Eighth grader was armed with a pellet gun

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8th grade student had pellet gun, on Advanced Life Support:

It turns out that the eighth-grade student that was shot by Florida law enforcement for brandishing a firearm at them was using a pellet gun…

“He was suicidal,” Eslinger said Friday morning, and while deputies attempted to establish a dialog, he raised his gun to his neck and said he would kill himself or “die one way or another,” Eslinger said. When the boy raised the pellet gun at one point, a deputy shot him, apparently unaware it wasn’t a real gun.

Now the kid is on Advanced Life Support and might die. I hope you kids remember this if you ever think about bringing a gun, real or otherwise, to school.

Comments

15 responses to “Eighth grader was armed with a pellet gun”

January 13, 2006

Holly

Hi Trench,
This is a sad case, if the kid was suicidal it is too bad no one assisted from the school.
If our youth use guns someone ends up dead, it is our future children and innocent lives,
that guns and violence are robbing the future of both countries. It is truly a sad day
for the police and our children. I hope your message will be remember about bringing a gun to
school.
Take care Holly

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January 14, 2006

KuJoe

I thought law enforcement officers were trained to shoot to kill… if I lived in that county I would feel alot less safe if this kid ends up living.

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January 14, 2006

Alyric

From everything I’ve heard, this sounds like a case of suicide by police. Or at least, attempted suicide. They know whether or not he’s going to make it?

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January 14, 2006

shos

I feel for that poor deputy who shot the boy, what he is going thru is unimaginable also, the kid knew what his plan was going into this, that an innocent man who was only doing his job will be ridiculed for this is too bad. sounds like suicide by cop to me too.

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January 14, 2006

Trench

I think I just read the kid is brain dead. I’ll have more on this tomorrow.

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January 15, 2006

Mouse

“I hope you kids remember this if you ever think about bringing a gun, real or otherwise, to school.”

Obviously if I were suicidal but couldn’t bring myself to pull the
trigger sure, I’d remember that.

It would have been nice if he’d shot the boy in the arm or leg though.
But then… split second decision..
The finger should be pointed at his unknown bullies who had their bonus day off school while this kid was on life support.

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January 15, 2006

KuJoe

Had they shot the boy in the arm or the leg though they would have been disciplined for abandoning their training. A wounded suspect is still a dangerous suspect and when it’s in a school the police can’t take the chance of injuring the suspect when he’s already shown intent by attemping to take a hostage. The only difference would have been if he still had the gun he would have shot back without thinking. It was only a pellet gun so the officers were lucky.

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January 15, 2006

Mouse

more articles ont he thing

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-kidprofile1406jan14,0,187661.story?track=rss

http://www.idahopress.com/articles/2006/01/14/ap/headlines/d8f4s7eod.txt

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January 15, 2006

C Dude

I think Mouse is right – We should all be blaming the bullies for this. To hell with personal responsibility or anything. This does fall squarely on the shoulders of the mean kids in school. I’m sure glad I grew up in a time when there weren’t any bullies in school and everyone was nice to each other.

Or not.

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January 15, 2006

Mouse

Ooo sacarsm…

Hey I’m not saying anything justifies the actions in itself.
And the cop had to do what he had to do.
But I’ve seen how bullying can screw up people. Or there are
many other things that can screw people up.
One person can react differently to the other person in the same situation. Someone else may not turn suicidal, irrational etc. But that doesn’t mean the person who did is simply weak willed, has a character flaw etc etc. If you don’t know the exact life he lived, his thoughts, his personality, don’t get on your high horse.
His objective was to die… I don’t know, somehow I wouldn’t lump him together with Dylan Klebold– although his objective was to die as well. The bottom line is that there was a young man who went into school looking to die. That in itself is the big tragedy.
I don’t know, maybe I just feel sorry for losers like that since I’m one of them myself. *shrugs*

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January 15, 2006

Mouse

“To hell with personal responsibility or anything.”

With the issue of the day he brought the gun to school– of course he knew fully well what he was doing. That’s the whole point. he knew the consequences and he wanted those consequences.
The question is the events which led up to the point where he decides his life isn’t worth living and he wants to go out with a bang, literally. To end your life or not, and in the way he chose, is ultimately your own decision– but hardly anyone who is suicidal thinks they have a choice. But he didnt get there by himself. But like I said, I’m only speaking as another screwed up person, so I guess you should ignore whatever I say then.

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January 16, 2006

C Dude

“The finger should be pointed at his unknown bullies who had their bonus day off school while this kid was on life support.”

Your words Mouse. But now you want to back off from that? Interesting.

Or not.

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January 16, 2006

C Dude

BTW – you’re only as screwed up as you allow yourself to be. 💡

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January 16, 2006

Mouse

I’m not backing off from that. he knew exactly what he was doing because this was a suicide, but what makes people suicidal in the first place? He was looking to be shot rather than to kill. This wasnt a “I murdered and plundered and raped cos I had a bad life”, this was a “I had a bad life, I can’t live anymore, so I’m going to do something to get someone to point a real gun to shoot me”. Its not quite the same context but i doubt you’d agree with me.

But isn’t it convenient? I could terrorize a person, physically or pyschologically till they finally crack, and then stand back and say well they had a choice, it’s their own fault.

Only as screwed up as you allow youself to be? Ive seen the most resilient and optimistic people eventually crack, when things have gone on long enough.
It might not necessarily be bullying or ‘traditional’ circumstances (loss, injury etc) or other forms of abuse that has the potential to screw one up. Some people get by those fine, but everyone, everyone, has an achilles’ heel somewhere.

If you think people just go kill themselves just because they’re weak willed,
remember that there are people who have suicidal thoughts 365 days a year, but manage to psych themselves not to and go on– thats 364 victories, although NO ONE else in the world will see it as such because its taken for granted that you shouldnt have suicidal thoughts to begin with. And the one time out of the 365 days they fail, thats that. The world will look upon them as a weak willed loser who never even tried int he first place.

But I can see you aren’t going to agree. So I guess I can only hope we can agree to disagree 😉

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January 16, 2006

C Dude

Whatever gets ya through the day.

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