Hey, there! Log in / Register
Police: Mattapan 14-year-old shoots gun through his bedroom floor
By adamg on Mon, 01/15/2018 - 10:39am
Boston Police report arresting a Mattapan teenager on a gun charge Saturday night after a woman called 911 to report somebody had just fired a shot at her window.
What the woman thought had come from outside, though, had come from inside the house, police say: The 14-year-old shot the gun in his room and the bullet traveled through the floor and the first-floor ceiling before winding up in the living room near the window - which officers quickly realized on entering the living room and seeing a bullet-sized hole in the ceiling - police say.
On entering the teen's bedroom, they found him and a 17-year-old pal:
While speaking with the males, officers observed a spent shell casing in plain view in a small garbage can inside the room. Officers were informed by the woman that the room belonged to the 14-year-old. Given the circumstances, officers frisked both males, but the frisk yielded no weapons.
After obtaining a search warrant, officers returned and found a a loaded 9mm Hi-Point Lugar in a crawl space just outside the young teen's room.
Police initially charged the teen with being delinquent for unlawful possession of ammunition, because of the spent shell found in the trash, but say the discovery of the gun and live ammo will mean additional charges.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
No safe storage violation? No
No safe storage violation? No discharge within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling or roadway? No charges for violating Boston city ordinances?
I thought MA was proud of, "Toughest in the nation laws"? So why aren't they being applied?
Does Boston not currently have an epidemic of gang violence? Why is the DA not pursuing this to the maximum extent of the law?
Why has the legislature still failed to fund the Mass State Police Interstate Arms Trafficking Unit authorized in the 2014 revisions to the gun laws? Why hasn't Marty or Evans commented on this? Why hasn't Healey in all her lawsuits and decrees against the arms industry called out the legislature for failing to fund MSP's ability to interdict arms trafficking?
Seems to me BPD keeps valiantly putting bandaids on problems while the politicians and district attorneys don't have an interest in taking seriously beyond lip service.
Reading is fundamental
You might have a point, but maybe hold that thought for a bit.
Don't assume right away that this is the 14 year-old's gun
Children cause terrible accidents with their parent's legal guns every day.
MA has "safe storage laws"
MA has "safe storage laws" and a tested firearm roster which prohibits the sale of this particular make and model of handgun by a retailer, which make it highly unlikely a licensed person, in an even more restrictive issuing authority like Boston, would allow their kids to gain unlawful access to their firearm. Violating the safe storage law in MA isn't just a lose your license in MA forever deal. It's a 10 year maximum sentence felony which automatically makes anyone convicted a federally prohibited person. Meaning they will never legally be able to own a firearm anywhere in the country again.
Thanks!
Always happy to get the proper legal framework from what is apparently another one of Wayne LaPoohbelle's followers...
Um, all that info is on the
Um, all that info is on the city website actually. Evans sent a letter out to all the license holders in the city a year or two ago reminding them of the MGLs about storage (didn't exist until 1998) and that locks (courtesy of donations by the NSSF's Project Child Safe could be picked up for free at specific police stations.
God help us all
Thank the lord the lady and her family are safe.My question is if it is the ladies house why would the police need a search warrant if she gave them permission to enter the house?
Not the same thing
She gave permission to enter based on her assumption that someone had shot her home from outside. Then, once the officers saw evidence that the shot had come from upstairs, either she gave permission to check it out, or they did it without her permission since they are allowed to enter to assess and secure the situation when they have reasonable evidence that a safety threat currently exists.
Once they've determined what's going on and determining that an immediate safety threat no longer exists, they can't search any further. They need a search warrant at that point. And in a situation without any uninvolved eyewitnesses and in a situation with multiple people occupying a house where it's unclear who's a perp and who's a victim, it's probably not smart to search without a warrant even if someone at the house gives permission.
Also....
Police will get a search warrant just in case the consent doesn't hold up in court. Letter of the law, you don't need a search warrant if the owner of the property gives you consent. But this can get messy. Does the son have a right to privacy in his own room? Does someone else have a right to privacy there?
Get the search warrant and you are covered.
Kid
I guess he outgrew playing with Nerf guns.
At 14?
In much of the US, kids get their first real guns at age 12 or so. I first hunted with my late grandfather's gun when I was 14.
Ummm... I really don't think
Ummm... I really don't think you can map your personal experience to this 14 year old.
Ever visit another state?
You might try it. Kids generally start with bb guns at 8-10 and hunting weapons at 12-14 depending on the kid, the family, and how experienced the hunting party is.
Her experience is very typical of US kids.
I don't see bringing in where
I don't see bringing in where I been matters to this discussion. If I said I traveled everywhere or lived in 1 town my whole life, it doesn't change that I don't think it's fitting to map Swirlly's childhood life to this 14 year old kid in Mattapan.
Were you unsupervised and given no safety lessons?
As it seems was the case with these kids?
If not I really don't see the relevance of your comment to this situation.
Sorry to hear about your granddad though.
I don't think this child was
I don't think this child was using a gun to shoot pheasant in the woods. Guns do not belong in the hands of children. A child's brain has not developed enough to make the necessary rational decisions of actions and consrquence in order to properly and safely handle a deadly weapon. Turning a blind eye to the number of shooting deaths caused by children shooting their friends or little brother because mommy and daddy taught little ones how to safely use a gun is dangerously ignorant. Guns are not toys: grow up and be responsible.
Get over yourself
Bullshit.
If it hasn't developed enough, it is for the same reason that your average sedentary person hasn't developed enough to run a marathon. Your typical 18 year old doesn't wake up one day and suddenly be able to run a marathon, either. Brains don't magically develop - they need exercise. Stop making excuses for infantalizing youth.
Not bullshit
We even have imaging technology (PET, FMRI) that shows the neuro-anatomy of teenagers.
There is as much rewiring going on in a teenager's brain as in a toddler's. And, specifically, the connections between the frontal lobes and everything else, is a lot more tenuous in a teenager than in an adult.
Here's one of a zillion articles on the topic; https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor...
Also, this book is awesome: The Primal Teen, by Barbara Strauch
Once more
Teenagers, not children.
Teenagers are not adults, but they are not children.
The commenter was referring to this teenager as if they were seven years old or less.
Did you know
A 14 year old can get a drivers license in a number of states?
A thirteen year old can get a drivers license if there is no other person in the household who can drive?
A teen is not a child.
Did you know?
a 14 year old's brain is markedly different than an adult's brain? Far fewer connections between the frontal cortex (responsible for executive function) and pretty much everything else.
A teen is not an adult.
Teenage brains different from adults
Also different than a CHILD's brain.
You also keep your kids in diapers past school age?
That sucks. Hope these kids
That sucks. Hope these kids learn from this.
Common sense
It’s nice to read comments from ppl who don’t have a clue. First, our beloved mayor does NOTHING to combat gang violence, 2nd, the law abiding citizens don’t trust the law because they manipulate the law. The kid is 14, he’s still developing mentally. How many of you were a frigging brain surgeon at 14? Ok then, I’m sure if half you morons checked your 14 yr olds you’d be appalled of what you find. Something that she/he shouldn’t be in possession of. A bunch of judgmental clowns hiding behind there comments.