11-year-old charged with murdering 8-year-old after argument about puppies

[Thomas the Tank Engine]

An argument between two children over puppies turned tragic Saturday when an 11-year-old boy killed his 8-year-old neighbor with a shotgun, according to authorities in Jefferson County, Tenn.

The 11-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the girl’s death, Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig told The Washington Post. Authorities aren’t releasing the names of either child, but Latasha Dyer told ABC affiliate WATE that her daughter, McKayla, was killed.

“She was a precious little girl,” Dyer said through tears in an on-air interview with WATE. “She was a mommy’s girl. No matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile.”

Each of the children had a puppy, the sheriff said. The 11-year-old “wanted to see the 8-year-old’s, and she said no, and then he went and retrieved a gun,” McCoig said.

The boy fired the 12-gauge shotgun from inside of his house, striking the girl as she stood in her yard, according to the sheriff. The gun, which was stored in a closet without locks, belonged to the boy’s father, McCoig said.

When first responders and police arrived on the scene Saturday night, they found the girl “lying on the ground with a gunshot to the chest,” McCoig said. She was taken to an area hospital, where she died from her injuries.

 

 

Read the rest: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/10/05/11-year-old-charged-with-murdering-8-year-old-after-arguing-about-puppies/

[+Red King Subscriber²]

The boy's parents should be charged with, at least, negligence or something.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

[jnelsoninjax]

What is the world coming to that an 11 year old knows where and how to use the shotgun and has the mindset to want to kill someone just because she wouldn't show her puppy?!

[Dick Montage]

This is a very sad situation.  Nobody here comes out the victor and that kid is gonna have to grow up living with this.

[Gone]

The dad should be charged as well for not storing the gun properly. This is a sad story.

[oldtimefighter]

This is tragic but the only charges should be against the parents... A 11 year old should not be charged like an adult and their life thrown away. Someone that age can and should be rehabilitated even in the case of murder.

[FloatingFatMan]

This is tragic but the only charges should be against the parents... A 11 year old should not be charged like an adult and their life thrown away. Someone that age can and should be rehabilitated even in the case of murder.

An 11 year old is plenty old enough to know right from wrong. They the their owns lives away.

[Nashy]

 

An 11 year old is plenty old enough to know right from wrong. They the their owns lives away.

He may not fully comprehend the consequences.

Anyway, this wouldn't have happened if the little girl had a gun to protect herself.

[FloatingFatMan]

He may not fully comprehend the consequences.

 

Only if he's mentally subnormal. 

[Ulyses]

 

Only if he's mentally subnormal. 

Subnormal by which standard?

[FloatingFatMan]

 

Subnormal by which standard?

The millions of other 11 year olds who are fully able to understand the consequences of their actions, which is why 11 is the age of criminal responsibility in the UK.

I have kids, they knew right from wrong and consequences long before 11.

 

[Ulyses]

I have kids, they knew right from wrong and consequences long before 11.

 

If it comes down to education, has he reached an age where he could overcome bad education?

It's possible he acted as he seen it or was taught to. Your "right from wrong" is more different from other's "right from wrong" than you might think. 

[FloatingFatMan]

 

If it comes down to education, has he reached an age where he could overcome bad education?

It's possible he acted as he seen it or was taught to. Your "right from wrong" is more different from other's "right from wrong" than you might think. 

You appear to have ignored the rest of my post. Here, I'll repeat it for you.

The millions of other 11 year olds who are fully able to understand the consequences of their actions, which is why 11 is the age of criminal responsibility in the UK.

If kids in the US are too gormless to comprehend this kind of thing at 11, that says a lot for the US. None of it good.

 

[Ulyses]

 

You appear to have ignored the rest of my post. Here, I'll repeat it for you.

 

You seem to not understand my point.

Again, is a 11 years old capable of overcoming bad education? A 16 years old or a 18 years old is able to do that, educate itself from a point, to a certain degree, and turn around a possible bad education.

[FloatingFatMan]

 

You seem to not understand my point.

Again, is a 11 years old capable of overcoming bad education? A 16 years old or a 18 years old is able to do that, educate itself from a point, to a certain degree, and turn around a possible bad education.

I understood you fine, hence my comment...

If kids in the US are too gormless to comprehend this kind of thing at 11, that says a lot for the US. None of it good.

[link6155]

From personal experience, kids around the age of 11 do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. Kids do awful things and most of the time they don't realize how their action has hurt others. This case is extreme, but nevertheless it is obvious he wasn't thinking about what has happened or will happen. I've done some dumb things as a child that have stuck around with me, but there was no way I would be able to see how my actions would affect me later on. He and the girl argued about puppies and he got upset, it was a childish argument to begin with and now they're charging him as an adult. I believe it's a would be better to rehabilitate him rather than just throw him away in jail.

Regardless of what your views is on the age of reasoning, this was a sad event and I hope we hear less of this.

[adrynalyne]

As a father, I can say without an absolute doubt that consequences are not fully realized by age 11.

 

 

 

You appear to have ignored the rest of my post. Here, I'll repeat it for you.

If kids in the US are too gormless to comprehend this kind of thing at 11, that says a lot for the US. None of it good.

 

Do you have any children of your own?

[Ulyses]

 

I understood you fine, hence my comment...

 

You are not correct. The age of criminal responsibility in UK is 10 years old, but until 17 years of age they are still treated differently from an adult.

You don't understand, still. Your comment is personal bias against America, while I was referring to education at home. No matter the country, in time, one can overcome a bad education at home as a child, but it's hard to believe a 11 years old could achieve that.

If he acted as a result of bad education at home (most likely), I think the blame doesn't lie with him entirely.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Ulyses

[game_over]

What is the world coming to that an 11 year old knows where and how to use the shotgun and has the mindset to want to kill someone just because she wouldn't show her puppy?!

"America" where owning a shot gun is normal. How will they defend this one? who needs a shotgun for protection? NOBODY!

 

 

You appear to have ignored the rest of my post. Here, I'll repeat it for you.

If kids in the US are too gormless to comprehend this kind of thing at 11, that says a lot for the US. None of it good.

 

If parents (PLURAL.. this has happened before) think it's acceptable to leave a gun in the reach of a child, or even have a gun around a child then i'm not going to expect the child to have any greater sense.

[FloatingFatMan]

Do you have any children of your own?

Do you have problems with reading or something??

[chrisj1968]

I can't stand the lack of common sense in my country anymore. So just for the folks with lack of common sense.

[+JHBrown Subscriber¹]

I don't know guys, at age 11 I was fully aware of the consequences from doing wrong. I taught both my daughters at a very early age about repercussions from stupid decisions. This boy is just a stone-cold killer. He walked into his house peed-off, got his fathers shotgun, walked close enough to his neighbor, and pulled the trigger. Both the father and son, should be turning big rocks, into little rocks, in prison somewhere. 

[Ulyses]

I don't know guys, at age 11 I was fully aware of the consequences from doing wrong. I taught both my daughters at a very early age about repercussions from stupid decisions. This boy is just a stone-cold killer. He walked into his house peed-off, got his fathers shotgun, walked close enough to his neighbor, and pulled the trigger. Both the father and son, should be turning big rocks, into little rocks, in prison somewhere. 

 

Interestingly enough, you too expect to find the same values everywhere. Each household holds a different set of values and marks differently the right and wrong scales.

He is not stone-cold killer, on the contrary, it's an emotional response. He probably saw or heard at home talks about using the gun in a similar situation. He is and will be a victim also.

[+JHBrown Subscriber¹]

I agree that every household is different. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with putting this young man in the "victim" category. The only victim here is that poor little girl.