Teen shot over toilet paper prank

by Sandy Maple (Subscribe to Sandy Maple's posts) Oct 15th 2008 5:00PM

Back when I was a kid, the worst thing that could happen if you got caught toilet papering a house was a call to your parents. Times have changed and the risks of childish pranks have changed with them. On Sunday, a 14-year-old was shot while he and his buddies were draping a southwestern Michigan house with toilet paper.

The owner of the home claims he thought that someone was trying to break into his house. So, he did what any red-blooded American would do - he came out shooting. He fired three shots from his 12-gauge shotgun, striking the boy in the chest, stomach and leg.

Fortunately, the child survived and is recovering in the hospital. The homeowner wasn't arrested, but a prosecutor is considering charges against him.

Given the fact that is was one o-clock in the morning, I can see where the homeowner might be a bit startled to hear activity outside his home. But I question his instinct to shoot first and ask questions later. Considering that the boys were in his yard - not his house - wouldn't a call to 911 have been a better course of action?

Source

Comments (15)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Kristin Harrison 10-15-2008 @ 8:16PM

I live near where this happened. 911 isn't really a good option for the homeowner - they're in a rather isolated area and it would have taken far too long for the sheriff to respond.

Lorainne 10-15-2008 @ 8:46PM

that is soooooooo crazy

STACEY 10-15-2008 @ 8:47PM

IN 1ST PLACE @ THAT TIME IN THE MORNING SHOULN'DT THAT BOY HAVE BEEN SLEEPING AND WHAT WAS HE DOING TOILET PAPERING THAT MANS HOUSE DID THAT MAN OWE THE BOY SOMETHING OR WHAT IN A WAY THAT WAS GOOD THAT HE USED HIS GUN BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOMEONE ALSO WITH A GUN AND IN ANOTHER WAY HE SHOULD HAVE SHOT UP IN THE SKY TO TRY TO SCARE THEM OFF BUT, NOT SHOOT AT THE BOY THREE TIMES. AND YES HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. THE BOY NOW KNOWS WITH THIS INNCIDENT HE SHOULDNT DO IT AGAIN.

Claire 10-15-2008 @ 8:49PM

These are scary times, people are tense and nerves are shaky not that any time is good to trespass on someone's private property in the middle of the night. Even if as the other poster mention that 911 might have taken a while to get there, it might have been better to have made that phone call and be standing ready in case the trespassers tried to actually break in. To shoot someone just because they are in your yard is pretty over the top even at 1am.

http://www.teenbedding.blogspot.com/

c_rousseau05 10-15-2008 @ 9:00PM

I know it's a law here in Texas that you can shoot anyone on your property for things like trespassing and such and if you feel threatened. I don't like it but it's the way it is. I'm not sure what the law is about that stuff in Michigan though. Being it was in the middle of the night and it's NOT Halloween yet (things like that are expected on Halloween but not two weeks before...) I can understand the homeowner being a bit jumpy and probably trying to protect his family and himself. With all these home invasions going on and people being robbed more due to the failing economy and having probably been woken up from sleep and not having a clear enough head, just panic or fear, I can see where the guy would have defended his home in this way.

Bottom line the kid was on his property and up to no good. I'm not trying to defend the man because I do feel for the kid but you've got to look at these things from both sides. I don't agree with the man shooting him, but would we feel sorry if it was a robber or rapist and not a kid? I feel sorry for the kid but if you have to learn a lesson the hard way, I guess that's the way to do it ...for both of them. Maybe the man won't be so trigger happy next time and that kid is lucky to be alive. I don't think the man should be prosecuted for defending his home and family in the middle of the night. That kid put himself in the situation, if he'd been thinking he wouldn't have been there. 15 years ago sure, toilet papering a house was harmless fun, but now so many people have guns and dogs they'll send out after you that it's really dangerous to do stupid pranks like that, even if it is in the name of harmless fun.

Paul Cyopick 10-15-2008 @ 10:16PM

Yet another reason why I'm glad to live in Canada.

isisaquaria 10-15-2008 @ 10:51PM

I would have shot first and asked later--I would rather be alive to ask and know I protected my chilren then have them find our bodies. Trespass is exactly that--regardless of yard or home. Living where we do, vs where our local law officials do- all of us would be dead before they could even get within 10 mi

ninainindia 10-15-2008 @ 11:59PM

I hope this man is charged and I would expect him to be. He shot a boy 3 times! The man could have called 911 and stayed inside the house to see what was happening, there was no immediate threat.
If the boys would have truly come after him or tried to break in, then he could've used his gun.

Shooting 3 times was completely overkill too.

andrea 10-16-2008 @ 12:23PM

Not everyone lives in an area where 911 is an option. I'm not going to hide in my closet for an hour waiting to see if our county's 6 policemen actually show up. In the darkness a 14 year old boy could easily look like a dangerous intruder- lots of kids are adult-sized by then. And, he was messing with the house. If this was me, or my parents, or almost anyone I know in the area where I grew up, not only would that kid be shot, the rest of his friends would be shot as well. This situation could have been easily avoided- stay on your own damn property! I'm not saying toilet papering is punishable by death, but I certainly think the fault lies with the 14 year old here. Don't toilet paper houses when you don't know how the owner will react.
The only thing I could maybe be convinced to say is that the homeowner should have shot him in the leg once then investigated further. But again, there was a group of them. I'd feel threatened.

Baron 10-16-2008 @ 9:46AM

3 rounds, unless he either had the plug out of the gun or it was set up as a home defense gun, would be the norm for a 12 gauge. 99% of the states I have hunted make it illegal to hunt with more than the capacity of 3 rounds (one in the chamber, two in the mag). From more than 40 yards or so, unless you are shooting buck shot, a slug or something similar, most bird shot rounds will be less than lethal (though blinding, etc could occur). Firing all three rounds could happen as fast as you can pull the trigger for a semi-auto gun. I know from duck hunting many times that all three rounds go almost instantly for someone that is a bad shot (or maybe a good shot with multiple ducks in the air), so I don't think him firing three times in the middle of the night is much of a stretch. I would like to think I would have shot in the air, but I'm so incredibly groggy in the middle of the night when I am woken up like that, I don't know what I would do. Last time I was startled awake around 1, I ended up flat on my face because I forgot we had a baby gate. Actually, I am pretty sure that, somewhere in my mind, I had already moved the baby gate and I was free to walk.

Mihir 10-16-2008 @ 10:03AM

i think people are jumping the gun a bit here (no pun intended) with their support/condemnation of this guy. the source article had a whopping 4 sentences to it.

pbhj 10-16-2008 @ 7:45PM

You must be new to the internet!

Dave 10-16-2008 @ 10:49AM

The kids were trespassing. The homeowner comes out and sees his trees covered with TP. That should have alerted him that there was nothing happening that justified shooting at the kids. I live in Texas, where homeowners are justified in shooting at trespassers in the middle of the night. However, some common sense is expected. We just had a homeowner shoot a burglar at 2am. The perpetrator was trying to break into the house. He is now dead. These kids were vandalizing this persons house. BIG difference. You hear something outside, grab your shotgun, go outside, see toilet paper and kids. Your next step is to call the police, not start blasting at the kids! I am a firm believer that you should have the right to protect your home and family from intrusion. I don't think that gives you the right to try and shoot kids who are pranking you. I think this homeowner went too far and he should be prosecuted and his insurance should pay part of the kids medical costs.

Jennifer 10-16-2008 @ 1:06PM

I have to wonder if "tp-ing" is common in this area. Where I went to high school it is extremely common and it did not occur in broad daylight. I lived in a small town surrounded by farms. As a teen my crowd tp-ed many houses (not defending this boy- it is wrong to do it) and if a house didn't have trees they usually got their lawn covered in powdered/flake dishsoap or instant mashed potatoes. If this man knew that this kind of behavior was common then I would have to wonder about his shoot first ask questions later approach.

binta 10-22-2008 @ 10:54AM

I live in urban Atlanta, GA., a city where TPing isn't terribly common, but a state where, as recently as the last general assembly, I believe you can pretty much shoot how you like, provided you have a permit. And the authority you have for protecting your property is almost otherworldly. Perhaps TPing is more common in more rural areas, as kids are less likely to get caught? Dunno.

I also assume that parents are the primary responders to this article-- parents with children, and am somewhat surprised that noone has mentioned any measure of accountability for parents. Many mentioned that things aren't how they use to be...call parents first, ask questions later, but never shoot, right? Did parents respond immmediately back then? How do we respond today?

I guess I thought some element of prevention would have been addressed, something far beyond the impact of local or state laws...something that starts at home. That is to say, whether the man gets arrested for shooting the kid or not, I wonder, who the familly and teen views as responsible for wounds.

My brother was hit by a truck at 8 years old. He's 30 now and has arthritis in his hip and legs. It's painful I'm sure. While he wasn't an unruly 8 year-old he just wouldn't listen and dashed out in front of the car, as he always did, tearing away from whomever held his hand. I use to blame my parent, because we'd always tell of the many near misses my brother experienced and it was never squarely addressed. Ultimately, though, it doesn't matter now, because noone feels that athritits but my brother.

No, it's not the same situation but there was a nearly fatal consequence, for repeated defiance. Perhaps it was the teens first time, but seems unlikely. I know when I was a kid it took guts to sneak out the house at 1pm in the morning, go down to Old-Man Whomever's house and prank the house, too much for me to manage on the first try...