An 11-year-old and his 7-year-old friend from Oregon are accused of car jacking a woman with a loaded gun. And yes, you read that correctly. These children had a loaded gun. And they tried to steal a car. What. The. Hell?
The 22-year-old woman Ami Garrett says she was afraid for her life. It's understandable. But I have to think if two children this young tried to car jack me, my first thought would be to laugh. I mean, it's absurd, right? They can't drive. They probably can't even reach the pedals. And yet, it was very real.
These children couldn't even go to jail they are so young. They just went home. The whole thing is so awful and, worst of all, these are just kids. What happens to them now?
In many ways, violent kids are scarier than violent adults. They have no sense of the consequence of their actions AND they have a loaded gun. It's unclear where these boys got the loaded gun, but living with a 6-year-old myself, I can truly say kids this age have no sense of death.
My daughter has never seen a gun, naturally, but if she had, I am sure she wouldn't understand the magnitude and what she could do with it. This is why kids don't handle guns. They are too young to get it.
Accidental shootings are tragic enough, but this was no accident. These boys had intent to kill. It's chilling.
Can children like this grow up and be normal? I'd love to say yes and that I believe people, especially children, can grow and change. But I don't necessarily think that is true. A child growing up in a home where he even has access to a loaded gun and knows what to do with it isn't really going to have a chance.
But how does this get punished? These kids were too young to even go to a juvenile facility. It's a hard call. Obviously a 7-year-old can't be tried as an adult, but he also allegedly did rob a woman at gun point. So what then?
The whole thing is just depressing. These kids never had a chance to be normal. Maybe the assumption is that kids that start this young eventually end up in the adult system anyway. And it's probably a correct assumption. How terribly sad.
How do you think juveniles this young should be punished?
Image via srwsrwuk/Flickr
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Comments 25
Your daughter has never seen a gun? So she has never seen a police officer ? I wouldn't be surprised if an adult or older teenager put them up to this because they knew they couldn't get arrested.. It is very sad . I think that they should have gone to a juvenile facility or something.
No jail time? That's absurd! Why doesn't Oregon have youth detention centers? (My state does...) These kids need a psychological evaluation. This isn't normal, even if they claim they were just playing. Where did they get the gun?
They CAN grow up normal. Idk about the 11 yr old, but this was sooo not completely the 7 yr olds fault. This is the product of a bad environment. My 6 or 9 yr old do NOT steal, much less rob, and MUCH less, threaten with a gun! Why? Because they know better. They've watched violent movies, played violent games, and have parents that teach them real life, and gun safety, and mortality, and sensitivity to others and respect for those around them.
"A child growing up in a home where he even has access to a loaded gun and knows what to do with it isn't really going to have a chance."
I so disagree with that sentence. My family grew up in a home with loaded gun(s), knew what to "do with them" and not once ever had an inclination of commiting a crime. Also, there is far more to "do with a gun" than commit crimes.
The problem is the home, the home and parents that they were just handed back to in the free and clear.
What should be done? The parents should be charged (especially if that is where they got the gun) and the kids should be immediately put into therapy. This is such a sad and scary story.