Posted on 01/15/2006 1:51:35 PM PST by wagglebee
LONGWOOD, Florida (CNN) -- The father and brother of a teenager shot at school Friday while brandishing a pellet gun told authorities before an officer opened fire that Christopher Penley's gun was not real, the family's attorney said Saturday.
The eighth-grader is clinically brain dead and being kept on life support to harvest his organs, attorney Mark Nation said.
When Ralph Penley arrived at the school Friday to help police and school officials defuse the situation, he wasn't allowed inside, Nation said.
Nation said Ralph Penley was "angry" because he had spoken to police before he arrived at the school and told them Christopher did not have a real gun. Christopher's younger brother told school officials the same thing, Nation said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
You are wrong about the death of Brandon Lee. Do your research. Im getting the feeling you have an anti-gun bias.
How stupid. I have no sympathy for them.
No, they weren't. This was not a fake gun. It was a pellet gun, and they can kill.
Why would anybody believe him either?
True, and I like that DNA shot across the bow...
That assumption will most always turn out to be correct.
LOL! Forgot my tag. Sorry.
Having served overseas, one thing I know..If one of these Keystone cops ever points a gun at me, he'll be toast.
Got to do what you have to do these days
As a parent of children in school I expect the unarmed children's safety to be first priority on the minds of LEO, as it was in this case.
Sorry for the dead boy but he made some bad choices that cost him his life.
Every day for 19 years I woke up saying "Today is the day I make a sarcastic remark and leave off the sarcasm tag!"
:-)
My guess is that the boy actually wanted the police to kill him.
I agree.
Proof that second hand smoke kills!!
Which is pretty much how I feel about it, other than the fact that the cop should have shot him in the chest instead. But I want more information too. I want to hear about the civil court and everything and all the testimony from people before I rule out anything. I just got quirked at the whole statement about him having a gun at his head and then raising it. I find that interesting. But it could be an error on the part of the reporter, too, either intentional or not.
It doesn't matter. If you act like you're pointing a gun at a cop he/she will shoot you. I don't blame them, I would too.
In instances like this, I don't feel I have any right second-guessing what the cops could or should've done. I'm not in their shoes, it's not the kind of job I'd want to do.
My condolences on the loss of your son at such a young age.
Facts are nasty things. They are often based upon perspectives. This whole incident is tragic. Especially for those involved. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The parents and the family have my sympathy, equal to the officer and his family. Perhaps this may encourage some honest debate regarding the wisdom of a militaristic response to a bb gun. But the "nuke em all" crowd might prevail.
....Lawyer: Authorities were told student's gun was fake,....
So what?
"Having served overseas, one thing I know..If one of these Keystone cops ever points a gun at me, he'll be toast."
And then you get to discover the joy of living on the run as a cop-killer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.