School Shooting Thwarted

In Pottsville PA, a 15-year-old student has been arrested for planning to shoot his enemies at school. CNN reports that Richard Yanis had planned the massacre for right after New Years.

A Pennsylvania teen has been charged as an adult for allegedly planning to kill classmates he did not like before turning the gun on himself in a high school shooting spree, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said Tuesday.

Richard Yanis allegedly stole three handguns from his father and told police he planned to "shoot students in the school and then himself" at Pottstown High School, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said in a press release.

Yanis, 15, was charged with attempted murder in adult court because juvenile law in Montgomery County excludes crimes committed with a deadly weapon, Ferman said.

Now, I don't know about you, but that attempted murder for a future event sure reminds me of Tom Cruise in Minority Report. I thought that was science fiction. And not only is the kid being charged with attempted murder, but it'll be as an adult. Why? For the simple reason that the "juvenile law in Montgomery County excludes crimes committed with a deadly weapon."

On the Fooqu site there's not much opinion, but they have posted a lovely picture of Richard. He looks like just the kind of kid they should send to the State Penitentiary. I say shame on those prosecutors who what to try him as an adult. Shame on all the law and order guys who think accountability for one's actions is paramount.

And what do you think about the "secured" guns that were stolen from the father? What kind of security is that supposed to be? In all the reports I read it was always stressed that the guns were "secure," I guess to say that the gun-loving father has no responsibility.

I say the gun-loving father has plenty of responsibility. Not only were the guns NOT secured properly, but he raised a boy so damaged that at the tender age of fifteen he wanted to kill his classmates and himself. Shame on you too, dad.

What's your opinion? Is it so difficult to properly secure guns in the home? Does a father bear some responsibility for the mental outcome of his children? What do you think about the friend who threw the guns in the creek? Even I cringed at that one.

99 Years for Attempted Murder

Courtesy of our frequent commenter Bob S., we have this story, which as he so well pointed out has all the things I look for in a good story to post about.

BROWNSVILLE - A Harlingen teen will spend 99 years in prison for trying to kill a police officer. Jurors unanimously agreed to the sentence.

Is that Brownsville Texas? I know Bob's from the Lone Star State. Does anyone else find that sentence a bit excessive? Wasn't it just the other day we all agreed that the Irish lady, convicted of Attempted Murder for hiring a hit man to kill her millionaire husband, sentenced to 6 years, got a fair deal? Is the Brownsville case another example of the "cop killer" mentality, you know the one in which killing a cop, or in this case, attempting to do so, is so much worse than killing a normal person?

Or is it just Texas justice at work again? Maybe the kid was a really bad pre-teen and with a record like his he deserved 99 years. With the almost complete dearth of detail it's hard to say. Just as it's hard to say anything about what weapon was used and where it came from. But, as our former commenter Tom used to say, weapons in Texas aren't exactly scarce. Tom also said that as a result, folks tended to behave themselves. I guess no one told the teen cop shooter.

The above story led me to another incident in the local news.

BROWNSVILLE - A mentally disabled man is dead. Brownsville police shot and killed him. They say it was self-defense. But relatives of 60-year-old Ricardo Moreno tell NEWSCHANNEL 5 he wouldn't hurt anyone.

What is it with these cops? What is it with the jurors in the first case? I imagine they represent the local populace, so I ask, what is it with these people? Incredibly excessive punishment for a teen offender who shot a cop while brother cops are out shooting up the joint, killing people who don't need killing!

What do you make of these cases? I find them disgraceful to say the least.