Ohio man mistakes teen son for intruder, kills him
CINCINNATI » An armed man who believed he was confronting an intruder in his home today morning fatally shot his 14-year-old son, who he thought was on his way to school, police said.
“These types of tragedies are so horrific, they’re even unimaginable,” Police Chief Eliot Isaac told reporters.
Police said the man thought his son had already caught the bus for school on a snowy morning at around 6:30 a.m., but the teen returned home soon afterward. Police said the man heard a noise in the basement and checked on it with his gun in hand. They said the father fired after apparently being startled, hitting the boy in the neck.
Authorities said the father called 911 and the boy was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he died.
A police officer at the scene told reporters that the boy had apparently decided he wasn’t going to school and returned home through the back door.
Lt. Steve Saunders said police interviewed the father and described him as cooperative. Investigators said the shooting appeared to be accidental.
The Hamilton County prosecutor’s office will review the case to decide whether the father should face any charges, Isaac said.
Isaac, whose city has made reducing gun violence a top priority for 2016, said the shooting underscored some important messages.
He said those who have guns in their homes should get training and make sure they keep them secured.
Referring to indications the boy had planned to skip school, Isaac said children should “tell the truth: make sure your parents know where you are, absolutely.”
28 responses to “Ohio man mistakes teen son for intruder, kills him”
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Last week it was a woman killing her daughter. So many needless, and pointless, tragedies.
pitiful!
RIP lil guy…
our society / culture is too violent.
In this case it wasn’t violent at all. It was simply a case of stupidity and “OH, I didn’t realize…..” Too late….
soo shoot 1st ask questions later is not Violent? agree it’s stupidity, but c’mon… violence rules this country…
You said it yourself: “…agree it’s stupidity…” There was nothing violent about it….no struggle, no overpowering, no disparaging verbal exchange or threats,….just a simple shot that proved tragically fatal before the shooter adequately appraised the situation. Very stupid.
That’s one for the books: a gun homicide that had nothing to do with violence.
SueH, Do you know where your children at? It was and accident and it happen, but in your case you’re to perfect that it wouldn’t happen too you. Not!
So many uneducated gun owners out there that only know the Second amendment words. Pity.
So many people want the rights, but not the responsibility.
Now we can expect this father to be advocating against guns. People go from one extreme to the other.
When you have a gun and use it, there’s no reset button like a video game if you make a mistake…
Only in a video game.
No more grand kids with this dad.
I’m sleeping upstairs and my puppies are downstairs making noise. Then they run up and down the stairs, side by side, in tandem, all night long.
Ban guns. This playing the do it yourself police officer is not for the general public.
Banning guns does not get equal not having a gun. Just like any illegal item, there will always be a way to get them. examples, drugs, prostitution, fireworks, antiquities from Asia, ivory, name lion skin
So you would prefer to ignore all of the documented cases where a person successfully defended themselves from harm or even possible death by using their gun? The police don’t always get there in time, do they? Stop relying on overreaching arguments.
Although the Constitution grants an individual to own a gun it does not guarantee that the gun owner is qualified or entitled to possess a gun. Before our son was allowed to shoot a gun on the gun range. He was enrolled and instructed by a NRA certified instructor on the proper gun safety and responsibility course. Only after he had completed the course was he allowed to handle the many guns in my collection. Mistakes do happen and often unavoidable. Thus we must ever be vigilant when handling any weapon.
This mistake was avoidable. I am glad you required that kind of training for your son. Back when the NRA was loyal to its own mission and hadn’t yet become a tool of the weapons manufacturers, they did a whole lot of good.
What a tragedy. Yet another #EmptySeat.
Home defense guns kill many more family members (through accidental shootings, suicides and domestic violence) than they do home invaders.
What happened to calling 911?
Exactly. Dude instead grabbed his head and went looking for trouble. Could have called 911 waited it out or left the house, kid would be alive today.
Macho men in America have such a big head and ego to prove nothing.
People who take the law into their own hands are the very ones complaining about paying too much taxes. They need to learn to use the services of the government, instead.
Good point!
The recently released omnibus bill to keep the government funded includes a Republican ban on any money for the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health to do research into gun violence, in spite of a push by House Democrats to strip it out.
“The inclusion of this rider is outrageous. Thirty-plus people are being killed every day by someone using a gun, and House Republicans refuse to even take the most basic steps to help lesson this loss of life,” said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. “No one can offer one good reason to keep this ban in place. This rider has prohibited experts at the CDC from reaching the causes and best ways to prevent gun violence for nearly 20 years. The omnibus bill gave us a chance to fix that, but once again Republicans refused to simply get out of the way and let our experts do what they do best — conduct research that will save some lives.”
The father will suffer with guilt for the rest of his life. The family has lost a son. What comments are there to help ease the pain of their loss? Speculations of what could have been or other preventive measures are unless at this moment in time! Pray that the family will be able to find peace and happiness despite this unfortunate tragedy.
he needs to find that peace within himself… take responsibility of his actions… no words or actions can ever be enough to change what they lost at his own hands…
he needs to look in the mirrow every morning, every day…