Middle School Student Shot by SWAT Team

[DeclinetoState]

By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
32 minutes ago




LONGWOOD, Fla. - A suicidal eighth grader who pulled a handgun in class and briefly took another child hostage was shot by a SWAT team member Friday when he later threatened deputies, Seminole County officials said.
<!-- SpaceID=0 timeout (ads1) -->Sheriff Don Eslinger said the 15-year-old boy brought the gun to Milwee Middle School in his backpack and briefly took a fellow student hostage during a classroom scuffle.

The student then ran from the classroom and was pursued by deputies into a restroom and isolated there, Eslinger said. The school was evacuated, and no one else was injured. Officials with the sheriff's office said they had not confirmed whether the gun the boy had was real or a toy.

...

The boy was taken to the hospital. His condition was unknown.


More at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060113/ap_on_re_us/school_evacuated

[routerider]

Our planet needs a global disaster soon. I'm praying for a super huge meteor to hit soon and let the earth start over with some other "intelligent" life.

[SmellyFed]

Should we take bets on how long it will take for the first bleeding-heart liberal to suggest that President Bush ordered the SWAT team to shoot the kid before he could surrender?

[Lazarus]

And of course the punk's parents will be baffled as to why he behaved so badly at school today...

[Charity]

The kid will certainly end up being portrayed as the victim.

[Lazarus]

See - If everyone was doing homeschooling this poor deprived child would have been restricted to taking his goldfish hostage and his parents could deal with the little tyke...:rolleyes:

[Charity]

Laz
Sadly I don't think the boy's parents cared enough to have homeschooled him. It sounds like this kid has a lot of problems that his parents should have already been aware of had they been paying attention..

[DoctorDoom]

As evidence of that, where the hell did an 8th grade kid get a handgun?

[Charity]

Prolly from the parents.

[dajoga]

The kid will certainly end up being portrayed as the victim.

Is there an X-box game he was playing copy-cat with?

[MSGT]

They've updated the story. Click the link again.

[BEST45CAL]

School kid shot by the SWAT dudes. Yep...it's Bush's fault.

[Rink]

Another reason to HOMESCHOOL!!!

[True American]

Another reason to HOMESCHOOL!!!
I clicked your response here, but it's just to show the sentence which a few have repeated rink. My answer is in general to all the same replies.

We now live in a country where homeschooling is very minimal for a reason. Most parents don't have the time to home school their kids. We're living in an economy which often demands that both parents work to barely scrape by. That's if a child is fortunate enough to actually still have both parents at all. If a child is this fortunate, chances are, he or she still isn't getting any attention. He or she is being watched all day by the public school system for the sake of simply having someone watch over them. The parents couldn't care less if they're getting good grades. Once they arrive home, the X-Box or the television becomes the baby-sitter. Truth is: these kids probably only do this kind of crap to finally get some damn attention.

You're all correct though. We are living in a Clinton world where no matter how much blame lies on a parent's shoulder, they'll pass the buck by playing the blame game rather than accept the truth.

[DesertFox]

Minimal? Barely scrape by? Isn't getting any attention?

You don't know what you're talking about.

[DeclinetoState]

I guess this could be called "good news."

The boy was taken to the hospital, where he was on "advanced life support" Friday afternoon, Eslinger said.


From an updated version of the original link.

[Rhino]

Should we take bets on how long it will take for the first bleeding-heart liberal to suggest that President Bush ordered the SWAT team to shoot the kid before he could surrender?
Well, deporting him to Cuba wasn't an option.

[HomeschoolrsRUs]

As evidence of that, where the hell did an 8th grade kid get a handgun?

This just keeps getting worse. From the article -

"Chris raced into a bathroom and was confronted by Lt. Mike Weippert of the SWAT team.

"They pleaded with him to drop what appeared to be a 9 mm Beretta handgun," Eslinger said.

Chris then aimed the gun at Weippert, who was between the boy and two occupied classrooms.

Eslinger would not say where the bullet hit Chris, but he said Weippert thought the boy was holding a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.

The pellet gun is powered by a carbon-dioxide gas cartridge. Barrels on such guns are normally red or pink, to distinguish them from real guns, Eslinger said. But the barrel on Chris' gun, he said, had been painted black and was virtually identical to the real thing."

[DesertFox]

What? You mean he couldn't identify the gun's make, model, year of manufacture, number of rounds already fired, and make and lot number and manufacturer of such rounds, all in .0000000013 of a second? What the hell was this fool doing on the SWAT team?

:rolleyes:

[Beowulf]

How much does anyone wanna bet that more gun legislation is pushed and the SWAT member who shot him will be put on charges and dismissed to save face?

[HomeschoolrsRUs]

My Way News (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060114/D8F4O7U89.html)

Lawyer: Teen Shot by Police Brain Dead
Jan 14, 6:06 PM (ET)

By KELLI KENNEDY


LONGWOOD, Fla. (AP) - The 15-year-old boy shot by police while brandishing a pellet gun in a middle school bathroom was clinically brain dead Saturday but was being kept alive to harvest his organs, his family's attorney said.
Christopher Penley was expected to die Saturday night, said family attorney Mark Nation.

"His organs are in the process of being harvested," Nation told reporters outside a hospital.
Earlier, Kelly Swofford, a family spokeswoman and neighbor of the boy's parents Ralph and Donna Penley, said the boy had died and that the family was "devastated."

[Incident_command]

A damn shame for all involved, family, friends, and the officer who shot him.

[DeclinetoState]

Also here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060115/ap_on_re_us/school_evacuated

I guess the kid got what he wanted. At least no other innocent person had to die.

[True American]

Minimal? Barely scrape by? Isn't getting any attention?

You don't know what you're talking about.

Of course I know what I'm taliking about. It may be possible that you don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm just fine & dandy. LOL

[cerberus]

Sadly I don't think the boy's parents cared enough to have homeschooled him. What the hell is this supposed to mean? Any parent that doesn't homeschool doesn't care about their kid?

[Charity]

What the hell is this supposed to mean? Any parent that doesn't homeschool doesn't care about their kid?<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
DId I say that???? You need to improve your reading skills.

Here is the WHOLE QUOTE:

Sadly I don't think the boy's parents cared enough to have homeschooled him. It sounds like this kid has a lot of problems that his parents should have already been aware of had they been paying attention..


I suppose you are one of those people who will blame everyone but the one responsible??

[cerberus]

DId I say that???? You need to improve your reading skills.

Here is the WHOLE QUOTE:

Sadly I don't think the boy's parents cared enough to have homeschooled him. It sounds like this kid has a lot of problems that his parents should have already been aware of had they been paying attention..


I suppose you are one of those people who will blame everyone but the one responsible?? The whole quote doesn't change anything, you still insinuate that those who don't homeschool don't care about their kids, or at least care about them significantly less than those who do.

I'm not the one implying the parents didn't care enough or pay enough attention.

[dPrasse]

The whole quote doesn't change anything, you still insinuate that those who don't homeschool don't care about their kids, or at least care about them significantly less than those who do.

I'm not the one implying the parents didn't care enough or pay enough attention.

That's the way I read it , too , Cerberus ....

And , another post points to this incident as another reason to homeschool ...

Wasn't David Ludwig a home schooled kid ? He went on to kill 2 , kidnap one ,also from a home-schooled family , all with a REAL gun he got from his parents house .

No , I don't blame the parents , the school or his ex-girlfriend ....

this person is responsible for his actions and he paid ...

[Peachdiane]

Minimal? Barely scrape by? Isn't getting any attention?

You don't know what you're talking about.

*Sigh* How come every time something happens with a public-schooled child, homeschoolers will bash the public school systems and hold up homeschooling as the ideal system of learning. Yet when a homeschooled child is violent or suicidal, we are not supposed to mention it or we must assume automatically that it had nothing to do with it.

No I am not bashing homeschoolers. I'm just tired of the attitudes especially since a homeschooled friend of mine had more violent tendencies than I did and I wasn't homeschooled.

[DesertFox]

The whole quote doesn't change anything, you still insinuate that those who don't homeschool don't care about their kids, or at least care about them significantly less than those who do.I don't read her quote that way at all. I read as, it takes hugely more effort to homeschool than not, therefore homeschooling is a clear indication that the parent cares about his kid -- not that he cares more than anybody else, but that he cares about his own kid.

[HomeschoolrsRUs]

*Sigh* How come every time something happens with a public-schooled child, homeschoolers will bash the public school systems and hold up homeschooling as the ideal system of learning. Yet when a homeschooled child is violent or suicidal, we are not supposed to mention it or we must assume automatically that it had nothing to do with it.

No I am not bashing homeschoolers. I'm just tired of the attitudes especially since a homeschooled friend of mine had more violent tendencies than I did and I wasn't homeschooled.

You make an excellent point Peach ... I hope I didn't lend anything to that appearance, http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/images/icons/icon7.gif .

I believe it is human nature to become defensive when one faces questioning in the face of a course of action they have pursued. I know I often feel like I'm put on the defensive when someone mentions homeschooling, because the comment(s) are usually made in conjunction with the inference that homeschooling is fine for academics but homeschool parents are really trying to shelter their children from the "real world." It's probably similar to the perception folks whose chidlren are in the public school system feel when homeschoolers make comments that seem to infer they (homeschoolers) are better than them BECAUSE they homeschool.

Actually, my position is that PARENTS need to be in charge and in control of, as well as accountable for their children's education -- whether it be public, private, or homeschool. I believe that the tendency for parents to leave too much to the school system (in both public & private, for differing reasons obviously), and the tendency for homeschooled parents toward the choice (overtly or indirectly) of overlooking social aspects of education, is what causes one to question the other ... an underlying sense of, lack of, or possibly denial of, accountability.

No choice is particularly wrong or right, if made with full responsibility accepted, IMHO. There are GREAT public schooled children, and there are HORRIBLE homeschooled children, as well as mediocre private schooled children. I believe it is the parents who bear the lion's share for all of them, as well as the successes.

[Peachdiane]

You make an excellent point Peach ... I hope I didn't lend anything to that appearance,

No, not you or Charity. It stems from random comments I have read here, in the media, heard at church, etc.

I believe it is human nature to become defensive when one faces questioning in the face of a course of action they have pursued.

Yep, you hit the nail on the head! I know it isn't easy for you, especially when I read such articles as THIS. (http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20051016-095121-9970r.htm)

It's probably similar to the perception folks whose chidlren are in the public school system feel when homeschoolers make comments that seem to infer they (homeschoolers) are better than them BECAUSE they homeschool.

How right you are. :) I know the public system has its flaws but the comments are hurtful especially when my children have benefitted greatly from the special ed services in the public system especially speech and OT.

my position is that PARENTS need to be in charge and in control of, as well as accountable for their children's education -- whether it be public, private, or homeschool.

I completely agree with you there. I wish the two camps would come to that understanding and quit blaming the parents or copping the high and mighty attitude that one system is the be-all, end-all. :uhh:

[shawnwood]

There are a few things that lend to me not homeschooling my kids.
Money is the major factor and the fact that I was a terrible student is another. There is no way that I have what it takes to teach my kids a school lesson plan. Now I make sure that I fill in EVERY crack meaning that I am in constant contact with my daughters teacher, on top of making sure she does the works she needs to and then some. That is about as far as I can go with that. I do applaud the homeschoolers though.... tough job I imagine.

Back to the story, here is what rips my heart out;
"My youngest daughter is just very emotionally messed up," she said. "She started crying and said, 'Mommy, I don't want to go back.' They should not fear having to go to school."

Kids should not have that fear!

Yesterday I went to pick up my daughter and they had been in a "code Blue" lock down. There is a public park next to the school and there was some gang activity going on. I remember when I was in school and NEVER had anything like this to worry about. And yes, I blame liberals for that.

[Wolfcounsel]

"Actually, my position is that PARENTS need to be in charge and in control of, as well as accountable for their children's education -- whether it be public, private, or homeschool." --HomeschoolrsRUs

It's past time for parents to pull their thumbs out of their butts and start paying attention to what in the heck is going on in their children's schools. This applies to welfare bum "parents" also, but I believe I'm spitting into the wind there. At least with self-sufficient parents, there is more responsibility involved, since they have no government nannies to wipe their butts, and their children's butts.

[SmellyFed]

This story is several days old and I've yet to hear anyone ask why the gun wasn't shot out of the kid's hand. Where's Katie Couric on this story when we need her?

[TechnoPrincess]

*Sigh* How come every time something happens with a public-schooled child, homeschoolers will bash the public school systems and hold up homeschooling as the ideal system of learning. Yet when a homeschooled child is violent or suicidal, we are not supposed to mention it or we must assume automatically that it had nothing to do with it.

No I am not bashing homeschoolers. I'm just tired of the attitudes especially since a homeschooled friend of mine had more violent tendencies than I did and I wasn't homeschooled.

I agree Di! I have had similar experiences with homeschooled friends of mine. In their cases however, they were also jerks to everyone because they would talk about how they got to stay home all day to those who had to go to school. I knew one family who homeschooled because they had 9 kids and it was cheaper to homeschool than to pay tuition and daycare for the kids so the mom could work. She didn't really even like doing it and resented her husband for working, so it's not always the case that a homeschooler is doing so because she cares about the education that her child receives, sometimes it's done for other reasons. Just as it's not always the case that the parents who send their children to public schools don't care as much about them.

[dPrasse]

This story is several days old and I've yet to hear anyone ask why the gun wasn't shot out of the kid's hand. Where's Katie Couric on this story when we need her?

Of course!! I see it all the time on TV and in the movies ....

Thanks Fed for bringing that up .... we need Ted Kennedy to investigate ...

[Wolfcounsel]

"This story is several days old and I've yet to hear anyone ask why the gun wasn't shot out of the kid's hand." --SmellyFed

Guns don't kill people. Dumbasses pointing a gun with evil purpose kill people.

[SmellyFed]

"This story is several days old and I've yet to hear anyone ask why the gun wasn't shot out of the kid's hand." --SmellyFed

Guns don't kill people. Dumbasses pointing a gun with evil purpose kill people.

You do know I was hacking on Katie Couric don't ye? She actually asked that ridiculous question a few weeks ago.

I'm a proud gun owner.