two similar stories, the big difference between the two? A gun

[internet troll]

I was reading a story (first story below) on Cnn about a guy jogging and being killed by some kids who who were bored. It reminded me of another story of a Pa man who pulled a gun and shot one of the people who pushed him off his bike and were attacking him. (2nd story below)

Antis like to put their head in the sand and minimalize the impact that citizens who carry can make. Here we have a tale of two people enjoying life. One was 23 and basically just starting out his life, the other 65 and hitting the twilight of his life. Both were attacked by low lifes. One of them walked away from the attack. The other did not. The difference, the one who lived was carrying a gun and able to protect himself from the low lifes.

Just another example to add to the discussion the next time someone does not see the point of carrying or wonders why you do.

We decided to kill somebody

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/18/us/thr...ted/index.html

(CNN)The bored teenager who gunned down a college baseball player in Oklahoma simply because he and his two friends "had nothing to do," is now a convicted murderer.

Chancey Allen Luna was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday for his role in the August 2013 drive-by shooting of Christopher Lane, a 23-year-old college student in Duncan, about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City. Luna was 16 at the time of the shooting.

Lane, an Australian attending East Central University, was jogging when he was shot in the back by a gun fired by Luna.

A jury recommended Friday that Luna spend life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to court records. Because he was under 18 when the crime was committed, he is not eligible for the death penalty. He'll be formally sentenced in June.

The vehicle's driver, Michael Jones, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Jones, who was 17 at the time of the murder, will be eligible for parole starting in 2051, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges filed against the third suspect, then only 15, after he agreed to testify against Luna and Jones, according to CNN affiliate KSWO. He will now be tried as a juvenile with accessory to murder after the fact.

Duncan police Chief Danny Ford told Australian radio station 3AW that when police arrested the teens, Jones offered a motive that made clear that Lane, a baseball player on scholarship, was chosen at random.

"We were bored and didn't have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody."

After the verdict, Luna appeared to be crying as deputies led him out of the courtroom in handcuffs, whimpering "I'm sorry" to a reporter.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/26...m-off-bicycle/

Pennsylvania man, 65, fatally shoots teen who pushed him off bicycle

READING, Pa. – A 65-year-old man shot one teenager dead and wounded another after they pushed him off his bicycle and tried to rob him in Pennsylvania, police said.

The man was cycling on a trail in Reading, Pa., shortly before 11:00 am local time Wednesday morning, when a group of teens pushed him off the bicycle and two of them assaulted him, investigators said.

The 65 year old then took out a handgun and shot them both, the Reading Eagle reported.

One of the teens -- a 16 year old from Reading -- was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:17 p.m. local time.

The second teenager was taken to the hospital but his condition was unknown, according to the newspaper.

Cops arrested a third boy at the scene and took him in for questioning. The 15 year old was later taken to a county youth center in nearby Bern Township where he was held on unspecified charges.

Police decided to release the 65 year old and charge the juvenile after consulting with District

Attorney John Adams, who attended the scene with forensic detectives, the Reading Eagle reported.

Authorities did not release his name or the names of the teenagers.

[dannyb]

I'm not sure that the murder victim in the first story would have had much of an advantage from carrying; he was shot in the back in a random drive-by. Even a good spidey sense would likely not have helped much in that case.

What I do find frightening is the number of young people who have decided that robbery and murder are antidotes to boredom. We have seen that happen here in the Philadelphia area. Two 15 YO boys finish playing basketball and decide that they want to rob somebody. They find a man walking a dog and murder him (March 19). A 16 YO shoots and kills a friend and then takes a selfie with the corpse (February 4). I don't know whether boredom figured in the attack on two men on March 31 in which one robber was killed, the other seriously wounded, and one of the robbery victims died as well.

These are reasons for carrying.

A number of teens trying to join ISIS cite boredom when caught. This is not religious fervor. What's wrong here?

On the other hand, you can count on the Antis crying foul about the 16 YO in Troll's story who was killed after assaulting an elderly bicyclist.

[internet troll]

I'm not sure that the murder victim in the first story would have had much of an advantage from carrying; he was shot in the back in a random drive-by. Even a good spidey sense would likely not have helped much in that case.

.

Legitimate point.

[machinehead]

Hats off to the Reading DA for declining to prosecute and releasing the bicyclist. Nice to see some pro-citizen self defense prosecutors out there.

A different prosecutor might have pushed homicide charges on the gentleman and made his life hell for defending himself.