Mother arrested for firing gun in the air to get attackers off her daughter

[davidn3600]

A Woodbridge woman was arrested after she shot a handgun into the air to scare off a group of boys who were attacking her daughter.

Lakisha Gaither, 35, said she fired a single round into the sky from her legally registered gun Saturday night after a boy punched her daughter in the face during a dispute near their home.

“I just wanted this group of guys to disperse,” Ms. Gaither said. “I didn’t know what they were going to do. I wanted him to stop hitting my child.”

The shooting occurred at 9:20 p.m. in the 13600 block of Cridercrest Place. After confronting a teenage girl and her mother in the neighborhood over a prior disagreement, Ms. Gaither and her 15-year-old daughter, Brianna Stewart, began walking home. A group of about 10 boys approached them in the parking lot of their apartment complex. One boy began to swear and insult Ms. Gaither and her daughter, who stood up to the boy.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/22/va-mom-charged-after-firing-gun-into-air-to-scare-/

[xfundy]

1. Moonie Times?

Well, they can certainly be trusted. After all, they were founded by JesusII.

[NYC_SKP]

4. How about NBC?

After seeing her daughter get punched repeatedly, Gaither said she took things into her own hands.

"Because I do open carry, because I'm a registered gun owner and I open carry everywhere I go, I walked out to the middle of the parking lot where I was away from everybody, not near anybody, the not near the buildings or anything, and I unholstered my weapon, held it straight up in the air and shot straight in the air, one shot, to get him off of my child and to break this group up," Gaither said.

Police were quickly called to the scene, and Gaither, who said she open carries everywhere, was charged with reckless handling of a firearm, a misdemeanor. No one was injured and Gaither was later released from jail, a police report states.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/After-Confrontation-Va-Teen-Missing-228711381.html

Good grief....

No more guns for this woman.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I don't even know what to say.

[NickB79]

3. Shoot into the ground near their feet instead. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. Equally unsafe, i.e. ricochets.

That being said the woman should not have been arrested. Granted, firing into the air is not safe but firing into a crowd surrounding your child is also unsafe for your child.

[Ilsa]

5. Or shoot one of them, warn the others.

I would rather she put the bullet into one of the perps versus it falling to earth and hitting an innocent person.

[GreenStormCloud]

32. It was a shotgun. Falling pellets from a shotgun are harmless.

Falling bullets, however, are dangerous.

However, it was still a stupid thing for her to do.

[Ilsa]

33. The OP said handgun. I didn't bother with

going to the WTimes article for more detail.

[Ilsa]

34. Okay, I read the WTimes

article. Where did it say shotgun? Police described the same risk with her firing it into the air, and said "bullet."

[pnwmom]

57. Letting the boys attack her daughter would be a heartless thing to do.

[hack89]

6. Warning shots are nearly always illegal

in some states it is considered aggravated assault.

They are also dangerous and irresponsible - she had no idea where that bullet was going to land.

[HappyMe]

10. That's kind of what I thought.

I don't like any kind of vigilante justice.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. False equivalency. Stopping an ongoing assault is not "vigilante justice."

[Yo_Mama]

39. Should she have stood by and watched the group of boys assault her daughter?

It's better than shooting one of them.

[HappyMe]

41. I don't like guns.

The answer to any situation isn't whip your gun out.

She should have called the cops and taken video of this, or a kick to the kidneys for a couple of the boys.

[Yo_Mama]

42. Called the cops, yes.

But if the beating continued as it did? The idea that she should have been karate mom and waded into a group of 10 boys is not very realistic and almost certainly would have resulted in far more serious injury.

I don't like guns either. I also don't like gangs of teenagers beating up persons, and I don't think it's non-serious.

[HappyMe]

43. What if she didn't have a gun?

Then what?

She wouldn't have had to 'wade' anywhere and you don't have to know karate to kick somebody.

[NickB79]

47. 10 aggressive guys vs. one mom?

I'd call that "wading" into a fight, yeah.

And kicking someone usually only works once, when you catch them off-guard or unaware. It's not like she'd be walking around kicking each one as they just stood there. Then it would depend if the guys were angry enough to turn on the mom or not.

Either the teens call it quits and run, or the girl AND the mom end up with the shit beat out of them.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

44. Wrong

That's very poor course of action.

[NickB79]

48. Videotape your daughter get beaten?

While waiting for the cops to arrive?

[moriah]

24. If you're in danger enough to draw, it should be danger enough to kill.

If all you see yourself doing is firing a warning shot, leave the damn thing in the holster.

[Decaffeinated]

61. Correct....

[Tumbulu]

84. I really do not understand this

why should she have shot someone rather than up in the air away fro everyone and every thing? What would you have done?

[moriah]

88. Unless she felt she *had* to shoot someone, she shouldn't have drawn the weapon at all.

Stray bullets can go anywhere -- what goes up must come down. One of the prime rules is to know your target and what is beyond it before shooting -- you have no idea where a shot into the air is going to go. But more than that, it's kind of like what my stepfather did when he was drinking heavily -- he tried to take a firearm out of the house onto the front porch in a verbal confrontation with someone. He didn't intend to shoot anyone, just planned to wave it around to "scare" the person.

It didn't help my PTSD any to have to be the one to stand between him and the door and tell him in a firm, loud, commanding voice to "Put that goddamn gun down NOW", but he did. My mother had unsuccessfully tried to sweet-talk him into putting it down and he wasn't listening, and I was absolutely terrified the thing would go off and a stray bullet would hit my mother, since she was so close to him and thought she could take it away from him.

Guns are too fucking dangerous to take out unless you are in fear for your life. Fear enough that you truly believe the only way you will get out alive is to kill. If not, you shouldn't draw.

[Tumbulu]

91. thanks for the explanation

but wasn't this mom fearing her daughter's life? I mean 10 boys, one punching her???

I bet the police do not respond quickly to help out in these matters...which is why the mom probably had the gun in the fist place.

Now the girl is missing, very sad story!

[joeybee12]

7. Good...there's a reason why people aren't allowed to shoot guns into the air...

Because you never know where the bullets will land...that said, I'm sure this mother is full of shit and what she says trasnpired is not even close to what actually happened.

[Stryder]

30. Terminal velocity

of a falling bullet, aprox. 150 fps. (Shouldn't penetrate the skin much less the skull.) Red Rider BB gun, around 240 fps.
That said, the gun would need to be fired directly up. Unlikely in such a stressful situation.
I'm not sure what to take away from this story. Just thought I'd throw a little science into the mix.

[quakerboy]

49. If thats how it happens, maybe

Ive read that a falling bullet can reach 300+ fps. And as you say, up in the air could be anything from right over their heads to backward and away. Which leaves it arcing. I'd hate for anyone I liked to be on the far end of the arc.

Either way, its well documented that people die every year from celebratory gunfire, so we know it is quite possible for a stray bullet fired into the air to end up being lethal to someone.

[Incitatus]

50. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/08/virginia_boy_7_dies_from_stray.html

I found some science for you with a quick Google search

Things aren't likely to be much worse at angles just off the vertical. That said, bullets fired at an upward angle of 45 degrees or less can be far more lethal, since they're likely to hit someone on the ground while traveling at a much greater speed. In this case, gravity isn't directly opposing the bullet's motion, so the projectile stays at a higher velocity throughout its flight path. It's also more likely to maintain its initial, aerodynamically favorable orientation. Bullets fired vertically tend to fall nose-up or sideways, which creates a lot of drag.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/03/watch_out_for_falling_bullets.html

[IdaBriggs]

8. The other link says the girl is now missing.

I hope this doesn't turn tragic.

[Kaleva]

9. Daughter is now missing

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/After-Confrontation-Va-Teen-Missing-228711381.html

[geek tragedy]

11. Ironically, had she shot one of the kids in the head, no crime nt

[jeff47]

13. Because then she'd be in control of who was getting hit with the bullet.

Shots fired into the air don't stay in the air.

[Rex]

12. What goes up, must come down.

I see she failed gravity 101.

[Lizzie Poppet]

14. Warning shots are illegal (and stupid).

If you're witnessing a felony assault and are armed, either (loudly) announce the fact and then order the perpetrator to stop...or shoot them.

[Logical]

16. So you think shooting guns is OK for punches to the face? nt

[NickB79]

27. Depends on the situation

One-on-one fighting, no serious risk of life, then not really. It would be pretty hard to justify using a firearm when it's just a couple of teenagers throwing punches.

However, if you're surrounded by a group of clearly hostile people that have the advantage of strength and numbers, and one starts punching you in the face, it is reasonable to think the others could pile on as well.

Then one punch to the face turns into many, turns into kicks to the body when you're on the ground, etc. THAT has the potential to cause serious injury or death.

Unfortunately, self defense situations are rarely black and white.

[Yo_Mama]

40. One of the articles says the girl was punched repeatedly

I wouldn't assume the girl was in no danger.

[Bandit]

28. Zimmerman and his jury thought so

[X_Digger]

29. When the odds are ten teen boys on one girl? Yes. n/t

[Lizzie Poppet]

31. When multiple bigger people are violently assaulting a smaller one?

Damn fucking right, I do. As a pretty darn small person (5'3", 110lbs), a group of much bigger people like that represent a deadly threat to me with their hands and feet alone. The risk of severe, traumatic injury or death is significant in such cases. People are beaten to death on a sadly regular basis. The use of deadly force to stop such an attack is not only legal in virtually all US jurisdictions, it's also completely justified ethically, IMO.

[1000words]

17. Unlawful discharge of a firearm

Would have been wiser if she had "unholstered" her phone and called the police, instead. Could have gotten video evidence of the assault as well.

[RZM]

18. Does this make the woman an evil gun-humper? n/t

[1000words]

20. It makes her an irresponsible gun owner

[RZM]

21. Though it sounds sarcastic, I actually wasn't trying to be so

I've been wondering what makes one a 'gun-humper.' Is it just owning guns? Liking them? Firing them? I'm not clear on that.

I'm not sure what I would have done in this situation. Sometimes firing in the air is maybe the best option, but I understand why it is considered negligent, since the bullet can fall anywhere.

[bigbrother05]

22. Proudly declaring yourself as a full time open carry person

could lean toward that type of classification. Feeling the need/requirement to always be packing is at least troublesome.

[1000words]

23. Honestly, its easy to cite correct action after the fact. And I do understand her reaction.

But the fact remains, knowing the laws is part of responsible ownership.

As for the term "gun-humper," I'd rather it were not used at all. It's not encouraging productive dialog.

[Crunchy Frog]

37. Because she didn't kill someone.

If she'd shot and killed one of the guys, she'd be given a medal.

[Jenoch]

38. She would have been legally correct to shoot

one of the attackers only if she felt that either her daughter or she was in danger of death or great bodily harm. Id she would have backed off like she did and then shoot one of the men, she would still be in trouble with the law.

[Blue_Tires]

25. So did the boys attacking her daughter get arrested?

by the sounds of things I think she had a good idea who they were?

[riversedge]

26. 'boys will boys'..

[Tumbulu]

85. oh heaven's no

boys are always set free and now the teen is missing......

very sad story......

[4bucksagallon]

35. According to MythBusters.........

In the case of a bullet fired at sufficiently close to a vertical angle to result in a non-ballistic trajectory, the bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on impact (the Busted rating). However, if a bullet is fired at a lower angle allowing for a ballistic trajectory (a far more likely case), it will maintain its spin and will retain enough energy to be lethal on impact (the Plausible rating). Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in most U.S. states, and even in the states where it is legal, it is not recommended by the police. Also the MythBusters were able to identify two people who had been injured by falling bullets (fired from approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) away, and hence at a lower angle), one of them fatally (the Confirmed rating). To date, this is the only myth to receive all three ratings at the same time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%282006_season%29#Bullets_Fired_Up

I totally believe this but as the article says if the round is not straight up of very close there is a chance of someone getting hurt or killed.

[Kaleva]

36. Missing daughter (girl who was attacked) may have been spotted

"The mother has posted a frantic series of messages on her Facebook page asking for her daughter's safe return.
In the latest message, she posted: 'THE POLICE THINK BRIANNA HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN RESTON, VA BY THE BEST BUY."


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2474512/Mother-charged-firing-gun-air-scare-boys-punched-daughter.html#ixzz2ib0ZyNXh
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[libdem4life]

45. She probably was not comforted watching the Missouri teen go for two years after being raped,

videoed, family forced to move, vacant house "accidentally" burned down, perpetrators known, case dismissed, etc. Who knows, there might have been a Senator's grandson in the mix. And even if she did have her cell phone, getting the police to rush on over to some boys just being boys ... maybe, maybe not.

I hate guns. She made a mistake even though she seemingly "Stood her daughter's ground". Also going to guess that it worked and they left off of the group attack (or fear of same) on a young girl.

Yet it's awfully damned easy to be a Monday Morning Quarterback when it wasn't your daughter being attacked.

[Kaleva]

46. 15 year old Brianna Stewart is still missing.

[bowens43]

51. She should be arrested. Hopefully she'll get some time in jail.

[Skeeter Barnes]

52. Unless you are forced to shoot an attacker to save innocent life, it needs to stay in the holster.

If firing warning shots were legal, it would happen all the time when an argument breaks out. Anyone should understand this before going armed.

You can use gunfire to stop someone if they are trying to kill you. You don't get to use gunfire to scare people or to make them comply with your wishes, no matter how wrong they are.

This woman should have avoided confrontation at all costs knowing that she was armed. Instead, she put herself and her daughter in a situation that could have ended much worse. She armed herself and then purposely went to confront someone. Not only that, she brought her kid along!

The shooting occurred at 9:20 p.m. in the 13600 block of Cridercrest Place. After confronting a teenage girl and her mother in the neighborhood over a prior disagreement , Ms. Gaither and her 15-year-old daughter, Brianna Stewart, began walking home.

This woman has no business carrying a gun and she deserves whatever she gets. She's lucky she didn't get some kids killed over a stupid disagreement.



Warning Shot Misconceptions

Warning shots send a bullet out of the barrel, and that bullet will land somewhere. If you’re watching the suspect, how can you be sure your warning shot won’t land somewhere it shouldn’t?

Serious students of armed defense know that the “warning shot” is a bad idea, an act expressly forbidden by most police departments insofar as their own officers’ “rules of engagement.” Unfortunately, much of the public and apparently even some members of the bar have not gotten the word.

http://www.tactical-life.com/combat-handguns/warning-shot-misconceptions/

[Skip Intro]

53. Seems most think she should stand by and watch

her daughter be attacked.

If the story I'm reading here is accurate, then fuck that.

Maybe it'll just be rape, and she'll survive. I'll just stand here and watch.

Fuck that.

She had every right to stop that situation after her daughter was attacked.

I cannot believe anybody would spout an argument that one should be compelled to be a victim, to just lie down and take it rather than stop the perps.

Again, fuck that.

[Skeeter Barnes]

59. She needs to get pepper spray and leave the kid at home if she insists on confronting people she

is already at odds with.

[Skip Intro]

60. Is that right?

Is that what she needs to do?

She needs to be constrained when her daughter is being attacked?

She's the problem here?

Wow.

[Skeeter Barnes]

64. She shought a confrontation knowing she was armed. It led to a very dangerous situation

where people could have been killed but you think she did nothing wrong? Taking a gun and a kid to confront someone you've already had words with is a wreckless thing to do. She deliberately put herself and her child in this situation and then expects to remain blameless after she initiated it.

[Skip Intro]

65. You'd have her watch her daughter be raped.

Or maimed for life. Or killed.

What insanity is this? What the hell are you thinking? A mob of ten guys attack a girl and the mom who shot a gun into the air to stop it is the problem?

No fucking way.

[Skip Intro]

69. Ok. What should she have done when her daugter was

attacked by ten guys?


Btw, I won't alert on you for your fu. I'd rather you see the idiocy of your argument.

[Skip Intro]

76. No, you're blaming a mother for protecting her kid

from an onslaught of a gang of guys.

No amount of telling me to f-off will hide that bight, shiny ridiculousness.

[Skeeter Barnes]

78. I'm not the one who has to edit my post so it doesn't even resemble it's original content.

You already made an ass of yourself and now you want to double down on it. Go right ahead. What else have I not said that you'd like to take me to task over?

[Skip Intro]

80. Please show me the difference between my posts.

Go right ahead.

What is the difference between my posts.

Check edit history. And show me the difference.

Yeah, somebody's asking you to back up your bs.

Go ahead, tell me what changed from post to post.

[Skeeter Barnes]

75. How many times are you going to edit your garbage post?

And you want to alert on me?

[Skip Intro]

77. Didn't change any words. All still there.

In original order.

Subject line truncates further leftward with each post, so I moved one word from the subject line to the body of the post.

Still same post, same words, same order, same meaning.

Wanna reply with some substance now?

[Skeeter Barnes]

83. And none of them have to do with anything I've said. You deliberately make false accusations

and fill in your own blanks to arrive at a conclusion you dreamed up so you could show everyone how outraged you are. Then, when I understandably take exception to it, you get offended and act like you're being nice by not alerting on my reply to your sleazy insinuations. You are a dishonest prick and I'm done dealing with you.

[Decaffeinated]

62. If it was that bad then she should have shot one of attackers...

[Skip Intro]

63. Her fault was not shooting someone?

What in the fuck are you talking about?

[Decaffeinated]

68. They were short and simple words...

Which ones did you not understand?

[Skip Intro]

70. And they were: "she should have shot one of attackers"

Wanna elaborate?

[Decaffeinated]

72. Sure...

If she was concerned enough over the safety of her kid to draw the weapon then she either needs to

a) use the threat of the weapon to stop the attack (preferable)

or

b) put a round center mass in one of the attackers to stop the life threatening attack; continue to do so if the attack does not stop

Neither of those options involve shooting up into the air when there's gravity all over the place just waiting to bring a bullet down on some innocent person's dome or property.

[Skip Intro]

73. So yes, you say she should have shot someone instead

of shooting into the air.

I'm going to leave conversation with you now, shaking my head.

[Decaffeinated]

74. I would love to see you explain...

... how it is better to send a bullet into the air, who knows where, then to stop the attack (the reason you drew the weapon in the first place)

You don't have any weapons do you? If you do, I'd advise you to leave them at home. You don't seem prepared.

[Skip Intro]

79. Yes, she should be jailed for not kililng someone.

[Decaffeinated]

81. So as long as a driver goes speeding down the wrong side of the highway...

... gets lucky and doesn't smash into a family of four, we shouldn't prosecute that person?

I mean... no one got killed right?

[Skip Intro]

82. I'm not the one saying she should have shot one of the perps.

Of course, we've been having this who discussion under your assertion that the woman who stopped the attack is the criminal here. Have you anything to say about the gang who attacked the woman's daughter?

[Decaffeinated]

86. Bring charges against em...

What is there to say? They got lucky that the woman was incompetent.

If I were them I wouldn't continue to play the odds of dealing with idiots though.

Still waiting for a response to the highway scenario btw...

[Skip Intro]

89. Who plays the role of the attacking mob in your highway scenario?

on edit: had a change of heart about continuing the discussion

[Decaffeinated]

90. Got it...

You can do what you want as long as no one actually dies.

[Skip Intro]

92. ? - IF you're going to use a substitute scenario,

shouldn't it have the same major players, the same type conflict?

In order to be an effective substitute for the actual scenario, the alternate scenario should contain the same elements.

In this case, your highway alternate scenario doesn't really equate to the actual scenario, in large part because in reality a mother was witnessing her daughter being attacked by a mob of guys and your alternate scenario contains no equivalent for that - nothing. So it isn't a valid comparison.

Should drivers be punished for driving like maniacs down a road? Sure.

Should a mom stop an attack by 10 thugs on her daughter by whatever means possible? Hell fucking yes.

[WCLinolVir]

54. I see a lot of self-righteous judgment and

a lack of understanding about what it is to be a woman in this world, living in an environment that is dangerous. But you all know what she should have done, because you have all been through the exact same scenario. Sure you have. And you are all munitions experts to boot. And
just so qualified to judge. And prosecute. And self defense experts as well.
You should walk a mile in her shoes.

[Skeeter Barnes]

55. Yeah, grab a gun and your kid and deliberately seek out a confrontation with someone you've argued

with before. It doesn't take an expert to see how that's a stupid thing to do.

[WCLinolVir]

56. False equivalency.

[Skeeter Barnes]

58. That makes no sense at all. I never said one thing was equivalent to another.

[flvegan]

66. Where is the arrest of the boy that punched the daughter in the face?

While almost never legal, I don't know that I can find fault with a mother discharging a firearm in the air when "10 boys approached" her and her daughter.

I guess, better she killed one or two of 'em so DUers wouldn't judge.

[Tumbulu]

87. yes, why wasn't he arrested

and the daughter is now missing. Very bad story story so far!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

93. Now's the time for her to keep her mouth shut. Let her attorney demand that the police prove that

she fired a live round instead of a blank one.

[Kaleva]

94. Daughter and mother reunited last Thursday. Facts about incident in dispute

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/24/facts-about-va-moms-warning-shot-in-dispute/?page=1