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Post by billhammond on Aug 20, 2014 15:51:37 GMT -5
TAMPA, Fla. — A grandmother shot and critically wounded her 7-year-old grandson early Tuesday after mistaking him for an intruder who had broken into her home, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Linda Maddox, 63, and her twin grandsons were sleeping in a bedroom after her son, who is the boy's father, had left for work at the postal service, deputies said. Maddox told deputies she had placed a chair against the bedroom door handle for extra protection while they slept.
When she heard the chair sliding against the wood floor about 1 a.m. Tuesday, she assumed it was an intruder and grabbed a loaded .22-caliber revolver she keeps by the bed and fired one shot in the dark toward the door.
Seconds later, she heard her grandson Tyler Maddox scream, deputies said. He was shot once in the upper body. He was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez said Maddox felt unsafe when her son would work overnight, so she would bring her grandchildren into the bedroom with her and block the door with a leaning chair. She said deputies have been called to the house 12 times since 2005, including a call about a suspicious person on June 20, 2011, and a suspicious vehicle last Jan. 2. None of those calls turned into anything significant, she said.
No charges have been filed against Maddox. A man at the home wouldn't open the door when a reporter knocked and declined comment.
Neighbor Jonathan Aristizabal, 18, said he has lived in the middle-class community for six months and hasn't noticed anything that would make him think the area is unsafe. He said he often saw the kids playing in the front yard.
"It's a big tragedy," he said. "They're a really good family."
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Post by Lonnie on Aug 20, 2014 16:06:42 GMT -5
We just need more guns. If the kid had been armed, he could have smoked Grandma before he attempted his daring escape from the bedroom.
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Post by patrick on Aug 20, 2014 16:45:07 GMT -5
We just need more guns. If the kid had been armed, he could have smoked Grandma before he attempted his daring escape from the bedroom. Yep. I agree. The only thing that stops a bad granny with a gun is a good child with a gun.  |
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Post by dickt on Aug 20, 2014 16:50:42 GMT -5
Here in VA a Loudon County deputy shot and killed his 16 year old daughter as she tried sneaking back into the house through the garage just last week
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Post by Lonnie on Aug 20, 2014 17:06:23 GMT -5
Here in VA a Loudon County deputy shot and killed his 16 year old daughter as she tried sneaking back into the house through the garage just last week Yep... my point again. Daughter shoulda been packing. No telling what you'll find in your own garage. In fact, I'm beginning to think that the only way to traverse the space between point A and point B is to let a bullet cover the distance first. |
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Post by aquaduct on Aug 20, 2014 17:44:05 GMT -5
Here in VA a Loudon County deputy shot and killed his 16 year old daughter as she tried sneaking back into the house through the garage just last week Wrong. She's not dead. She shouldn't have snuck out and gone partying. And he's not being charged with anything. Legitimate use of a legal firearm. |
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Post by millring on Aug 20, 2014 17:56:38 GMT -5
TAMPA, Fla. — A grandmother shot and critically wounded her 7-year-old grandson early Tuesday after mistaking him for an intruder who had broken into her home, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Linda Maddox, 63, and her twin grandsons were sleeping in a bedroom after her son, who is the boy's father, had left for work at the postal service, deputies said. Maddox told deputies she had placed a chair against the bedroom door handle for extra protection while they slept.
When she heard the chair sliding against the wood floor about 1 a.m. Tuesday, she assumed it was an intruder and grabbed a loaded .22-caliber revolver she keeps by the bed and fired one shot in the dark toward the door.
Seconds later, she heard her grandson Tyler Maddox scream, deputies said. He was shot once in the upper body. He was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez said Maddox felt unsafe when her son would work overnight, so she would bring her grandchildren into the bedroom with her and block the door with a leaning chair. She said deputies have been called to the house 12 times since 2005, including a call about a suspicious person on June 20, 2011, and a suspicious vehicle last Jan. 2. None of those calls turned into anything significant, she said.
No charges have been filed against Maddox. A man at the home wouldn't open the door when a reporter knocked and declined comment.
Neighbor Jonathan Aristizabal, 18, said he has lived in the middle-class community for six months and hasn't noticed anything that would make him think the area is unsafe. He said he often saw the kids playing in the front yard.
"It's a big tragedy," he said. "They're a really good family. Smaller now, but really good."
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Post by drlj on Aug 20, 2014 18:30:39 GMT -5
Firearms and stupidity do not mix.
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Aug 20, 2014 18:44:44 GMT -5
Here in VA a Loudon County deputy shot and killed his 16 year old daughter as she tried sneaking back into the house through the garage just last week Wrong. She's not dead. She shouldn't have snuck out and gone partying. And he's not being charged with anything. Legitimate use of a legal firearm. Shooting your own child at home is never legitimate use of a firearm. What's that thing they try to teach hunters? Be sure of your target. Mike |
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Post by dickt on Aug 20, 2014 19:08:10 GMT -5
Sorry I didn't remember she lived. He also crashed the car on the way to the hospital and an ambulance took her the rest if the way. Tough way to learn a lesson
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Post by aquaduct on Aug 20, 2014 19:27:22 GMT -5
Wrong. She's not dead. She shouldn't have snuck out and gone partying. And he's not being charged with anything. Legitimate use of a legal firearm. Shooting your own child at home is never legitimate use of a firearm. What's that thing they try to teach hunters? Be sure of your target. Mike He's a sheriff's deputy who shot someone breaking into his house. Doesn't get more legitimate or legal than that. What's that thing they try to teach stupid people? Don't break into someone else's house, particularly if you know they are armed. Handy life lesson to pass on to the kids if they might be so inclined. |
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Post by godotwaits on Aug 20, 2014 19:35:26 GMT -5
Good ole southern discipline: Spare the rod, spoil the child.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 20:06:06 GMT -5
Shooting your own child at home is never legitimate use of a firearm. What's that thing they try to teach hunters? Be sure of your target. Mike He's a sheriff's deputy who shot someone breaking into his house. Doesn't get more legitimate or legal than that. What's that thing they try to teach stupid people? Don't break into someone else's house, particularly if you know they are armed. Handy life lesson to pass on to the kids if they might be so inclined. I sort of understand a scared old woman shooting in the dark thinking she is protecting her home, sort of. But a trained Policeman firing on a unknown target is hard for me to understand. |
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Post by aquaduct on Aug 20, 2014 20:38:46 GMT -5
He's a sheriff's deputy who shot someone breaking into his house. Doesn't get more legitimate or legal than that. What's that thing they try to teach stupid people? Don't break into someone else's house, particularly if you know they are armed. Handy life lesson to pass on to the kids if they might be so inclined. I sort of understand a scared old woman shooting in the dark thinking she is protecting her home, sort of. But a trained Policeman firing on a unknown target is hard for me to understand. If someone or multiple someones are in my home with me and my family I'm not sacrificing the biggest tactical advantage I have by waiting until they're on top of me or can clearly identify me as a target. Shoot first, live to ask questions later. The fact that he shot her in the abdomen and only immobilized her instead of killing her showed pretty remarkable training and restraint. |
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Post by billhammond on Aug 20, 2014 20:39:52 GMT -5
I sort of understand a scared old woman shooting in the dark thinking she is protecting her home, sort of. But a trained Policeman firing on a unknown target is hard for me to understand. If someone or multiple someones are in my home with me and my family I'm not sacrificing the biggest tactical advantage I have by waiting until they're on top of me or can clearly identify me as a target. Shoot first, live to ask questions later. The fact that he shot her in the abdomen and only immobilized her instead of killing her showed pretty remarkable training and restraint. Or blind luck in the dark. |
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Aug 20, 2014 20:45:12 GMT -5
Something can be both legitimate and legal and also be something I could not live with as a parent/grandparent. YMMV.
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Post by millring on Aug 20, 2014 20:47:23 GMT -5
Something can be both legitimate and legal and also be something I could not live with as a parent/grandparent. YMMV. Like finding out that your grandson plays guitar.... ....only to find out he also plays "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" on that guitar. ::nods:: |
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Post by aquaduct on Aug 20, 2014 20:56:22 GMT -5
Something can be both legitimate and legal and also be something I could not live with as a parent/grandparent. YMMV. No question it's a tragedy. I'm sure it's been devastating. |
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Post by coachdoc on Aug 20, 2014 21:04:09 GMT -5
Here in VA a Loudon County deputy shot and killed his 16 year old daughter as she tried sneaking back into the house through the garage just last week Wrong. She's not dead. She shouldn't have snuck out and gone partying. And he's not being charged with anything. Legitimate use of a legal firearm. Legal, perhaps. But so f##king stupid and indefensible it ought to be illegal. |
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Post by coachdoc on Aug 20, 2014 21:07:56 GMT -5
I sort of understand a scared old woman shooting in the dark thinking she is protecting her home, sort of. But a trained Policeman firing on a unknown target is hard for me to understand. If someone or multiple someones are in my home with me and my family I'm not sacrificing the biggest tactical advantage I have by waiting until they're on top of me or can clearly identify me as a target. Shoot first, live to ask questions later. The fact that he shot her in the abdomen and only immobilized her instead of killing her showed pretty remarkable training and restraint. No. It showed he didn't use enough time or judgement to properly identify his target. There are probably considerably more careless and moronic shootings than proper and successful self defense shootings. |
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