11y.o. Girl Uses Shotgun To Defend Herself Against Homebreaker

[mrsbright]

Just because there are so many news about kids shooting others accidentally, and this does not compensate for it, but it's a nice change of pace:

An 11-year-old girl in Michigan was able to defend herself from a man who broke into her home late last week. The girl hid in a closet after a man entered her house while she was home alone. Unfortunately for the robber, when he opened the closet door he found the girl aiming a shotgun right at him, Michigan Live reports.

Story here: 11-Year-Old Girl Uses Shotgun to Save Herself From Home Invader | Washington Free Beacon

 

[Kamarsun1]

Did she shot him? I'm pretty sure I would have, but as long as she was safe, and the invader left, that's what counts. Good job and a brave one at that!

 

[Rainman]

It's great that she the presence of mind to arm herself before hiding in the closet. Parents need to teach their children how to handle firearms, how to shoot and so on. In case of emergencies such as this one instead of hiding under a bed, and getting 'fished out' by such a creep, they can defend themselves.

 

[missbishi]

It's good to hear of a case where children have been educated on how to use a gun properly. The robber must have had the shock of his life when he opened that closet door!

Thankfully, he was captured so the girl involved won't need to fear a return visit from him, I hope she's doing OK and hasn't been too traumatized by the incident.

 

[mrsbright]

Did she shot him? I'm pretty sure I would have, but as long as she was safe, and the invader left, that's what counts. Good job and a brave one at that!

She did not shoot him.

And I think, all the better. I cannot imagine that it would have an a positive effect on her -- she would probably have had nightmares for years to come about the blood splashing on her and then the man could have fallen on top of her and died there, or in the panic she could have been much more careless with her gun. If she had shot him, it really could have been a traumatizing event! As it is, she can be proud of herself without associating it with blood and gore.

 

[Kittyworker]

I still don't believe that guns should be in the house with children. While this child seemed responsible enough in not firing the weapon when the intruder left, there are many children who don't understand that appropriate level at which a firearm should be used. The safest course of action is to eliminate the availability of firearms to kids.

 

[stevesxs9]

She would have been well within her rights if she had shot him. Imagine potentially what this man could have done to the child. Anyone who breaks in homes should do it at their own risk and be prepared to suffer the consequences.

 

[RingoBerry]

Its a really good thing that at a very young age, she understood that she had to defend herself against anyone that cause her harm at the same time its just worrying how a kid like that needed to touch a gun because no one else was there to protect her when she really needed them to be. And if she did fire at the person, good because she's safe - but what about the trauma that she is going to have to deal with for killing or fatally injuring another person? Who will save her from that?

 

[Shimus]

It's another situation of "It worked this time" but in the majority of kids, firearms don't mix. She was just lucky she knew how to handle it, where to hide and wait. She was a smart little girl, a survivor. But in any other given odds, weapons and kids generally don't mix. No telling what he would have done if he found her though out in the open with no weapon, unaware... ugh bad thoughts.

 

[mrsbright]

I still don't believe that guns should be in the house with children. While this child seemed responsible enough in not firing the weapon when the intruder left, there are many children who don't understand that appropriate level at which a firearm should be used. The safest course of action is to eliminate the availability of firearms to kids.

Of course, not all kids are smart or have a cool-headed sense of maturity. But in an ideal world, that would be for the parents to judge. I'm not for irresponsible gun ownerships, but to pretend that kids cannot be taught responsibility themselves is a bit silly. But then again, I think kids should be taught to work with knives and fire in the kitchen and to work with tools in the shed, too. Eliminating all danger is okay when the kid is very young, but I see nothing wrong with introducing them to proper use of dangerous objects over the year.

 

[Shimus]

Most people overlook the fact is the daughter was left unattended or the house was unlocked or it was easy to enter, or she wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with. Perhaps they need security systems or a better locking mechanism before we start looking at rather if the girl should be around firearms too. Like I said in my above post, it's a case of "it worked out this time" but this is a volatile situation either way.

 

[piez]

Good for her. She seems very mature for her age. I'm glad she didn't actually shoot him and I'm glad no harm was done to anyone. Hopefully the guy is locked up though. It is sickening to think about some of the things people in society do these days.