Kid Shot My House With Pellet Gun

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  • Mooseman

    R.I.P.- Hooligan #4
    Jan 3, 2012
    18,048
    Western Maryland
    But, Mooseman....from what I gather you live in the sticks! (or at least that's my impression) lol. (or maybe I'm wrong about that...not all of Western MD is all sticks!). It is a little different in a community type area.

    I grew up in Cumberland, in a development. Four houses on each side of the street, five streets in the development. Not a whole lot of room between the houses. There was a very small patch of woods off to the side of the development where we would play with our BB guns and slingshots.
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    Similar story to my neighbor's kids. Now they drive they do not hang around the neighborhood as much so it's better. But before they were doing this kind of crap: destroying my property, insulting me and cat calling my wife, to name a few.

    I've complained to their parents and their mom apologizes and dad doesn't say anything. I keep getting calls from collectors trying to contact them and they have multiple judgements against them so no use trying to sue them in small claims court.

    Another reason to look forward to moving out of MD in a few years.

    My only recommendation to the OP is document everything including video and pictures as much as possible. Anytime a crime is committed against you then call the sheriff and let them know. The more paper trail you have the easier it will be in a future case.
     

    molonlabe

    Ultimate Member
    May 7, 2005
    2,760
    Mountaineer Country, WV
    The kid arcorss fired a pellet inot our back yard an hit the deck of our neighbor when he was out there. We called the cops the kid and her parents got a talking to. Next week the AH shot his sister and was led out of the house in cuffs with the police. They had the airgun.
     
    Last edited:

    JoeRinMD

    Rifleman
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,014
    AA County
    {deleted}

    ... For the record the father did bring the little kid over. Kid couldn't really apologize through all his tears, so I guess he got his firearms safety lesson for the day. :thumbsup:

    I think this was an important detail. The parents made the kid own up to what he did. Hopefully he got a lesson in personal responsibility as well as firearms safety.

    Be a good neighbor. Go over there and help the kid set up a safe backstop to shoot his pellet rifle at (away from your house!) Give him a 15 minute gun safety lesson and let it go.

    rseymourjr, I agree with your advice, but would extend a "request" to the father and the son. My thought is that it's most important to help the kid, along with the Dad, to set up a safe shooting range. You want the father to help keep the emphasis on safety.

    JoeR
     

    sxs

    Senior Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2009
    3,377
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    I grew up in Cumberland, in a development. Four houses on each side of the street, five streets in the development. Not a whole lot of room between the houses. There was a very small patch of woods off to the side of the development where we would play with our BB guns and slingshots.

    Just learned something new about a hooligan! :)

    Hopefully some day I'll meet some of the hooligans (but just not sure about being around that goat! :D)
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,156
    moojersey

    Be proactive tell the parents there is a junior air rifle shooting program that meets at the American Legion bingo hall in Rising Sun on Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 (not on Nov. 11). The kid will be taught safe gun handling and marksmanship and can join other kids in safe competitions. It is sponsored by the American Legion and is taught by certified instructors, 6 is a little young but with the help of a parent still doable.

    There is a sister program at Southern Lancaster County Farmers Sportsmen Association at their range in Quarreyville PA, Sponsored by the Oxford American Legion. It meets Monday nights 6:30 to 9:00 except for club meeting nights.
    http://www.slcfsa.com/activities/youth-indoor-air-rifle/

    Both programs supply all the needed equipment at no cost to the participant. Get your neighbor trained safely and right.

    I know the head of the Maryland American Legion is actively trying to get other posts in Maryland involved in the Legion sponsored junior shooting programs so if any of you are a member of an American Legion Post ask about getting the program started at your post.
     

    sxs

    Senior Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2009
    3,377
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    Reading some of these posts reminds me of years ago when I was involved in a Baptist Youth group (RA's for those who may know what that is). These kids were about 10-12 years old. One kid brought a pellet rifle to the group and the kids were talking about the different things he, and in some cases, they had been shooting with BB guns. They bragged that sometimes they were even shooting at each other including the kid with the pellet rifle which was a Crossman 760 pump-up job which could be quite dangerous. When I told the kid who brought the pellet gun he could hurt his friends shooting at them...he swore he only 'pumped it once or twice! (yeah I would trust this kid as far as i could throw him...and he was a chunky kid). He blew it off when I told him they could hurt one another with even an old Daisy BB gun (yeah, I gave 'em the ol'e you could shoot your eye out speech). I took the pellet rifle away for the duration of our session, but then beginning the next week, I set up some spotlights (meetings were 6:00 pm...after dark and we were shooting from about 7pm - 8pm) created a target stand with tin cans and paper targets and began teaching the kids about gun safety and marksmanship. We had a session about every other week, weather permitting, after Bible study for several sessions. Most caught on to the safety issues very quickly. A few among those expressed some greater interest in other shooting and even hunting. As a Hunter's Safety Instructor I had them go to parents to ask permission to go with me to a Hunter's Safety class. OMG, several people in the church blew up completely at that notion including parents/guardians of a couple of the kids. You know the Church just can't sponsor such things :rolleyes: (FWIW, the classes were just offered to 4 or 5 of about 12 kids and was being held at Stoney Creek. What they didn't get was that several of these kids (including a couple whose guardians were the most vociferous about the issue) were out shooting pellet rifles and BB guns with friends, at each other, street lights, people's cats, birds and whatever else they could think of to shoot at. I had, through just a few sessions target shooting behind the church (there were acres of woods that were on the church property), been able to re-channel them towards being more safe and taking it seriously as well as understanding that, yes, they could get hurt. One whose guardians (his grandparents - great people and I love them - but they had no clue about some of the things that their grandson was in to) especially objected despite the fact he was running around wild and unsupervised with a pellet gun when he was with friends. That was end end of our little shooting sessions as an activity

    By the way, the little twit who originally brought his pellet rifle to the group was NOT one of those I asked to go to a class with me (he was actually such a contentious trouble-maker and wild child in the group, a couple years later he was asked not to come back anymore if he he couldn't behave and his parents in a fit of pique stopped going to our church). Anyway, a few years later a couple of the kids (by then grown) came back and told me what a great time they had with the activities in my class and had especially fond memories of the several shooting/safety sessions we did.. One did get his parents to take him to Hunter's Safety and he actually began to hunt some with a family member an uncle , IIRC).
     

    Jason21237

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 24, 2011
    2,825
    Delta,PA
    All kids do dumb shit. His dad did the right thing making him face you. I understand being pissed but the kid is 6. Why not go over and shoot with him? Might make some new friends out of the deal. Dad has shown hes not a complete douchebag by just showing up with the kid and attempting to make things right.
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    Wife decided yesterday that we needed to visit Appalachian Brewery for dinner. We set out the candy on our front porch in a bowl and both were gone when we got home. I expected someone to take all the candy but the bowl also?
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,156
    Wife decided yesterday that we needed to visit Appalachian Brewery for dinner. We set out the candy on our front porch in a bowl and both were gone when we got home. I expected someone to take all the candy but the bowl also?

    After the candy was all gone somebody must have thought you were giving away bowls.
     

    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    Reminded me of the recently rediscovered story about Lee Harvey Oswald shooting BBs through apartment complex windows as a young teen when he presumably would have had a firmer sense of right and wrong than a 6-year old ...

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/n...the-kennedy-assassination.html?pagewanted=all

    ... especially one who seems to have shown appropriate remorse and embarrassment (even if motivated by parental fear) that one assumes will be corrective.
    ... Kid couldn't really apologize through all his tears, so I guess he got his firearms safety lesson for the day. :thumbsup:
     

    Minuteman

    Member
    BANNED!!!
    Good discussion and sounds like the parents made it right, let it go.

    As a kid, my dad taught and closely supervised me shooting air guns. Later when I was maybe 8, he would let me shoot it unsupervised on our property. By high school, I would hunt with a rifle alone in the mountains; every kid is different.

    When I was stationed in Georgia (Augusta), one day I heard this tapping sound. Peeked out window and saw two little boys , 8 or 9 years old, shooting the glass cover on my electric meter. I ran outside and politely confronted them. One of them was trying to hide the bb gun behind his leg. After just chatting a few minutes, finding out who they were and where they lived; I just told them I grew up shooting BB guns too, there didn't appear to be any damage, but if they shot my house again, I would tell their parents. After getting a couple convincing 'yes sirs' out of them I just walked away. That never happened again and I didn't have to speak to their parents.

    Live and let live.
     

    BRONZ

    Big Brother is Watching
    Jan 21, 2008
    1,648
    Westminster, MD
    damn, my dad would have beat me and then let you beat me if I had done something that stupid and then he would have made me pay restitution with my labor until he felt things were right. I guess kids get to do what ever they want nowadays.

    I don't see where calling the cops would accomplish much though, just my 2 cents.

    This is what would have happened to me and to my sons today if that had happened.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    If it was e lead pellet, contact the EPA. They'll shut their asses down!
     

    sxs

    Senior Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2009
    3,377
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    Wife decided yesterday that we needed to visit Appalachian Brewery for dinner. We set out the candy on our front porch in a bowl and both were gone when we got home. I expected someone to take all the candy but the bowl also?

    It's what happened to me the first
    year I was separated from my ex. I took the kids out and left candy in a bowl and both were gone (bowl and candy...not the kids! :) )
    . For the next few years, I didn't hand out any more candy because I would walk my kids around and I didn't see the point in putting candy out if that was gonna happen. When I told a few people what happened, some of them asked what did you expect. So I guess it was my fault I put out the bowl.
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    It's what happened to me the first
    year I was separated from my ex. I took the kids out and left candy in a bowl and both were gone (bowl and candy...not the kids! :) )
    . For the next few years, I didn't hand out any more candy because I would walk my kids around and I didn't see the point in putting candy out if that was gonna happen. When I told a few people what happened, some of them asked what did you expect. So I guess it was my fault I put out the bowl.

    We hoped that all the candy would be taken so we wouldn't have to eat it. But the bowl was also our chicken bucket for all the veggie stuff we feed our chickens. Now I'm out another few bucks to replace it.

    Also, placing the bowl out was my wife's idea. Perhaps your experience will be prophetic for me. :innocent0
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,156
    Next time use a metal bowl and hook it to an electric fence charger. With a sign
    "Don't Touch The Bowl"
     

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