Some boys (8-10) were shooting my daughter and her friends with concealed pellet guns. Is there a law against this?
2007-03-09 10:10:45 · 15 answers · asked by pixiebdg 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
We called the police and they couldn't find the boys. They said at best they will write the parents a ticket. So my husband went looking for them and walked each one up to their parent's doors. They are supposedly getting in trouble by the parents.
2007-03-09 10:47:53 · update #1
A pellet gun is capable of producing bodily injury,and may or may not qualify as a deadly weapon.
In Washington, this would probably not constitute attempted murder, but may qualify as assault with a deadly weapon in your local jurisdiction.
The person doing the shooting must also have culpability (understanding of what their doing).
I'd advise you to consult the local police department or sheriff's office in your area. At a minimum, it caught, they'll be charged with simple assault and carrying a concealed weapon.
2007-03-09 10:21:19 · answer #1 · answered by Jon L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely there are laws against this. At a minimum these boys are guilty of battery. If these boys had been adults, a gung-ho DA could even try to potentially charge them with assault with a deadly weapon.
Because of their ages, the DA might choose to not follow through with any charges because it's very probable that these boys have no idea how dangerous a pellet gun can be and just thought they were being funny.
However, I would still recommend calling the the parents to tell them what happened and also recommend calling the police. I can promise you a police officer will want to talk to these boys and their parents about the dangers of playing with pellet guns, basic gun safety, and more. The officer can explain to the boys what could potentially happen to them if they were to continue with this type of behavior.
2007-03-09 10:19:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there isn't there sure should be. I have a pellet gun that I sometimes use it to take rabbits and squirrels or to dispatch a rat. There skin is at least as thick as a human's. Now my rifle's performance approaches that of a .22 short and theirs may not be anything like mine. But, I would report this immediately to the local police. This really is potentially dangerous. I feel that with the correct pellet gun, the correct pellet and at a reasonable range I think a well placed shot could kill a person.
2007-03-09 10:24:08 · answer #3 · answered by gimpalomg 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES!
Call the police and have them go pay a visit to these kids and their parents.
Fyi, a good pellet gun can shoot a projectile at velocities higher than a .22 cal rifle. This is serious stuff that can result in a fatality, or the infamous "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye..."
Don't let this slide. Getting the cops involved will hopefully get the parents involved.
2007-03-09 10:17:51 · answer #4 · answered by chuck_junior 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes theres laws against this and yes report it to the police! If you have no idea who these kids are or you are not friendly with the families of these kids then try and make this call anonymously as some people get irate and then cause more problems for you. But indeed they can be forced to pay restitution and need to under stand these pellets can and will harm some one !
2007-03-09 10:35:11 · answer #5 · answered by momof8 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assault. Not much in the way for a defense for the boys as they had the pellet guns as the simple fact that they had it showed an intention to do harm, especially when used. But because they are juveniles, the most that they will get is paper referred to their parents and released to them. When they turn 18, for the most part, all of that will disappear.
2007-03-10 13:17:13 · answer #6 · answered by nightkingdoms3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aaaa, yeah, your not supposed to assault other people with weapons, it's a felony. Eight is a little young to be shooting at people, but you as a parent, not to mention responsible citizen have the obligation to end such behavior as quickly and as sanely as possible. I would not be asking Yahoo answers about the situation if someone assulted one of my daughters, it would already have been addressed in a manner that educated the children on proper and acceptable behavior.
It is an unfortuante gray area in most states where criminal minors are involved, but important and unavoidable none the less. Best of luck with this one, you cannot afford to ignore it, it must be addressed, failure could lead to serious injury or worse in the future.
2007-03-09 10:24:55 · answer #7 · answered by blogbaba 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes of course there is a law against this. The best thing to do in this situation would be to go to the Police. They maybe to busy to investigate it immediately but it should put a sense of dread in the boys that the Police could come at them.
2007-03-09 10:27:59 · answer #8 · answered by A question or two... 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try assault.
In other words, yes. Call the police and make a report. You may have a hard time getting anyone to prosecute the boys, but at the very least you should be able to put some fear into them.
2007-03-09 10:17:08 · answer #9 · answered by John B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, report them to the police. You can't shot a pellet or BB gun at anyone.
2007-03-09 10:18:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋