WELL, SHOOT... JUST SHOOT

[HairOfTheDog]

Well the kid did stick his head through the window. He should have said "Hey dickhead wanna come out and play?"

He didn't stick his head in. He tossed pebbles at the window in attempt to wake his friend up in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

The shooter reportedly got scared, picked up a loaded gun, and shot through the window without doing anything else first.

The shooter seems to have been a good kid, the victim too. But, it's flat out wrong to pick up a loaded gun and start shooting anytime you're scared. The teen killed somebody, he should be charged appropriately for killing somebody and let the justice system determine the penalty IMO.

But, it seems to me like the police chief agrees with your take. I hope the prosecutor doesn't.

Here's the status:
Billings Police Capt. John Bedford said the suspect was not considered an immediate danger, and criminal charges could run the risk of "compounding a horrible situation." "We're not going to rush to judgment," he said. "There's enough damage that's already been done."

Prosecutors are planning a lengthy review, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said.

Montana law recognizes three types of homicide — deliberate, mitigated and negligent — and all three will likely be options for prosecutors, Andrew King-Ries, associate dean at the University of Montana School of Law, said.

Deliberate homicide, or murder, comes into a play when someone knowingly causes another person's death, King-Ries said.

Mitigated homicide is when a person kills someone while under some kind of mental or emotional distress.

Negligent homicide applies when a person should be aware that their actions could cause a death but chooses to disregard that risk.

"When you shoot a gun, you're probably aware there's a risk," King-Ries said. "If you can establish negligence, it's not an accident."

Bedford said charges of negligent homicide likely would be considered. "You don't necessarily have to have intent," he said. "Was this young man negligent in not identifying his target before firing the gun?"

Prosecutors have broad latitude on whether to file charges and can consider the wishes of the victim's family, who weren't available for comment Tuesday. But "there's going to have to be some kind of acknowledgment of what this young man did," Bedford said.

Prosecutors also will have to consider whether a defendant can claim a killing was justified under Montana's "castle doctrine" of self-defense.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/monta...e-31139812