Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    reading
    Posts
    164
    Rep Power
    7384230

    Default Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    I ride part of that trail all the time when the weather is good.


    https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks...5c9f4a0c7.html

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    PENNSYLVANIA, Pennsylvania
    Age
    73
    Posts
    3,775
    Rep Power
    21474854

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    Should have peddled faster ?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    8,604
    Rep Power
    21474857

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    And that is why you should carry while riding like this guy. similar situation, different outcome because he had a gun.

    http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=361731

    No charges for man who shot teens
    65-year-old city man acted in self-defense in killing, wounding of teens, DA says

    A 65-year-old Reading man who was riding his bicycle was justified in shooting two teens - one fatally - who tried to rob him on a Schuylkill River trail as part of a crime spree, the Berks County district attorney said Thursday.

    The teens, age 16 and 15, and another 15-year-old boy skipped school Wednesday and robbed two pedestrians in West Reading before they attacked the man as he rode on the Thun Trail in Cumru Township at 11 a.m., police said.

    The man, whose name authorities withheld, will not be charged for shooting the teens because he acted in self-defense, which is legal under Pennsylvania's Castle Doctrine, District Attorney John T. Adams said.

    "While I don't condone violence, the bike rider had no choice," Adams said. "It was justifiable homicide."

    Julius Johnson, 16, of Reading was pronounced dead at the scene Wednesday morning after he was shot in his chest with a handgun, officials said.

    An autopsy Thursday by Dr. Supriya Kuruvila, a forensic pathologist at Reading Hospital, determined Johnson died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the county coroner's office. The death was ruled a homicide, officials said.

    The 15-year-old shot in the neck remained in Reading Hospital on Thursday, officials said. Information about his medical condition could not be obtained. Police did not release his name because he has not been charged.

    The third teen, Michael Gonzalez, 15, address unavailable, was charged with robbery, aggravated assault and related offenses and committed to the county youth center in Bern Township.

    Officials said an investigation continues.

    Johnson was a Reading High School student, and the 15-year-olds are Gov. Mifflin High School students, Adams said.

    Adams gave this account:

    Johnson was on probation for previous offenses. Juvenile probation officers had gone to his Oakbrook residence earlier Wednesday and found the three teens playing video games.

    They told the two 15-year-olds to leave. The officers put an electronic monitoring device on Johnson's ankle, ordered him to stay home and report to their office with his parents at 4 p.m.

    Instead, the three met up and decided to jump and rob random victims.

    They first robbed an elderly man in West Reading shortly after 10 a.m., taking money from his pockets, then tried to rob another man in West Reading, kneeing him in the stomach and pushing him to the ground. Neither man was hurt.

    The bike rider was on the trail between Reading and West Reading.

    As he rode past the teens, the 15-year-old whose name was not released punched the man in the face, knocking him from his bike. Johnson ran and kicked the man, who was sitting against a chain-link fence along the trail.

    As one of the teens ran toward the man, he shot Johnson and the 15-year-old.

    People who found the man called 9-1-1 and waited for police to arrive. It was unclear if the people heard the shots or were on the trail.

    The teens weren't armed, but the shootings were legal because the man was unable to escape, thought his life was in danger and had a permit to carry his gun, Adams said.

    The man told investigators: "I was scared for my life. I was in big trouble. If I could have kept my bike on the trail, I would have gotten out of there."

    The man was unhurt but shaken by the shootings, Adams said.

    Adams did not know if Johnson's monitoring device had GPS tracking capabilities or if it simply triggered an alarm when he left his home. Adams said juvenile probation officers acted appropriately.

    Cumru Police Chief Jed Habecker credited his department for its quick investigation.

    He said the crime was only the second robbery to occur along the Cumru section of the Thun Trail in about a decade.

    Adams said he has heard from many people in the community that the bicyclist was a hero for successfully defending himself.

    "When your life is in danger, you have no choice but to use deadly force," he said.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    next to my neighbor, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    13,553
    Rep Power
    21474867

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    If we only had gun laws.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
    Posts
    831
    Rep Power
    9496278

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    Oddly when I go riding I usually bring an Airlite revolver on a lanyard around my neck and pistol under my shirt as I don't want to ride with a gun belt or holster, Quite light and I always figured Ide protect myself from 4 legged dogs,
    Now I see 2 legged types are roving in packs,
    Might show this to my wife, BUT may be best not to as she will not want me to go mountain biking alone any more.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    SEPA, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    1,747
    Rep Power
    19122969

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Upper Merion, Pennsylvania
    (Montgomery County)
    Posts
    1,949
    Rep Power
    3835741

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    I hardly carry anything when riding or running. What do they think they can find on me? Then again, logic is not their forte.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Tioga County, Pennsylvania
    (Tioga County)
    Posts
    4,945
    Rep Power
    21474852

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    Well they will not be robbing people again.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Levittown, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Posts
    9,631
    Rep Power
    21474860

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    "While I don't condone violence, the bike rider had no choice," Adams said. "It was justifiable homicide."
    Asshole.
    There are two kinds of guns. Those I have acquired, and those I hope to.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
    Posts
    3,731
    Rep Power
    21474851

    Default Re: Bike Rider shot and robbed on thun trail

    Quote Originally Posted by Bang View Post
    Asshole.
    Agree. I wonder if he condones the violence of the robbers?

Similar Threads

  1. Thun Trail
    By sk8r101all in forum Berks
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: January 26th, 2012, 01:59 PM
  2. OC on Bike (York Rail Trail)
    By Howard Bullock in forum General
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: June 4th, 2011, 09:24 AM
  3. Bike trail of fears.
    By BenP in forum General
    Replies: 113
    Last Post: January 22nd, 2010, 03:55 PM
  4. another bike trail attack
    By sk8r101all in forum General
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: August 18th, 2009, 11:19 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •