It was very tragic, but very stupid for the kid to point a gun at a SWAt officer. The officer had to protect himself since had the kid fired and the gun had been real it would have been fatal for the officer.
Not really, SWAT always has complete body armor head to toe. You mean a trained profesional "S.W.A.T." is going to go up in a bathroom and kill a 15 year old kid for pointing a bb gun at him? Give me a fuc**n break.
He didn't know it was a BB gun. There isn't a big physical difference between a BB gun and a real gun. They both look the same.
Actually, the police were fully aware that the gun was a fake. They were told by the child's father, brother, and a classmate prior to the shooting. Whether that was communicated to the officer who did the shooting is not public information right now. Why in gods name people buy their kids guns that look like the real thing is beyond me. I was perfectly happy with my toy guns that looked totally cheesy.
I agree with Ned on this one. The people told the authorities that they "thought" it wasn't a real gun. They didn't know, and obviously neither did the officer that shot the kid. It's so easy to make this sound horrible. But if it was reversed, it would have been a different story. If the police officer had assumed it was a fake gun, and then it wasn't, then got shot and died, people would have wanted the kid to be given the death penalty. You can't have your cake and eat it too. The officer made a decision from the information at hand, and in my opinion, it was the best option. I'm sure the officer had a family. I know I wouldn't want to lose everything because a kid may or may not have a real gun. It's sad, I agree, but it was the kid's fault for putting himself in that position.
It is sad, but I can't say I feel sorry for the kid. When a swat officer points a gun at you, it may be a good idea to do what he says. Pointing any gun at him, fake or otherwise, gives him the right to kill you. Despite the problems that kid must have been going through, there are better ways of dealing with it than doing what he did.
The SWAT officer did what his training told him to do: react to a threat. That kid was a moron for pointing a gun (fake or real) at him. Also, just because the officer may of been in full body armour (there's no mention of this, and not all officers wear body armour, only the 'grunts' who go in. If I remember correctly, the dudes who aren't 'grunts' wear a basic BP vest, etc) doesn't mean that he is 'invincible.' SWAT are trained to not take chances.
Emotionally distraught. It was the product of the people and environment around him, not loose wiring in his head.
Don't you know how people in the police force are trained?? You pull a gun at them, they have all the right to shoot. You could pull out a celular but if you pretend it is a weapon they still have the right to shoot
You have to look past the fact that it was a kid. When anyone aims a gun at you, and you can't tell whether its real or fake, you shoot first and ask questions later. That split second you take to hesitate or wonder whether or not the gun is real could be the split second you die. Kids have killed adults before. I probably would have reacted the way the cop did. I would have had a lot of guilt and sadness afterwards, but that is the nature of the job.
I agree, theres people down the road from me who go around with knifes, and if you any them they will, i mean it, they will kill you. I got chased by them.
It doesn't matter what the police were told. It doesn't even matter if that particular officer was told by the parents, a priest, whoever. The fact is that nobody really knew if the gun was real or not except for the kid. Period. Think about it. You're the officer. The kids parents tell you the gun is not real. Do you believe them? Are you willing to bet your life on it???