Alabama Boy, 11, Shoots Burglar, Mocks Him for “Crying Like a Little Baby”

[jpak]

Source: Slate

An 11-year-old boy from Talladega, Alabama was home alone on Wednesday when he suddenly heard a strange noise. When Chris Gaither went to look, he saw a suspected home intruder. Chris says he was scared but grabbed a 9mm handgun to protect himself. “When he was coming down the stairs, that’s when he told me he was going to kill me, f-you and all that,” Gaither said.

The alleged intruder then made it to the front door with a hamper in his hand. And that’s when Chris started firing the weapon. He fired 11 shots until the 12th finally hit the “bad guy,” as WVTM reporter Kyle Burger calls him, in the leg with a “full metal jacket bullet.” “He started crying like a baby,” Chris says. Burger then puts in his two cents: “A baby that learned his lesson.”

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Read more: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/05/01/alabama_boy_shoots_burglar_mocks_him_for_crying_like_a_little_baby.html

[HassleCat]

1. Not bad for eleven years old.

The kid shoots better than most cops. Even better, he shoots someone who actually deserves to be shot.

[yallerdawg]

3. "Hey, a good guy with a gun!"

Why did an 11-year-old boy have access to a fully loaded handgun? That question obviously never comes up.

[TeddyR]

24. So he could

Shoot a criminal? Seems ok to me.

[braddy]

29. I owned my first true battle rifle ( a German Mauser) and bayonet, since about age 8.

[maxsolomon]

94. what battle did you use it in?

sorry, I can't help myself today.

[braddy]

96. I did make a bayonet dummy for practice with it, I have always felt good about the bayonet.

I just realized something, by the time I was 11 I would have been willing to take on the burglar with an empty rifle and a fixed bayonet, now that would be an interesting news story.

What I can't remember with complete certainty, is if I ever took the bayonet to school for show and tell, I think I did, I'm almost certain that I took a Nazi dagger, WWII stuff used to be much more common in America.

[thesquanderer]

13. re: "The kid shoots better than most cops."

He missed 11 times before hitting him with the 12th shot.

I guess that's why we need large magazines, to help all the people with no aim.

Good that the other 11 shots didn't hit anyone else, though...

[sarisataka]

26. Police hit rate

Overall is about 18%. It is up around 43% if their target is under 6 feet. These are the highly trained police officers who are authorized to carry firearms.

The 11 year old boy hit a little over 8%.

It may be a false statement but not too far off.

[treestar]

100. and you are supposed to shoot to kill

interesting this one does not go along with the concept it is too dangerous too just shoot in the leg and you should only shoot to kill.

[Egnever]

105. Well there is this...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_attack#Police_response

Seven police agencies were involved in the final shootout, with 23 officers firing a combined total of approximately 380 rounds

[JI7]

19. he missed 11 times.

[big_dog]

107. i always wondered who the kids in 'Talledega Nights' were based on

Last edited Tue May 3, 2016, 06:42 PM - Edit history (1)

is his name Walker or Texas Ranger?

[Paladin]

2. This is what passes for a "Happy Story" in Gunland.

This kid will probably get a rifle from Ted Nugent, as a prize for causing the Bad Guy to cry "like a baby."

[busterbrown]

4. Would not be surprised..

If there were a few changes in this story down line..

It’s too much of an NRA Wet Dream...I’m just saying... I know nothing..

[fred v]

7. I'm with you

This video is beyond a wet dream; it's a goddam NRA commercial.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. Actually, as a gun owner it's quite problematic.

The kid alleges the burglar is all hard and 'I'm going to kill you' etc, but he shoots the burglar exiting the home with property, not approaching him with intent.

So, that's a problem. At least in my state, you can't shoot people for fleeing with stuff.


In other news, the article was written by a sensationalist idiot that knows nothing about firearms. Ooga booga, full metal jacket. You know, like is required at every indoor range in the country, because it keeps the lead dust down.

[TeddyR]

33. The felon

Wouldn't have been shot by an 11 year old if he hadn't been committing a felony. While armed.

[AtheistCrusader]

55. You don't get to shoot people over property.

Except via some very narrow statutes in Texas, maybe a couple others.

In most states, employing deadly force is only acceptable in the face of imminent harm/grievous injury.

[dixiegrrrrl]

69. Alabama will probably let the kid get away with it.

He may have been a bad shot, but most boys his age living in the country in Ala. are comfortable with guns and shooting, and get their macho on fairly early.

[sarisataka]

72. " let the kid get away with it"

What do you believe the state of Alabama should do to the kid?

[dixiegrrrrl]

80. Follow the applicable law. n/t

[TeddyR]

78. This person broke into someone's house

And got shot for it. You think the felon's acts should be excused?

[AtheistCrusader]

81. I said nothing of the kind.

Perhaps you should re-read what I said, rather than whatever you imagined I said.

[treestar]

101. Castle Doctrine might apply

[Lizzie Poppet]

98. In my state, you'd be arrested for that.

Oregon permits defense of the home (no idiotic "duty to retreat&quot , but if the investigation reveals you were shooting a fleeing person, you're in deep shit.

[Plucketeer]

22. Whatcha wanna bet

This youngster will be honored at the next NRA fete? Never mind the rash of toddler shooters that have killed siblings or relatives of late.

[TipTok]

90. I'd buy him a beer...

... or a coke at least.

[guillaumeb]

57. I wish I had said that. Really well done.

[sarisataka]

60. What is the "Happy Story"

in anti-gunland when an eleven-year-old faces an armed adult intruder?

[beevul]

92. The ability to add it to the statistics and try to shame others with it. N/t

[Brickbat]

5. There are guidelines for interviewing children, and WVTM blew it here.

[GOLGO 13]

6. His "trigger discipline" needs some work

B+ for effort but has plenty of time to get it right. Get thee to the range lad.

[sarisataka]

8. I wonder what people think

The appropriate punishment for the victim should be?

[TeddyR]

34. 10 years minimum

For B&E while armed and threatening to kill the kid.

[sarisataka]

54. It seems some here

Don't know who the actual victim is. Sounds like they would like him to be tried as an adult for injuring the poor misunderstood armder intruder who threatened to kill him.

After all don't we expect 11 year olds to have perfect working knowledge of self-defense laws?

[Person 2713]

9. Sounds the guy was just there to pick up laundry

[GummyBearz]

76. I'll let you in on a little secret

As I've lived in neighborhoods that got robbed. The robbers don't carry a "loot box" when they break in, as they usually need 2 hands free. Once they are in they find a container to stuff with as many valuables as possible - in this case a laundry basket.

What was more common in my experience is they will take pillow cases off the bed in the first bedroom they find. It is a pretty bizarre thing to get home and realize your house was robbed, and wonder why in the fuck the pricks took your pillow cases... but that is how it works.

[Coventina]

10. Um, am I the only one disturbed by this kid's lack of empathy?

[Lazy Daisy]

14. Nope

That was my first thought. He's going to be a problem, if not already.
Did I hear wrong or did the report say the intruder was at the fence? SMH
He wasn't defending himself, he was being a dick. As he's been taught to be.

[Runningdawg]

20. If George Zimmerman had a son....

[Mosby]

47. i think he's trying to act tough

Because the whole thing scared the shit out of him, that's probably why he missed 11 times.

[Lazy Daisy]

50. They know the person

It's not the first time they've been robbed by this person

[Mosby]

52. they don't know who is is though

Just that he has burglarized their house before.

The one tidbit that stands out to me is how he told the media guy that the perp said he was going to kill him. He either said it or the kid was coached to say it to avoid prosecution.

[Lazy Daisy]

56. also added the F-you to that

don't think he was coached. Kids his age are far smarter than we give them credit for. They also embellish a bit when telling a story.

[Mosby]

58. yes, It has a ring of truth to it

Those little details tend to support the veracity of his statements.

Still, I think the kid was wrong to shoot the perp even if it was legal.

[Mojorabbit]

51. I agree. nt

[retrowire]

15. I've had a hard time putting my finger on it but this is it right here.

I want to commend the boy for being as brave as he was. But I don't see a hero in someone that takes another down and then calls them a baby.

If he had shot the intruder, and was gripped by what he had just endured, and understood the full weight of shooting another person, then accepted his actions as righteous then I'd see a hero.

But the boy just saw the man as a "Cry baby".

[merrifield]

25. Also

why do people think there is justification to shot to kill for minor property theft? This is insane.

[TIME TO PANIC]

40. +1,000,000 n/t

[GummyBearz]

41. I think the threat of the thief to kill the kid might be a justification

Just guessing. Also, the thief was not killed. You could make an argument that if he called the cops they would have shot to kill (especially if he was black). To conclude, did you read the article? Or even the snip that was in the OP?

[Lazy Daisy]

49. Maybe I'm incorrect

but they said the 12th shot his the intruder while at the fence.....He wasn't in the house anymore, no threat of violence.
Also this isn't the first time this person robbed this house, so the report said.....They know the person

The child's lack of empathy is disturbing. He doesn't seem to be shaken up by the fact that he shot someone. Just because he's a bad shot and didn't kill doesn't mean he intentionally didn't kill. There's a lot wrong here.

[GummyBearz]

74. Children can be cruel

The empathy emotion takes time to develop in a lot of people and is one reason child soldiers are used in some fucked up areas of the world. The 12th shot kept the thief from coming back with a weapon and making good on his threat.

[goldent]

42. If in fact the guy told the kid "I'm going to kill you"

then I think the kid can file at will - no need to wait around to see if the burglar was serious.

[hack89]

44. How was the kid suppose to determine the thief so intentions?

i would assume the worse if I found a stranger in my home.

[lancer78]

53. I bet that guy

will think twice about robbing someone again. Sorry, people like the robber don't get much sympathy from me. Don't want to get shot, don't break into peoples homes.

[Akicita]

71. Bank guards and armored truck drivers do the same and usually what is stolen from them is a pittance

of their total net worth compared to a lower middle class family who is robbed. If it was a robber shot while robbing Barbra Streisand's house by her body guard I doubt you would be complaining.

[Travis_0004]

66. Why?

The guy trying to rob his house got shot in the leg. It will heal. On the plus side he will likely have to go to a hospital where they will be arrested.

[Coventina]

68. My comment was not about what the criminal does or does not deserve.

This is about a kid who mocks someone for crying out in pain over being shot.

If I ever had to shoot someone in self defense, I could never imagine mocking the person for their expression of pain over it.

I find the notion disturbing.

[Eleanors38]

103. Well, he is 11. And maybe just a little angry and scared.

I'm not sure I would have shot the skidmark robber, but I know I would have been scared AND angry: The BacksideStink DID threaten the kid. With a gun.

[Ilsa]

84. No, you're not alone.

I'm just as afraid of this kid as the burglar. Apalling lack of empathy unless his parents put him up to behaving that way in front of reporters.

[GOLGO 13]

85. C'mon how many 11 yr old boys get to shoot a man & mad respect for it?

This kid's "rep" is made for life. He's fast tracked to becoming the town living-legend. So let him talk shit.

[Coventina]

87. I'm assuming that's sarcasm.

Otherwise.....ick.

[smirkymonkey]

89. That is what struck me more than anything.

The kid was so nonchalant about unloading a round of bullets into another human being. Chilling.

[truthisfreedom]

11. panty thief???

What was the burglar there for?

[GummyBearz]

77. Doubt it

When the robber breaks in the first thing he does is find something to put as many valuables as possible into. It is more common in my experience they use pillow cases, but this guy apparently found a laundry basket and went with that

[Akicita]

16. Good story. Good that the kid wasn't hurt. Good that the burglar didn't get killed and good that he

didn't get away.

[Tab]

17. I don't have a problem that he stopped the burglar

But his reaction - all I can think of is he's tasted blood and likes it. If it wasn't for the "crying like a baby" comment it might have been very different.

[newthinking]

23. He's groomed for Military

Good chance he will sign up and think it's like a video game.

[2naSalit]

18. Sounds like

a kid who would do well with some counseling and socialization skills and a lot less Grand Theft Auto.

[bluestateguy]

21. I'm glad the kid is OK, and congratulate him on a job well done

BUT, if all the circumstances were the same, and the boy was black, would he be getting all this adulation in Alabama. I tend to think not.

[KingFlorez]

27. Life imitating art

It really is disturbing how stories from the Onion often become true

[philosslayer]

28. "'Murica!!!" Hell ya!!!!

[bigworld]

30. Sounds like there's more to the story

The guy robbed the house before? And took... a hamper?

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. I would imagine the hamper served as a container

He threw in whatever he could get his hands on - jewelry, drugs, cash, small electronics.

[Mosby]

48. exactly.

[IronLionZion]

32. While I support defending one's home and self from bad guys

this does seem like a republican fantasy. They dream about shooting someone.

No one asks why an 11 year old kid was home alone, and had access to a gun. Which leads to the paradox of whether guns should be locked up away from kids, or if they should be quickly available for protection.

Either way, rural red state areas are quickly becoming like the wild west where people are fantasizing about shooting burglers and other bad people.

[snot]

35. What you said.

[lancer78]

61. When I was about 16

my parents would leave me to watch the farm while they went to week-long horse shows in the summer. I had access to several guns. People who did not have the same experience I and other like me had in the rural areas of the country have no clue.

This lack of experience is what makes gun control such a touchy subject. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in rural America grew up with guns and never had anything bad happen. However, rural people are expected to subject themselves to the whims of people who live in big cities who can call the cops and have them show up in 10 minutes.

[IronLionZion]

65. I grew up in the country too

My grandfather kept his guns locked up in a cabinet but my dad didn't keep any in our house. I did have neighbors who kept theirs out, often with a long gun just leaning against the wall near their front door. I understand it is a matter of culture/tradition where they would want it to be easily accessible and teach their kids to be responsible and it's not a toy. They often grew up hunting but more recently the rural areas have a problem of drug addicts breaking in.

One problem is when the responsible kids bring home their friends who have not had the same teaching and they think it would be cool to play with it. That is how accidents happen.

[lancer78]

67. Your last paragraph is so true

The NRA needs to go back to its roots of just educating people about gun safety.

[cstanleytech]

36. If he shot the guy when he was supposedly breaking in and or coming

after him this would be almost a textbook case of self defense but I am not sure if that applies here since according to the kid he shot him while he was leaving.

[goldent]

43. The key statement is this:

When he was coming down the stairs, that’s when he told me he was going to kill me.

If the police believe the kid about that statement, then it is a simple case.

[cstanleytech]

70. Maybe, we will have to just wait and see though I suspect they wont charge the kid if the guy did

break in.

[goldent]

73. Yeah, it depends on the details that we don't have, but in general I think

they will give the kid the benefit of the doubt.

[Jitter65]

37. The kid is 11 years old, raised in a blood red state in a rural area. He did what he was probably

taught to do. And we are worried about his lack of empathy? Really, people? have you taken a look at the posts here in GD-P? Do people even know what empathy is? Some of the things said to each other and about our candidates make this 11 year old look like a winner in the empathy tournament.

[ronnie624]

104. Shooting someone in the back isn't really the same as bickering on a political forum.

I mean, not if you stop and think about it for a second or two.

[JBoy]

38. Moral of the story is

Be sure to leave a fully-loaded 9mm handgun handy for your child when they're home alone.

[lancer78]

62. I prefer

20 Guage pump shotgun.

[tularetom]

39. Judging from some of the replies, it sounds like there are those who would rather the kid got shot

Actually, this was probably the best of all possible outcomes to a potentially tragic incident. Nobody was killed, whatever property was in the process of being stolen was recovered, and the burglar is in custody.

That said the parents of the kid are assholes for leaving an 11 year old alone with an unsecured loaded handgun, and they are fortunate the crook didn't wrestle the gun away from the kid and shoot him.

A lot of mistakes were made here both by the parents and the burglar. The only person that didn't fuck up was the kid himself.

On edit: Sorry, the kid fucked up as well. He shot somebody who was running away. Under the circumstances he will probably avoid prosecution, but shooting somebody who is fleeing and no longer a threat is definitely uncool.

[TIME TO PANIC]

45. !

[romanic]

46. His dad needs to take him to the gun range when he gets older.

11 shots before landing a hit. smh

But yeah this is the best outcome and I HATE THIEVES so I don't feel sorry for the asswipe that (eventually) got shot.

[lancer78]

63. Or get like I said above

a 20 guage pump shotgun

[Yupster]

79. If the gun range is close enough

maybe he can hike or job there with his dad. It would be some quality time, and the kid looks like he could use a bit of exercise.

Not that I'm one to talk.

[Jester Messiah]

59. That's awful!

He needed 12 shots to hit the guy? That is some terrible trigger discipline.

[TipTok]

97. Stubby kid fingers...

He's a hefty kid...

[Nitram]

64. If he'd hit the femoral artery, the guy would be dead.

[Turbineguy]

75. That's a good reason for not

shooting them dead. So you can have the pleasure of mocking them.

Sounds like a great candidate for the Republican Jugend

[Elmergantry]

82. Good job kid.

Thanks for taking out the trash.

[Aristus]

83. Where did the other 11 bullets go?

If they damaged someone else's property, in what way would bang-bang boy be different from the burglar?

[Darb]

86. That kid is a douchebag, probably just like his father.

Story sounds made up, but being it is Sadabama, I don't doubt it.

[Judi Lynn]

99. It does indeed sound stupid enough to be a lie a kid invented to make himself sound super brave.

Nothing at all about it sounds realistic.

The burglar informs the kid he's going to "#### " and "kill" him? So stupid.

Some day he'll trip up and accidently tell the truth and his moment of stupid blow-hard glory will be behind him, and his idiot parents will even have the audacity to act embarrassed, when they had been whooping it up for their frightened little liar, earlier.

If their house had been invaded in earlier robberies, why didn't they simply move, or stop leaving a child alone in the house to have to fend off burglars with his daddy's weapon?

[Sunlei]

88. home was broken into several times, I can understand a kid alone being scared.

But his parents should teach him how to call 911 and not chase after any intruders. He could have been killed.

[maxsolomon]

95. in some states (not AL), 12 is the min. age to be home alone

http://www.latchkey-kids.com/latchkey-kids-age-limits.htm

but they left him with a gun, so no problem. ace parenting!

[Javaman]

91. the kid sounds like he's on the right path to being a fine upstanding...

sociopath.

[maxsolomon]

93. isn't it illegal to leave an 11 year old home alone?

I thought the minimum age was 12.

maybe that's just in WA state, not in AL where they use them as home security guards.

on edit: no min age in AL: http://www.latchkey-kids.com/latchkey-kids-age-limits.htm

[greymouse]

106. I hope not or my parents would be in jail

The web sez:

Only three States currently have laws regarding a minimum age for leaving a child home alone. Illinois law requires children to be 14 years old before being left alone; in Maryland, the minimum age is 8, while in Oregon, children must be 10 before being left home alone.


Cripes, I was in high school at 14.

[Uponthegears]

102. Is the OP

Actually praising this budding psychopath?

[Kang Colby]

108. Good job, kid.

I can't believe some of these posts that would have rather seen the kid become a victim.

He shot someone who was willing to commit armed robbery/B&E...serious felonies. In my view, the kid performed a valuable community service...it was only a matter of time before the scumbag killed somebody.