. This one, I would submit, is more mature than many.
Xavier, "...they had no religious conversion." True, but they seem to have had a 'come to Jesus' moment. Heh.
Dave - I was babysitting 5 children when I was 10yo. It is obvious this boy was mature enough to be caring for his sister in the absence of his mother.
And for the boy - awesome job! You saved your sister's and your own life I'm sure, and you should be hailed as the hero you are. For the mother - thank you for training your children to defend themselves and be an example for others.
People use misleading statistics about children being accidentally shot by other children as an excuse to take away firearms from the home, or keep them locked up unarmed or even disassembled in a safe. This just proves it is not only possible to have a gun in a home with a child, safely, but that children can be taught and be aware of a gun's *proper* handling and use.
I'm kind of torn up on this issue, because while I am happy that the kid was able to use the gun to defend himself and his sister, it seems that the much more common version of this story is some boy accidentally shooting his sister (just saw a news story today about this), because a gun was unsecured and the child was playing with it. Then all the anti-gun people run with the story as yet more evidence that people should not be allowed to own handguns. While the outcome here was positive, in general can a 10 year old be trusted to have unsupervised access to a gun?
I agree that the mother being at home or not is not a measure of her love or caring of her child, However my personal experiences have led me to feel they need to have an adult of some sort in the household at that age.
.. I am not insensitive to the trouble the persons at that pay level are faced with, In fact I was homeless for 7 months for a period in my 20's But I have a problem with folks who stay there, or continue to pop children to feel loved or wanted.. and then have no answer to fix their plight...
(I am off of my soapbox)
continue with your normal programming schedule..
He did good! Protected his sister, and took three bad guys off the street! I hope if there is a reward, he gets that too!
Here's to a brave young man.
Kid, if by chance you ever get to read this...you did the right thing. Don't let anyone ever tell you different.
Send those kids to Disney Land - somebody out there must have the means.
Incredible story! Thanks for sharing Xav!
Unfortunately, the family is now without a defensive firearm [theirs certainly having been taken for evidentiary purposes]. Anybody got a loaner they can spare?
A man, or a woman, has gotta do what a man's gotta do, even if he is only 10 years old.
I'd say that that young man has grown up quick, to be taking the responsibility for his sister like that.
DougInSalcha, think of this: that young man (and I use that term deliberately) has the memory of SAVING HIS SISTER from assault, rape or possibly death. I hope he remembers that proudly; he's earned it.
I was left alone at home when I was 10. I was raised on a horse farm, and we always had a loaded gun in the house for the same reason that this young man's mother kept hers: self defense.
I'm sorry the young man had to go through this ordeal, but think: he got through it successfully, for which I give his mother credit. She obviously spends a lot of time raising her children and preparing them for emergency situations.
As for me, I'd allow convicted felons to possess firearms with a restriction on concealed carry. It isn't as if this law ever deterred a criminal, is it?
OMG! Children were left alone in a home with a loaded gun that was not locked and/or disassembled??? The horror. Think of the children!!! [sarcasm off]
My kneejerk reaction was 'What kind of Parent leaves a loaded firearm for a ten year old to find?'.
Clearly this parent taught her Son well. Perhaps Parents should give their kids more credit. Then again, I don't have kids.
Either way, a terrible decision for a ten year old to make. My prayers are with him.
To David: "in general can a 10 year old be trusted to have unsupervised access to a gun?"
I would argue that there is no magic "number" in years that a child is suddenly ready for a gun. That is a decision best left to parents, based upon the level of maturity and responsibility the child can demonstrate.
In that vein: there are some 22yr olds I think who should NEVER touch a gun. Conversely, there are 11 year olds that I'd want to have my back in a firefight.
Ross,
Would suggest you go back and re-read my post. "I'm sorry the boy has to live with and remember this but I'd rather he live with this memory tha(n) with the death (or rape) of his sister." Yes, I had a typo (happens when you're in your 60s and have carpul tunnel syndrome)...
Having been permanently laid off three months ago, I was on the computer yesterday looking for employment as has become my daily BAU. Movement was caught out of the corner of my eye. Someone had been in the backyard and was leaving. My wife was in the side yard. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to grab any of my firearms. Instead I took the Bic pen next to the computer along with the knife I had in my pants pocket and grabbed the phone as I hurried to the side door. I quickly opened the door to make noise, then showed myself angled in the doorway with the phone as he was surprising my wife with an, "Excuse me ma'am". He turned as I had hoped so I could get a better look at him, his hands, etc. He had some very lame excuse of being told to come over my backwall. He smelled of liquor and he, though manageably coherent, was definitely a bit off as he tried to think of excuses. Thankfully, he posed no immediate threat. I can't say if it was because he could see I was bigger than he, or if he had noticed the phone in my hand - I know he didn't see the knife and I doubt he understood why I was holding the pen as I was. Police came and got him. Said they expected him to be on meth in addition to drinking. My wife now understands a bit better why I say the world isn't a safe place and that one should try to be constantly aware of what's going on around them. She had me show her how to safely handle the revolver last night. Now we have to begin working on how to act in various situations, for she better understands that concept too. SO, those mentioning children and teaching them the basics on safety and handling are right on the money.
Having been permanently laid off three months ago, I was on the computer yesterday looking for employment as has become my daily BAU. Movement was caught out of the corner of my eye. Someone had been in the backyard and was leaving. My wife was in the side yard. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to grab any of my firearms. Instead I took the Bic pen next to the computer along with the knife I had in my pants pocket and grabbed the phone as I hurried to the side door. I quickly opened the door to make noise, then showed myself angled in the doorway with the phone as he was surprising my wife with an, "Excuse me ma'am". He turned as I had hoped so I could get a better look at him, his hands, etc. He had some very lame excuse of being told to come over my backwall. He smelled of liquor and he, though manageably coherent, was definitely a bit off as he tried to think of excuses. Thankfully, he posed no immediate threat. I can't say if it was because he could see I was bigger than he, or if he had noticed the phone in my hand - I know he didn't see the knife and I doubt he understood why I was holding the pen as I was. Police came and got him. Said they expected him to be on meth in addition to drinking. My wife now understands a bit better why I say the world isn't a safe place and that one should try to be constantly aware of what's going on around them. She had me show her how to safely handle the revolver last night. Now we have to begin working on how to act in various situations, for she better understands that concept too. SO, those mentioning children and teaching them the basics on safety and handling are right on the money.
"Paul Helmke, put that in your pipe and smoke it."
The antis have a packaged answer for this:
"These anomalies shouldn't give people the wrong idea about guns because a gun in the house is four trillion times more likely to murder your babies than to be used in self defense and anyway defensive guns just escalate the situation."
Bullshit, yes, but it makes a better sound bite than the explanation of _why_ it's bullshit does.
This is a ten Y.O. with some mighty courage. If I could meet him I'd pat him on the back and tell him 'Way to go!'
As it is, this tiny reply to your blog post will be all I get to say.
I hope all of us will stand as courageously when we are faced by the same.
-Jay
David, it is hard to say what "generally" should be a parent's policy on firearms with children.
We KNOW that stories like this happen fairly often and are spiked by lame-stream media, or quickly subdued if they DO reach national attention. The stories of children shooting themselves or each other have the lifespan of the pretty blond cheerleader who disappears.
More children die in car crashes, than by gunshot. More children under 5 die from drowning in MOP BUCKETS. But you wouldn't know that because the media/Brady bunch alliance really don't want you to have a semblance of perspective when you think about children and guns.
I've met several people who saved their lives with guns, and IIRC, 3 who shot home intruders when they were children.
It's true that stupid children, or those with emotional problems are a particular hazard in proximity to firearms, but they are just as likely to do something fatally stupid anyway.
Got to be careful here about using a specific example to argue a general rule. Saying that this "proves" that kids should have access to handguns is EXACTLY the same logic that anti-gunners use to argue that an accidental shooting incident "proves" that all guns should be locked up.
Cases of accidental shootings by unsupervised kids are just as real as cases of legitimate self-defense. Pretending that either doesn't exist is equally shortsighted.
Not all kids(or adults) can handle the responsibility of access to firearms. This one did.
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