Quote:
Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB
If someone breaks into my home and I'm there, I'm going to assume my life is in danger. I don't care about the property and I wouldn't kill someone over a dang TV. But I have no idea what your motives are for breaking into my home at night...you could be a burglar, or you could be a rapist or serial killer. I WILL protect myself, and though I may call 911 if I have the chance, I know they won't be there to protect me at the moment when someone does break in. A part of that kid may have been pissed off about being robbed the night before, but I bet he was scared as hell when he walked toward the garage with that sword. He knew he was going to confront the baddy, but for all he knew, he might have had a gun.
Was the garage attached to the house? Up here most of the houses are, so I'm going to assume that someone breaking into the garage would still count as breaking into the house since it's just a doorway separating the two.
I don't feel bad for the burglar in this case. Any time you break into a house you risk a confrontation with a homeowner determined to defend his/her self and family. And this was the second night in a row this guy went to that house to rob it? It was only a matter of time til he picked the wrong house.
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I'm going to work backwards so pardon me:
1. I don't feel bad for the burglar either...you get what you deserve...he JUST got released from jail, long criminal history and goes out and commits the same crimes, hell, his death just saved taxpayers some dollars on a habitual career criminal.
2. The majority of the garages in that area of town are not connected to the actual houses
here is the picture of the site:
the house and the garage are detached...this is why I feel that the resident had no reason to go AFTER the suspect. He wasn't in the house, he was in the garage. He could have called 911 and left the house and be happy all he had to replace was property. He may have been pissed off about being robbed the night before but he still had little reason to confront the burglar. Again, this just as easily could be HIM dead and not the burglar.
@littleowl
That's not what I am saying especially for Ms Trinh, but to some degree there are students and residents ( I have seen for myself firsthand) who are truly unaware of what kinds of neighborhoods lie east and south of the Hopkins University area and as you said are not as street smart to know to keep themselves safe. Some find out the hard way and sometimes the first thing I hear is, "I didn't know it was this bad over here."
It's not like there is a 'sign' or a fence that states that you are now leaving the 'safe zone'. Nor is the change gradual. You step across the street and BAM there you are. And let's not kid ourselves either. There are some people come to that area that sees it as an adventure. They know fully well what happens in and around the Hopkins U./ Charles Village/ Waverly area and take full advantage of it. Whether they allow themselves to get caught up in it is and how they deal with it is up to them. So yes, to some degree some people who come have no clue but then there are just as many who come that do and straddle both worlds.
Again, with the growth of that area within the past 2 decades which is going into those low income areas, of course crime is rising and some of these poor kids as well as staff of JHU make 'easy' targets for criminals. And just because you have a well to do neighborhood north and west of the University (not 3 miles away from Greenmount and 33rd) doesn't mean it's a deterrent.
As for everything else, some of your points I agree and disagree, he does have a case for self defense but the only problem that I think he will have is that he left the house to go investigate rather than stay put barricading himself in or leave.