Shot in Detroit and living to tell the tale

**animatedmartian** · October-06-11, 08:11 AM

Edit: Videos don't work. Website link to Part 1.

http://theberrics.com/aberrican-me/r....html?autoplay

It's unlike most shootings in Detroit, but then I wonder if it is...

**gazhekwe** · October-06-11, 08:40 AM

Powerful. Thank you for sharing this.

**rhythmc** · October-06-11, 09:20 AM

Awesome story. I have to say, the person that can coldly shoot another person for any reason is disgusting. I hope his former "friend" is getting everything he deserves in prison. I hope this kid can live a full, joyful life.

**p1acebo** · October-06-11, 10:52 AM

Thank you for sharing.

**mikefmich** · October-06-11, 12:40 PM

Wow....what a story. Talk about feeling graced.

**English** · October-06-11, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

Powerful. Thank you for sharing this.

Absolutely powerful. That's definitely the word. Thanks.

So locking potential murderers up isn't working. We have the largest percentage of incarcerated citizens in the industrial world. Frying them isn't great PR, either.

How can we prevent things like this from happening? I'm not talking about shaking our fingers at those bad poor people, bad sociopaths, or bad people of color. I am talking about sociopolitical action. What can we do?

**Detroit Stylin** · October-06-11, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by English

Absolutely powerful. That's definitely the word. Thanks.

So locking potential murderers up isn't working. We have the largest percentage of incarcerated citizens in the industrial world. Frying them isn't great PR, either.

How can we prevent things like this from happening? I'm not talking about shaking our fingers at those bad poor people, bad sociopaths, or bad people of color. I am talking about sociopolitical action. What can we do?

Demand stricter regulations on the firearms industry and firearms dealers like we demand from our Automakers...

**Jimaz** · October-06-11, 01:56 PM

I can't believe he survived a shotgun to the chest but there are the X-rays to prove it!

**guito13** · October-06-11, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Detroit Stylin

Demand stricter regulations on the firearms industry and firearms dealers like we demand from our Automakers...

You really think this would help? Give all the legal people the inability to protect themselves while giving the criminals the best ability to obtain weapons though illicit means?

I say give all law abiding people guns so at least they have a fighting chance if they are in this young mans situation.

**401don** · October-06-11, 01:59 PM

The most terrifying part of this story is that this was not one kid gone bad, or even caught up with a gang of bad kids, it's that his friends and family are in the courtroom cheering him on - he grew up with a culture of total disregard for human life.

**Goose** · October-06-11, 02:23 PM

out of curiosity, and not to bring publicity to him, but does anyone know the name of the piece of shit that shot him?

**Django** · October-06-11, 04:57 PM

Lucky that kid who shot him didnt know his ammo and only had birdshot in that shotgun, otherwise we wouldnt have heard this story.
Im with English on this one. Much stricter gun laws need to be put in place.

Im in the party store at Gratiot and Mt Elliot and the kid in front of me runs into his buddy who asks him whats up. He opens his jacket and says "same ol buisness" with a big grin and a gun in his belt. His buddy leaves and he turns to me and says "what up cuz, you all right cuz?" and it was not in a nice way but a condecending way. Being the white boy I was and even it being my own neighborhood I didnt have much to say back.
That shit is normal to me and its just not right that thats normal to me. Fuck all that noise about everyone should carry a weapon made to kill so that people wont get killed. How much sense does that really make. Fuck a Charelton Heston type.

This story is all to common. Kids everywhere who want to make a name for themselves, want to be known as the badass on the block, the one not afraid to pull the trigger. Just add a little alcohol and boom.

**Islandman** · October-06-11, 05:04 PM

Truly amazing. They should clone this guy; indestructible.

**Patrick** · October-06-11, 05:13 PM

I am sure all the perp's family members were calling him a good kid and saying he would never do anything like that. So, the perp wanted to be initiated...am I understainding this correctly? He wanted to make a name for himself?

**East Detroit** · October-06-11, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Patrick

I am sure all the perp's family members were calling him a good kid and saying he would never do anything like that. So, the perp wanted to be initiated...am I understainding this correctly? He wanted to make a name for himself?

Why are you asking questions? Just decide for yourself based on your generalizations.

**Goose** · October-06-11, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Django

Lucky that kid who shot him didnt know his ammo and only had birdshot in that shotgun, otherwise we wouldnt have heard this story.
Im with English on this one. Much stricter gun laws need to be put in place.

Im in the party store at Gratiot and Mt Elliot and the kid in front of me runs into his buddy who asks him whats up. He opens his jacket and says "same ol buisness" with a big grin and a gun in his belt. His buddy leaves and he turns to me and says "what up cuz, you all right cuz?" and it was not in a nice way but a condecending way. Being the white boy I was and even it being my own neighborhood I didnt have much to say back.
That shit is normal to me and its just not right that thats normal to me. Fuck all that noise about everyone should carry a weapon made to kill so that people wont get killed. How much sense does that really make. Fuck a Charelton Heston type.

This story is all to common. Kids everywhere who want to make a name for themselves, want to be known as the badass on the block, the one not afraid to pull the trigger. Just add a little alcohol and boom.

yes, if they had done a more thorough and intense background check on this guy, and perhaps extended the waiting period to two weeks, this guy would have never had a gun

**ddaydetroit** · October-06-11, 05:36 PM

walks into court with a Purple suit, top hat and Cain ? unbelievable

**Patrick** · October-06-11, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by East Detroit

Why are you asking questions? Just decide for yourself based on your generalizations.

Watch what he says at 4:45 in part 2...40 of this shithead's friends and supporters showed up in court. How can you show support for someone like that?

**Left_For_Texas** · October-06-11, 06:06 PM

This is an amazing story. Does anyone still wonder why suburbanites don't like to drive into the city for anything other than a game?

This past spring I took a trip back to Michigan to visit family in the Detroit area for the first time in many years. I had heard about all of the improvements and good things happening in Detroit, so I was looking forward to see them up close. I was sorely disappointed. With about two exceptions [[Foxtown and Midtown) the place is in worse shape than ever. I have a cousin with a great job at GM who lives in Palmer Park. That neighborhood is awesome. But there seems to be what I would call an impending sense of doom and despair among him and his neighbors because of rapidly decreasing property values and crime.

**Patrick** · October-06-11, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by English

Absolutely powerful. That's definitely the word. Thanks.

So locking potential murderers up isn't working. We have the largest percentage of incarcerated citizens in the industrial world. Frying them isn't great PR, either.

How can we prevent things like this from happening? I'm not talking about shaking our fingers at those bad poor people, bad sociopaths, or bad people of color. I am talking about sociopolitical action. What can we do?

Ok, having stricter gun laws is a good start. Now, how about the home life of this kid? Did he have a strong father-figure in his life to set him straight? Can we assume he had a good upbringing? Where did he fall of the rails? Can we at least attempt to partially blame media or would that be the easy way out?

**animatedmartian** · October-06-11, 06:39 PM

My thing is that the "friend" used the blight of Detroit to cover it up. I don't know if he was from Macomb or from Detroit, but obviously with the lack of people in the area, anyone could do anything and no one would know until they find a body. I think easier than reducing crime is just somehow getting viability in empty parts of town that makes it harder for crimes to be committed in the dark.

I could tell that the "friend" was really nervous about doing it or else the guy would have been dead a lot sooner. Short of complete gentrification, there's got to be something that makes it harder for the wannabes to end up like cold-hearted thugs.

Something like special community organizations whose goal it is to improve respective neighborhoods. Sort of like what Bing is doing now but on a micro level. They'd be delegated with the task of clearing out alley ways, determine which homes can be renovated or which need to be demolished, and a stronger encouragement of "if you see something, say something" thing [[neighborhood watch, basically).

Of course as I'm saying this, I'm imagining some thing like 45 community organizations each with 20+ people and it primarily being a voluntary sort of movement of people who actually live within the city [[suburbanites can join, but I figure people would be more comfortable in environments they're familiar with). So I don't know how plausible this actually is, but it's an idea.

I don't think gun control laws will necessarily have a large effect since most guns are illegally owned or stolen anyway.

If thugs with guns want to get together and form gangs, then many more people with courage and conviction ought to get together and form community organizations.

**Johnnny5** · October-06-11, 07:11 PM

Stricter gun laws would have made zero difference in this situation. I'm not sure everyone caught it, but the shooter was only 15 years old! There's no scenario where it would have been legal for him to purchase, or possess a shotgun in the City of Detroit. He was breaking a laundry list of existing firearms laws, and considering he was willing to kill in cold blood I doubt a law could be written that the POS would not have been willing to ignore.

**Django** · October-06-11, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Goose

yes, if they had done a more thorough and intense background check on this guy, and perhaps extended the waiting period to two weeks, this guy would have never had a gun

I understand what your saying but if we stopped making so many guns, hell if we stopped making guns, our great grandchildren might not have to deal with this sort of BS. The more guns that are sold legally the more guns find their way to the street. Its a pipedream right now I know but as nearsighted as I am literally and figuratively things do and can change.
I just dont buy the whole "if everybody had a gun" theory.

Heres a great rant about guns by Bill Hicks. The whole thing is hilarious but the part on guns starts at 5:10 http://grooveshark.com/#/s/The+War/2KTsz4?src=5

**lukabottle** · October-06-11, 08:19 PM

I can't watch the videos. Getting a message about copyrights. Is anyone else have this problem? It could be because I am in Canada and they have different copyright laws. Alas, no hulu for me.

**ddaydetroit** · October-06-11, 08:29 PM

lukabottle when I get that I either use a VPN or go to this website http://hidemyass.com/proxy/ and copy and paste the webpage I want to see thru hidemyass