Police kill armed 14-year-old boy on New York street

Little punk got what he deserved. Wanna be G got capped.

God work Officers.

Rather than slapping the cops on the back for killing the 'little punk', shouldn't someone be looking into how and why a child got hold of a lethal weapon and was waving it around in the middle of the night?

“It’s not fair. It was my sister’s only child. You shouldn’t have to bury your child,”

You shouldn't be allowing your precious only child to run around in the night with a loaded gun, either. Failed parenting, failed gun laws. Big, big fail all round.

A terrible waste of life, but the officer it not at fault.

Too bad they couldn't shoot him in the leg or arm, but I suppose that only happens in TV shows.

@cleo: Read the article. He was a little wannabe gangsta with a rap sheet a mile long and had already been charge with one attempted murder. World's better off without him, OR would you you rather like to welcome him into your home and try to rehabilitate him???

The Chronic: "@cleo: Read the article. He was a little wannabe gangsta with a rap sheet a mile long..."

...with access to a gun. Cleo wasn't asking why the kid did what he did, but why he could have such easy access to a lethal weapon around, a difference 'gangsta'-liking people often can't make, nor comprehend as being wrong. Would the same have happened, and the kid be dead, if he were waving a water noodle? (and for NoLiving's sake, when he comes on as one of the many problems -- sorry, I mean 'gun apologists' -- he might want to learn that a water-noodle is not food, but a giant, foam toy children play with (not surprised he knows all about guns but not toys).

He was charged in May with attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy was shot

There are really many things wrong if 2 months after that the 14 yr old was back there with a gun.

Too bad they couldn't shoot him in the leg or arm,

Or use a teaser, or a sleeping drug bullet as they would if the animal was of a protected species.

but I suppose that only happens in TV shows.

Yes, because on TV, shot guys don't risk to bother the cops later by giving their version of the story. My feeling is not based particularly on this case. I know trained hunters that shoot to kill, and they don't achieve, by far, inflicting lethal wound as frequently as do guys supposed to shoot only to stop a person.

chronic -

He was a little wannabe gangsta with a rap sheet a mile long and had already been charge with one attempted murder.

So, why was he allowed to have access to a lethal weapon?

" So, why was he allowed to have access to a lethal weapon?"

He wasn't "allowed to" have access to a lethal weapon. He didn't acquire it by any legal means, nor do any street thugs anywhere. There's this thing called "the black market" by which people get all manner of prohibited goods, like drugs and guns which often go together. Just like in Chicago which alongside its strict gun laws also has high B vs B killings.

“It’s not fair. It was my sister’s only child. You shouldn’t have to bury your child,” she said.

Classic.

Why on earth was a kid who was charged with attempted murder only months before out in the public? The legal system has some explaining to do.

Why does he have a gun? Perhaps because he was in a gang or bought a hot one? Doesn't make it right but there is no way this kid had it legally. Indeed, gun control issues but you know what the bigger issue is here? The lack of parenting that is so prevalent these days. Only child so perhaps mom might have wanted to take an interest and not raise a thug?

So is the media going to make this one a racial issue as well? Is Obama going to start in on how this kid could have been his son?

Well done new cop for standing his ground and doing what he needed to do even though he's probably traumatized and will suffer for the rest of his life.

14 years old?? In the USA and in many other countries that is already old enough to be selling drugs, killing off your rivals who also want to sling drugs on"your own turf" so this kid with guns and ammo armed to the teeth did what any other drug dealer gansta does, shoots first and asks question later, and his mom?? Aunt are in denial saying "this is not fair" but from the point of KARMA it is very, very strict and FAIR, he lived by killing others and the NYPD also did what they were supposed to do, he shot or pointed a loaded gun at NYPD and 3 am, they shot him in the jaw and now he is dead. If this "sweet, little innocent gangster" from Haiti?? Not too sure where this kid was from since he has a strange name, my guess Haiti, anyway, he is lucky he was just shot dead by the NYPD, if other gangstas,Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings etc..would have got him, they would also go after his family etc..you know, just to make a good example out of him, so RIP??

I like to think of self as a something of a Liberal and look for the good in people, alternatives even, but this kid takes the cake. Had he been living in my n'hood, had already attempted murder under his belt, was shooting at someone else on a public street and then pointed his gun at the police.........and then he was shot dead....., well sorry, but Id be thinking thank Christ for that. After all, from the above report he did not appear to be the type of kid who was going to turn his life around. And for those who would say he was only a child I know from my own childhood you can get some very violent and dangerous 14-15 year olds.

A bit more detail here. The guy was in a gang, his family are in denying it and yep, the comments have begun because the officer was white.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384486/Shaaliver-Douse-NYPD-cop-shoots-dead-boy-14-points-gun-officers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWpVi-geLso

Another young thug goes down hard.

The little punk was violating curfew. --Where was the mother and father? Carried a concealed forearm in NYC a second violation. In possession of a firearm at 14yo, violation #3. Discharging a firearm in NYC add another violation.

The officers did what they are trained to do. Preserve their own lives first. When a street thug points a gun at you you must disable the target. Sadly this was fatal but if the officers waited a second or two it could have been a different outcome. NYPD officer shot dead.

Cos

I know trained hunters that shoot to kill, and they don't achieve, by far, inflicting lethal wound as frequently as do guys supposed to shoot only to stop a person.

When in a situation in which the suspect is armed, not complying with your orders to drop his/her weapon, and then begins to raise or point it at you, law enforcement officers are trained and instructed to aim for center mass (the torso) to ensure that the suspect will be completely incapacitated with the first shot and cease to pose a threat to you or anyone else. And rightly so. The very act of refusing to disarm and then instead wielding a weapon (any weapon) in a threatening manner to you is justification for lethal force. The onus is on the suspect to immediately comply completely with the officer's instructions and disarm, not on the officer to place himself or his comrades in any additional danger in order to give an armed suspect the benefit of the doubt. You would have an entirely different outlook on this if you ever found yourself in the shoes of a policeman, soldier, etc. faced with an armed suspect.

This kid, and this event, are all to common, and are products of modern U.S. society, otherwise known as American-on-American violence.

JeanValJean: "There's this thing called "the black market" by which people get all manner of prohibited goods, like drugs and guns which often go together."

Yeah, "the black market" or "the kitchen cabinet". Nowhere does it say the kid got the gun illegally, nor that it was illegally kept in his home, does it?

Let the nutters have their guns, just please don't let anyone around them ask "why" when a bunch are dead as a result.... like every day.

Yeah, "the black market" or "the kitchen cabinet".

Every "illegal" gun was, at some point from the time of manufacture, "legal."

American society does not want to take effective and serious measures for insuring legal guns remain that way. Judging by the cheering on this thread, many Americans would rather have shoot-outs in the streets rather than seriously proposing or considering effective steps to insure legal guns remain under legal possession.

Guns falling into the wrong hands provides a tremendous financial incentive for gun manufacturers and the entire "security" industry.

How is it possible to prevent legal guns from becoming illegal? With the levels of honest citizenry to outright animals in the population it's impossible.

Guns falling into the wrong hands occasionally ends up tragic and guns never falling into the wrong hands is rarely tragic.

John Dillinger wanted his preferred weapon a BAR, not able to obtain them legally he robbed an armory for them. Same as a punk on a street, he can rob a cop for his weapon/s. Guns won't go away. Just like atomic weapons, they won't go away. Treat the problem not the tool. Tools are interchangeable the desire to use them is not.

Or use a teaser, or a sleeping drug bullet as they would if the animal was of a protected species.

To debunk these in order;

Tazers are notoriously unreliable, the prongs don't always make it through the clothing and even if they do they might only cause a partial shock, just enough to freak the person with the gun out and shoot. Added to the fact that even if it does work, a tazer can cause involuntary muscle spasms which may result in a shot being fired if the individual had a finger on, or near the trigger.

Any kind of tranquilizer takes time whether its a few seconds or a few minutes. IE just enough time for the person to get panicked and start firing at the police.

If the police are responding with lethal force its probably because there is no other viable way of resolving the situation without mortal risk to the officers.

Yeah, "the black market" or "the kitchen cabinet". Nowhere does it say the kid got the gun illegally, nor that it was illegally kept in his home, does it?

The individual was already charged with illegal possession of a handgun once which, in New York state, would exempt anybody in the household from being able to possess, register, or even apply for a pistol license. The laws become even more stringent within NYC itself making it incredibly difficult to posses a handgun legally within the city.

Probably got it from someone in the neighborhood that was going to jail or found it in a hiding spot. In most major city's criminals don't store the gun in their own house for fear that it will be found by the police and confiscated, so they put them in abandoned houses, mailboxes, or in other places where they can retrieve it easily if they need it without it being inside of their home.

Because of that children, teens, and other individuals in the area can just 'pick up' a gun if they know where one is hidden. Also, friends and family members often give their legally or illegally owned guns to relatives while they are incarcerated so they don't have to find a new one.

"You shouldn’t have to bury your child,”

And your child shouldn't point a gun he had just fired at police officers.

Now we can go feel sorry for this kid, but in the end NOTHING will change until we all stop doing drugs, buying drugs etc..this kid would not be out there slinging drugs if all of us were not BUYING drugs from young cold blooded hoodlums like this in every city USA.

Well, he was asking for it. One thing to hammer into childrens' heads now is "If your mom and dad don't discipline you, the world will. And the world is not as nice or kind as your parents..."

The question is 1) where were the parents/guardian to guide this youth? Because the first line of discipline and ethics lies with the parents. Notice it was his aunt that had to come in and identify... probably her sister either dumped this boy on her, or the mother/father was deemed an unfit parent because of their own issues.

2) Since he's obviously illegally carrying a weapon, who provided it to him?

Some fools just die young. End of story.

the comments have begun because the officer was white.

Actually, there were two officers involved. One white and one black. The officer that shot the boy was not identified. See the New York Daily News article at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/cops-shoot-kill-bronx-gunman-article-1.1417158?localLinksEnabled=false

Actually, there were two officers involved. One white and one black. The officer that shot the boy was not identified.

This morning's New York Times has identified the white officer as the one who fired the shot.

Can't have guns in NYC without the permit. +Very difficult to get the permit.

http://tinyurl.com/bx7zzo5

(The NYPD list, by the way, is divided into five kinds of licenses: "PR," or premises license, allows you to keep a gun in your home or business but no where else; "CB," or carry business—which Ailes has—allows you to carry it on your person; "CG," or carry guard, is for security guards; "SC," or special carry, is for businesses to let various qualified employees carry guns, and "CL," or limited carry business, is a carry business license with special restrictions.)

"Shaaliver"..?? Anyone surprised? shorty wanna be a thug... now, one less POS on the streets.

Its sad that any child chooses this kind of lifestyle. When I was 14, I enjoyed playing outside, riding my bike, camping...not roaming the streets at 3 AM in the morning looking for someone to kill.

A 14 year old has been shot dead and some of you are saying the 'little punk got what he deserved'! Have Americans really become this numb and desensitised to violence? Scary country.

" Every "illegal" gun was, at some point from the time of manufacture, "legal.""

Like every stolen car was legally manufactured.

" “That was my sister’s only baby,” Quwana Barcene said. “I’m tired of the police getting away with murder.”

“Trayvon Martin is never going to end. Sean Bell happened to my nephew. This rookie cop — please bring him up on charges as a murderer.”

On Monday afternoon, Douse’s mother, Shanise Farrar, spoke out about her son’s murder, saying officers initially told her no gun was found at the scene but then changed their story. “I’m not saying he’s the best, but he’s my angel," she said. “I wouldn’t want this to happen to nobody’s kid,”

Douse, a freshman at the Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School, had an extended criminal history. He’d been scheduled to show up in Bronx Supreme Court Aug. 23 to face felony charges for possessing a loaded weapon during an arrest in October 2012."

At this young age, this young man already had two priors on gun charges plus whatever else. Some angel. The gun itself was an Astra, made in Spain, possibly smuggled in.

Gangstas don't give a care about any laws.

This morning's New York Times has identified the white officer as the one who fired the shot.

I also believe the article I linked yesterday said the officer was white.

MarkG: "Guns falling into the wrong hands occasionally ends up tragic and guns never falling into the wrong hands is rarely tragic."

This doesn't even make sense. The tools will only be 'interchangeable' as long as they are readily available.

Have Americans really become this numb and desensitised to violence? Scary country.

Yes. Depraved thinking abounds.

The gun itself was an Astra, made in Spain, possibly smuggled in.

The Astra A-100 is a Spanish double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol that was manufactured by Astra-Unceta y Cia SA beginning in 1990. It was distributed in the United States by European American Armory (EAA).[1] The A-100 is also known as the "Panther" as imported into the United States by EAA, and some specimens have this roll-marked on the left of the slide. The A-100 design is a further development of Astra's earlier A-80 and A-90 models.[2] The A-80 was originally patterned after the SIG P220.[3]

http://www.astra-arms.ch/about-us.php (Astra is Swiss now)

Have Americans really become this numb and desensitised to violence? Scary country.

Not in the slightest, its just that American's will not tolerate anyone pulling BS without consequences.

murdered child

So a police officer shooting and killing someone who was in the process of firing at a fleeing individual and THEN turned his gun towards the police officers while ignoring clear commands to drop his firearm is classified as murder, now?

So a police officer shooting and killing someone who was in the process of firing at a fleeing individual and THEN turned his gun towards the police officers while ignoring clear commands to drop his firearm is classified as murder, now?

Of course it is. There are other ways to restrain an out of control child with a weapon instead of shooting at him and killing him. Not all police forces around the world are armed you know. The culture of violence in the US and the easy accessibility of guns lies at the root of this issue. There is something wrong in your culture, in no other developed country, would the death of a child at the hands of the police be met with 'Yeah, take that!' or 'POS deserved it'.

Not every police force in the world is as trigger happy as America's seems to be.

Oh, so now a police officer defending his own life AND the lives of others from a suspect who was presently firing multiple shots, ignoring orders to drop his weapon, and showing clear intent to fire upon more people is trigger happy.

You must have spent a fortune on grinding wheels for all of those axes.

There is something wrong in your culture, in no other developed country, would the death of a child at the hands of the police be met with 'Yeah, take that!' or 'POS deserved it'.

Yes, this is but part of the American-on-American violence that is now an endemic part of our very sick society.

Oh, so now a police officer defending his own life AND the lives of others from a suspect who was presently firing multiple shots, ignoring orders to drop his weapon, and showing clear intent to fire upon more people is trigger happy.

You must have spent a fortune on grinding wheels for all of those axes.

Yes, he was trigger happy. Shooting a child dead shouldn't even be an option, regardless of how erratic said child was behaving. Tasers, tranquilisers, there are other methods that could have been used as other users have said, but the risk of them not being entirely successful wasn't considered worth it, so killing the child ended up being the option that was taken.

Yes, this is but part of the American-on-American violence that is now an endemic part of our very sick society.

It's sad. Celebrating the death of a child is abhorrent.

erratic

Erratic? I think making a serious attempt at homicide goes far, far beyond merely 'erratic.'

child

Child? Numerically, yes. However, once you have already been charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a firearm, you have graduated from being a 'child,' even at the tender age of 14.

Tasers

Unreliable, inaccurate.

tranquilisers,

Very delayed effect, leaves more than enough consciousness for the suspect to fire many more shots. Not to mention, no one carries these, and I don't believe they even make them for handguns.

but the risk of them not being entirely successful wasn't considered worth it,

And it wouldn't be. Would you prefer the officers continued to try to talk him down while he was firing multiple rounds into their chests and the person he was pursuing?

killing the child ended up being the option that was taken.

Thank you. You used the appropriate term, killing, instead of your misnomer from before, when you called it 'murder.'

Celebrating the death of a child is abhorrent.

It's very, very unfortunate that this had to happen. However, as a man sows, so shall he reap.

bfg4987

The child engaging in criminal behaviour doesn't make him somehow any less of a child. 'Numerically' doesn't wash, he was 14, still a child, and you don't know what mental or emotional difficulties may have been rooted in his behavioural problems. A police officer wanted to kill, and he did so. How do you know the tasering might actually have worked? You're fixated on the fact that it was 'unreliable' but there was no way to prove it would have been a total failure. Like I said, many other police forces around the world are unarmed, having a gun shouldn't be some kind of prerequisite.

It's very, very unfortunate that this had to happen

I agree. Tell that to some of your fellow countrymen on this page, who see it as something to celebrate.

However, as a man sows, so shall he reap.

A 14 year old?

Yes, he was trigger happy. Shooting a child dead shouldn't even be an option, regardless of how erratic said child was behaving.

Well, there is a flaw in your reasoning: It was 3 AM in the morning. The police see a figure carrying a gun and shooting at people. Children sleeping in bedrooms have been victims of random gunfire before. The police aren't going to be aware that they are shooting at a 14-year-old. Adults come in many sizes, and the brain just doesn't think about the person holding a gun and shooting it at people as being a young person.

That said, I totally agree that the tribal dancing and whooping around the kid's corpse is all too typical of our national sickness.

you don't know what mental or emotional difficulties may have been rooted in his behavioural problems.

I know what mental and emotional difficulties he may have had contributed to him attempting murder on multiple people and police officers.

A police officer wanted to kill, and he did so.

A police officer wanted to save multiple lives and the only way to do so was to end the one causing it all. You have never had police training. You likely don't even know personally any police officers, let alone inner-city police officers. You are ignorant. In your ignorance, you are naive. In your naivety, you are making poor judgment calls.

Like I said, many other police forces around the world are unarmed

In countries that don't have near the illegally-owned firearm problem the U.S. has. Like I said, you are naive. Keep grinding those axes.

Oginomi, have you ever spent time in an American city area where drugs and guns are everywhere? You grow up really fast. It's survival of the fittest, the wild west on crack cocain. Sad, but true.

I'm also wondering how many people you might have insulted with this statement:

'

Numerically' doesn't wash, he was 14, still a child, and you don't know what mental or emotional difficulties may have been rooted in his behavioural problems

The ones who made the choice not to enter into a life of crime, made it out, went to college, and are successful.

I know what mental and emotional difficulties he may have had contributed to him attempting murder on multiple people and police officers.

You do?

A police officer wanted to save multiple lives and the only way to do so was to end the one causing it all. You have never had police training. You likely don't even know personally any police officers, let alone inner-city police officers. You are ignorant. In your ignorance, you are naive. In your naivety, you are making poor judgment calls.

Are you a trained police officer? So no one should have an opinion on the killing of a 14 year old child unless they've trained in America's trigger happy police forces?

In countries that don't have near the illegally-owned firearm problem the U.S. has. Like I said, you are naive. Keep grinding those axes.

The whole world knows about America's firearm problem. Legally, or illegally, it doesn't make a difference, American society is awash with guns and images of violence. The illegally-owned gun problem lies in the fact that it's so easy to obtain a gun in the first place, due to the extremely lax gun laws.

Oginomi, have you ever spent time in an American city area where drugs and guns are everywhere? You grow up really fast. It's survival of the fittest, the wild west on crack cocain. Sad, but true.

I'm aware of that, but 'growing up really fast' doesn't mean a 14 year old is no longer a child, no matter how you twist it.

The ones who made the choice not to enter into a life of crime, made it out, went to college, and are successful.

Again, a 14 year old. If he was 25, then you might have an argument, but 14 is still a child. For a 14 year old to be involved in gun and gangs, ultimate responsibility has to lie with his parent (s) or whoever his guardian was supposed to be.

So no one should have an opinion on the killing of a 14 year old child unless they've trained in America's trigger happy police forces?

You are incorrigible. So devoted are you to your hilariously pathetic hatred of all things American that, even after multiple people have explained very clearly that what happened was necessary to preserve innocent life, you hold true to your internet-activist statement regurgitation. "BLAHBLAHBLAH TRIGGER HAPPY BLAHBLAH MURDERING A CHILD." The hardware stores in your hometown must be perpetually out of axes and grindstones.

You are incorrigible. So devoted are you to your hilariously pathetic hatred of all things American that, even after multiple people have explained very clearly that what happened was necessary to preserve innocent life, you hold true to your internet-activist statement regurgitation. "BLAHBLAHBLAH TRIGGER HAPPY BLAHBLAH MURDERING A CHILD." The hardware stores in your hometown must be perpetually out of axes and grindstones.

Actually, my original point was that I was disgusted with how Americans were celebrating this child's death. Of course, the 'America is great' brigade can't handle any criticism of their beloved country.

No more bickering please.

Actually, my original point was that I was disgusted with how Americans were celebrating this child's death. Of course, the 'America is great' brigade can't handle any criticism of their beloved country.

We're not celebrating a child's death, we're not even celebrating. Talk about projecting on people... We're just commenting that a lot of us agree the child was a fool and received the ultimate consequences of his actions regardless of his age and law enforcement was in its full rights to do what was needed to protect the people.

Just a few days ago, some stupid man went to a city hall and started randomly shooting people. So far he's got 3 people in critical condition, but during the shooting some people tackled him to the ground and subdued him. Now all people involved were American including the shooter.

As I said, we're tired of putting up with other people doing stupid things that cause loss of life just because someone doesn't have their head screwed on right. Enough of excuses trying to protect someone that obviously is in the wrong in the first place as this young teen was. Gun in hand, check. Shooting at people, check... pointing gun at police officers after they tell you to drop the weapon? Check and mate.

We're not celebrating a child's death, we're not even celebrating. Talk about projecting on people... We're just commenting that a lot of us agree the child was a fool and received the ultimate consequences of his actions regardless of his age and law enforcement was in its full rights to do what was needed to protect the people.

What have I projected? Do I have to get the quotes for you?

Little punk got what he deserved. Wanna be G got capped.

He was a little wannabe gangsta with a rap sheet a mile long and had already been charge with one attempted murder. World's better off without him

And then yourself

Well, he was asking for it. One thing to hammer into childrens' heads now is "If your mom and dad don't discipline you, the world will. And the world is not as nice or kind as your parents...

So the child deserved to be shot because his parents didn't warn him how the world is 'not as nice or kind as your parents'? Is this what passes for logic in the US? No wonder your country is in such dire straits.

So the child deserved to be shot because his parents didn't warn him how the world is 'not as nice or kind as your parents'? Is this what passes for logic in the US?

Seriously? Logically, lets say you were in this boys shoes, would you in all sense point a gun at police officers after they told you "DROP IT"? I was 14 once and so were you. I was no angel but I knew when I was doing something wrong even before I was 10 years old. My mother instilled in me that there are certain things one shouldn't do because they bring serious consequences. This boy could tell the difference between right and wrong, but most likely because his parents weren't good enough to lead by example, he probably glorified some older gang member and looked up them as a father figure etc.

I'm pretty sure those with survival instincts would assess the situation as "The police are pointing guns at me. There are two of them and one of me... I'm outgunned so I'd better drop it." I'm sorry, but logically the police aren't going to give someone who is pointing a weapon at them a long stern lecture and give them a slap on the wrist like you're somehow believe should have happened. He was shooting a weapon at someone when they arrived! They're not going to just say, "Oh we'll just wait until he's done and then when everything is calmed down we'll have a little chat with the gun man...."

Rose colored glasses don't stop reality. If this boy was smart he would have just dropped the gun and lived to see another day.

If this boy was smart he would have just dropped the gun and lived to see another day.

If the society he lived in was smart there would have been no gun for him to have in the first place.

If the society he lived in was smart there would have been no gun for him to have in the first place.

I'm no big gun fan myself, but he didn't acquire that gun by legal means in any way. Japan doesn't allow people to carry weapons, but the Yaks still have them. Must be my imagination that smuggling is how many people who aren't supposed to acquire things they're not legally allowed to have somehow get them anyway.

he didn't acquire that gun by legal means in any way. Japan doesn't allow people to carry weapons, but the Yaks still have them.

Sorry, but equating a 14-year-old kid in a society awash with guns legal and illegal, with crime in a society where guns are really hard to come by....? Must be my imagination that Japan isn't overrun with teenage gang members taking potshots at the police and members of the public with guns that are so, so easy to obtain.

Whether the boy got the gun legally or illegally is beside the point. (You may as well say, He shot at the police, but it wasn't legal for him to do that so it doesn't count.) The gun was there for the getting (and if a kid can get one, obviously the getting was ... childsplay?), and the society that raised him gave him the idea that getting a gun was a smart thing to do.

@Cleo, I'm sorry, but I grew up in this society and more exactly the type of ghetto-fabulous neighborhood this young man grew up in. It was in crips "territory" between the mid 80s all the way until the mid 90s when law enforcement beefed up patrols and pretty much cleaned up the place. Interestingly enough more Caucasian people are buying up property, remodeling the homes and apartments, and making things more expensive. I still don't own a gun and many of the 'hood kids I went to school with didn't get a gun. The only ones that did were the "kids" whose parents were either drug-dealing, prostituting, or blatantly gang-banging. Society didn't raise him to believe a gun was the way to protect himself. Gang culture and criminal upbringing by did. I've seen this every day, lived next door to these people so you can't make me believe otherwise.

Unless you've actually lived it, I see most of your speculation as nothing but a person that only thinks by ideals instead of action and actual experience. There are anti-gang programs that are available now that weren't available in my time. Since most of them are NPO not all of them make enough money to be more effective in helping children whose parents/guardians aren't up to par.

Its always going to be easier for anyone who circumvents laws to get what they want. Or do you expect criminals to actually go through legal channels to do illegal activities?

Society didn't raise him to believe a gun was the way to protect himself. Gang culture and criminal upbringing by did. I've seen this every day, lived next door to these people so you can't make me believe otherwise.

The micro-society he grew up in raised him to believe getting a gun was the smart thing to do (doesn't sound like it was for 'protection' ), and the larger society has laws that allow the country to be awash with guns.

do you expect criminals to actually go through legal channels to do illegal activities?

Those illegal activities are that much easier if the illegal substances/items that fuel them can be literally picked up in the street

Just a little gangbanger who got killed before he killed somebody (if he hadn't already).