General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Already, another Trayvon Martin incident has just happened [View all]HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)and i doubt that's a direct quote from 'police sources'. the kid didn't have a gun, that's what it amounts to. but the homeowner didn't know that when he shot.
there was reason to *believe* there was a threat, because the kid had come into the 'yard' at 2 am, with some difficulty, since he had to vault a chest-high spiked iron fence to get there, and was a foot or so from the side door.
and because the neighborhood was one in which armed burglary, robbery and assault are commonplace, the house was small and exit was blocked on 3 sides by houses which enclosed the property, the homeowner had a pregnant wife and baby, and there was no way to escape the house with his family without putting them into danger as the 'yard' was basically a parking strip for the car, which the trespasser was standing right next to.
the reason the shot was from '30 feet away' is that rather than go out the side door which the kid was standing right next to, the shooter went to the front porch that exited on the sidewalk (where the kid's friend was waiting). the house is literally 30 feet long, tiny. It appears to be maybe 800 ft2.