FL - 8th-Grader With Gun Shot by SWAT Team

[Shadow205]

I have to agree with GatorMom, the parents should have been called in and been allowed to speak to their son. What harm could it have done and they may have been able to end the standoff peacefully. I know that if that were my child, I would have moved heaven and earth to get in there.

I know that the cops were doing their jobs and we certainly cannot have children running around schools with guns, fake or not. The biggest mistake in this situation was not letting that Dad in there to talk to the son. In most hostage cases I have seen, they bring in a relative to try to bring them out peacefully. Should a child not get this same consideration?

His life did not have to end this way. He could have gotten the help he needed with no blood shed. Very sad indeed!

You are so right in the statement that I highlighted. He should have gotten the help that he needed BEFORE it got to this point. All of the warning signs were there as have been stated in statements from people who knew him. I do not fault the police or question their actions. There were still kids and teachers in the school who were in danger if this boy had decided to start shooting. The police DID NOT know that he did not have a real gun and acted appropriately. As for the father not being allowed to speak with his son, I will refrain from comments about that until I hear more info such as when did the father arrive on the scene?

 

[Shadow205]

New Information About 15-Year-Old Student Who Was Shot By Deputy
<snip>

Investigators said he took a pellet gun, painted to look like a real gun, to class and then raised it at officers during a brief stand-off. <snip>

The teenager had his problems at school, too. Early last year, he was investigated for making a threat and, this summer, he was suspended for some other reason. He had only returned to Milwee Middle School two weeks ago
<snip>

The sheriff's office has turned over its phone records to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators, records it says proves there were no conversations with Penley's father about whether the gun was real until after the shooting. <snip>

Channel 9 was told SWAT team officers put themselves at risk, breaking cover at times to protect the other students. But once Penley raised what looked like a semi-automatic weapon, that's where the rampage had to end

more at the link http://www.wftv.com/news/6156570/detail.html