Quote:
Originally Posted by DaemonSeid
Once you go across Guilford Ave towards Greenmount you are asking for trouble...I will say this (JMO) from a lot of the college kids I have seen living in that area over the years, they have no idea of how that area is and have no idea about the community dynamics in all directions and sometimes they set themselves up for some of the crimes that happen...similar to the Asian student who was killed over there a few years back because of the guy that she let in...you just have to be aware of your surroundings and the people that you meet.
I will stand on this point and say that I don't condone what this guy did...because that easily could have been him dead. He should have called the cops and let the cops handle it. You can replace property, you can't replace human life no matter how worthless it is.
Even if he never does a day in jail, this will probably weigh on his conscience...nice way to turn 21.
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It sounds a lot like you're insinuating that students "get what they deserve" for not knowing the area or the kind of people in it. Most of the Hopkins students come from other areas of the world that are not as rough as Baltimore and aren't as "street smart" as the Baltimore residents - but they shouldn't have to worry about being murdered in their own homes within a few blocks of campus (or right across the street, as Ms. Trinh was). For those of you who don't know, Ms. Trinh was an undergraduate who was murdered several years ago in her own apartment by a man who "tailgated" into the building via the bar in the basement. It was a really upsetting incident, particularly for the Greek community - Ms. Trinh was an Alpha Phi sister. If I'm misreading your post, correct me. But I think it's pretty insensitive to say that murdered Hopkins students brought it upon themselves by "setting themselves up" for crimes that occured when someone broke into their own home.
In terms of whether or not what he did was right - well, I don't condone senseless killing, but I definitely condone defending yourself, even if that means killing your attacker. I'm sure the student didn't go down there with the intent to kill, but he did bring something to defend himself with if need be. If he was being attacked, as he said he was, he absolutely had to right to do what he did. As for letting the police handle it... the burglar had 29 arrests behind him and was just released from jail this Saturday. I'm not advocating citizens taking the law into their own hands, but the police/justice system/what-have-you obviously failed the community here. Why is a man with 29 arrests, who has been burglarizing this same block for years and previously drew a gun on a cop, running around loose? THIS is why everyone is rallying behind this student - because finally, one of these criminals actually got punished for committing a crime. He chose this lifestyle and there is no excuse for his actions. If the student set out to kill him, no, I would not agree with that. But the student was defending himself, and the burglar was killed as he was lunging towards him.
Yes, it will weigh heavily on this student. He has gone home to be with his family and I can only imagine how difficult this whole thing has been for him. It sounds like one of those situations where things spiralled out of control - I'm sure he didn't wake up yesterday morning thinking, "I'm going to kill a man today." He's a 20-year-old kid. I have exponentially more sympathy for him than I do for the criminal.