Man Kills Pa. Teen After Being Knocked Off Bicycle: Cops

A 65-year-old man shot and killed a teenager after the boy and his friends knocked the man off his bicycle and tried to assault him, Pennsylvania authorities say.

Police did not reveal the identity of the elderly man, who they released without charges following the incident on the Thun Trail located in Berks County, the Reading Eagle reports.

According to reports, the senior was biking down the trail when the group of boys -- ages 16, 16, and 15 -- knocked the man off his bicycle and attempted to rob him. The man drew his gun and fired two shots, killing one of the boys and severely wounding another, according to NBC Philadelphia.

Cumru Township Police Chief Jed Habecker told WFMZ that the wounded teen had been taken in for surgery.

The third boy, 15, was questioned and later brought to a county Youth Detention Center on unspecified charges, according to ABC.

The mother of the slain boy requested that her son's name also not be announced until she could alert family members.

Comments

[DismayedRepub]

01:02 AM on 01/31/2012

I hope the cops gave him his gun back.

[Sanders McGrillin]

07:26 PM on 01/30/2012

I'm glad this guy was able to defend himself, hopefully that makes a few of the idiots out there think twice before trying to rob someone.
I believe in self defense, and I'm glad I live in ohio with the CCW law
I'm also more liberal than conservative
but I also grew up in the country & have used guns since I was 5, I'm looking into a semi-auto kalishnikov from http://gewehrwerks.com/
Saw a 45 caliber MAC 10 yesterday with a flash supressor for sale, its semi-auto too, almost bought that one but I've heard from a few gunsmiths that they are junk & fall apart in your hand

[eaglespark]

09:15 PM on 01/30/2012

For anyone interested in gun boards, this one is good: http://www.thehighroad.org/
Politics, gun smithing, laws, concealed carry, hunting, etc... ;>)

[wlkcrk]

06:12 PM on 01/30/2012

Don't screw with SENIOR CITIZENS!!!!

[trron9]

05:27 PM on 01/30/2012

I feel for this families loss, that being said this elderly man had a right to defend himself!

[koonks]

03:47 PM on 01/30/2012

Yeah man!!! Woo hoo!!!! Yesssssssssssss@!

[LiberalBuzz]

01:04 PM on 01/30/2012

Oh well.  Messed with the wrong guy there boys. I'm sure it won't happen again for the two that survived. As for the dead boy. I feel sorry for his family but...oh well.

[Elyriaohio]

08:08 AM on 01/29/2012

Good for him. And he didn't even need a banana-clip to do it. Sorry gun-rights guys, I don't mean to dampen your paranoia.

[RevJimIII]

08:49 AM on 01/29/2012

A banana clip is a device designed to keep hair in place, a curved magazine is used in firearms and has nothing to do with this article or paranoia.

[RevJimIII]

09:07 AM on 01/29/2012

Double post.. gotta love huffpo.

[Tracee Collins]

07:12 AM on 01/29/2012

This is a reason--the only reason--to have a personal handgun. I'm a progressive liberal, and I said that! Good for you, old fella!

[rikilii]

08:54 AM on 01/29/2012

That's kind of like saying driving to and from the grocery store is the "only reason" to have a car.

[RevJimIII]

08:58 AM on 01/29/2012

Some people hunt with handguns, some target shoot, some compete, some have them for work (leo, security) and some simply collect. So saying that self defense is the only reason to own a personal handgun is incorrect.

[LiberalBuzz]

01:06 PM on 01/30/2012

I've never met a single person who hunts with a handgun. It is the wrong thing to use.

[Dahveed1]

10:22 PM on 01/28/2012

Normally, the same people are here whining about gun violence at almost every story involving a gun. Except for this one. Strange...

[Dimensio]

12:14 AM on 01/29/2012

ScorpioTop has "whined" regarding the reported incident, and he has even claimed the reported legally justified act of self-defense against a violent attacker to be murder.

[Dahveed1]

09:47 AM on 01/29/2012

I bet he is a lobbyist for the criminal element. Probably wants legislation to improve the safety of being a gangster.

[Dahveed1]

10:01 PM on 01/28/2012

Good shooting. If you're going to be a thug, then you need to understand your occupational risk. I guess most thugs vote Dem because its the party that is most likely to ban guns. The thugs are tired of having citizen's (aka, the prey) armed.

[contrarian48]

06:42 PM on 01/28/2012

Sounds like a good result.

[Oliver Perry]

06:36 PM on 01/28/2012

I fail to understand the mentality of posters like ScorpioTop, asking about warning shots, did he "have to" kill the kid etc. These three individuals initiated an unprovoked attack that, by itself, could easily have crippled the victim for life. The disparity of force that multiple attackers represent when attacking a hurt/injured victim more than justifies the use of lethal force.

[RevJimIII]

07:38 PM on 01/28/2012

ScorpioTop is the Chicken Little of huffpo, he/she is a hyperbolist extraordinaire.

[phoenix182]

08:13 PM on 01/28/2012

Not to mention that it's usually illegal to do any of those things, or at the very least will go horribly for you in court later.

What you have to understand is that most people have absolutely no clue about violence, crime, defense, firearms, etc. They are literally incapable of ever understanding any of it. Not because they're specifically stupid (or at least, not always for that reason), but because they're stuck in a cognitive dissonance trap that prevents them from altering their world view in any way. Then there are those who simply have an incompatible ideology, like true pacifists. In away, it's still a form of dissonance I suppose, but at least it's arguably a moral one.

[wolflover3825]

07:39 AM on 01/29/2012

That may be true for some. But most of the peopleyou refer to just don'r want to see anything but their own views. They show no respect for anything that is different than what they want.

[ByThePowerOfGrayskull]

03:06 PM on 01/28/2012

I love stories of law-abiding citizens successfully defending themselves against, and to the detriment of, criminals.

[Dahveed1]

10:06 PM on 01/28/2012

Yes, I like stories of swift and honest justice and there is nothing more swift or honest as a victim beating/stabbing/pummeling/shooting his attackers while defending him or herself. Very efficient too. No trial, no paying for the defense attorney, etc. Caught red handed. There is no way they can claim it was a mistaken identity when they shoot them during the process of the crime.

[LiberalBuzz]

01:07 PM on 01/30/2012

Successfully defending themselves yes, but...

[ByThePowerOfGrayskull]

01:29 PM on 01/30/2012

. . . but . . . what?

[itschuck2c]

02:29 PM on 01/28/2012

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, Pennsylvania (PA) Governor Tom Corbitt (R) signed a bill extending that state's traditional castle doctrine protections to assaults outside the home. The new legislation passed both houses with overwhelming support and expands the state’s castle doctrine and stand-your-ground protections to allow the right to use a gun or other deadly force in self-defense in situations outside a person’s home or business. The kids should have kept up with current law..

[eaglespark]

06:26 PM on 01/28/2012

Thanks for the information about the law in Pennsylvania. Here in Oregon we have had our concealed carry license law since 1990, and I have been carrying for 17 years now. "Castle" and "stand your ground" laws are interesting for me, because currently I can only walk slowly with a cane. Running is not possible for me, so "duty to retreat" laws are not really relevant in my case. For able-bodied people, I never have understood how one is supposed to be able to judge how fast an assailant can run, before deciding whether to stand and defend themselves. If you are some sort of athlete, are you supposed to run away and leave other slower people at the mercy of a violent criminal? I always suggest professional training (in both self-defense and the law) for anyone who carries a gun. You will not have time in an emergency to think about all these details-- you will need to act quickly and effectively to stop the threat, and do so in a legal manner to avoid being charged with a crime yourself. It is just a reality we must deal with-- some people who defend themselves end up in legal trouble that could be avoided by knowing the relevant local laws.

[eaglespark]

07:03 PM on 01/28/2012

[Deadly Force / Castle Doctrine:
Oregon is a Castle Doctrine state and does have a stand-your-ground law.
ORS 161.209-229. Use of force justifiable in a range of scenarios without a duty to retreat specified. Oregon Supreme Court affirmed in State of Oregon v. Sandoval that the law “sets out a specific set of circumstances that justify a person’s use of deadly force (that the person reasonably believes that another person is using or about to use deadly force against him or her) and does not interpose any additional requirement (including a requirement that there be no means of escape).”]

This is also relevant:
[Places off-limits when carrying:
It is unlawful to possess a firearm loaded or unloaded in a public building. “Public building” means a hospital, capitol building, a public or private school, college or university, a courthouse, city hall, or residence of any state official and the grounds adjacent to each such building. This restriction does not apply to individuals licensed under Oregon law to carry concealed weapons.]

Those restrictions only apply to non-licensed citizens, and localities may not override state law. We have already had our test cases on this issue. The Port of Portland (specifically the Portland Airport) admitted they were wrong to restrict licensed carry, and Western Oregon University was successfully sued.

http://www.usacarry.com/oregon_concealed_carry_permit_information.html
http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2011/10/11/concealed-carry-law-leads-controversy-oregon-colle/

[itschuck2c]

08:13 PM on 01/28/2012

Here in Kentucky we have both laws. In addition if you are charged and prosecuted but found not guilty the county gets stuck with the bill plus money to you. Also the law protects you against civil suits as well.

[BigWillyG]

01:58 PM on 01/28/2012

Bada*s*s grandpa.