Thank God he can still own a gun in America. I'm sure we won't hear about this though on the liberal media news channels!

Well done homeowner, bravo. Darwin claims another one...

unfortunately, the intruder was a kid. he lived in the nieghborhood and possibly thought he was entering his own home..all speculation rt now

justaguy: What is a "kid?" How old? Am I to presume a minor? Under 18? If so, what was he/she doing out at 2:30AM? What parent allows a minor out in the streets at 2:30AM? Did the "kid" have some sort of mental/developmental disability that would incapacitate them to the extent they would think they were entering their own home? if they were mentally/developmentally disabled, all the more reason to question why the parents would allow them to be out at 2:30AM. i think it is quite a stretch in nearly every case i can think of for someone to "mistakenly" walk into the wrong home. A lot of speculation but i feel for the homeowner if, indeed, this was someone uninvited and unexpected entering their home at 2:30AM. I can't say the outcome would have been any different in my home. I'm not stopping to ask for ID, age or motivations if someone uninvited is in my home at 2:30AM. There will be plenty of time for questions after the threat is neutralized. And, yes, regardless of the reason or excuse, anyone unknown or uninvited in my home at 2:30AM is a threat.

This young man made a mistake that cost him is life! We are all human and make mistakes. You don't have to be mentally impaired to make a mistake! The world we live in today, nobody shows compassion. It doesn't matter how old/young he was nor why he was allowed outside at that time. He was somebody child,family member. brother, and friend! It's so easy for people to just assume that he out to do wrong instead, of simply making a mistake.

I can see where he may have entered the wrong home because all of the cookie cutter homes look nearly alike. My heart goes out to the homeowner and the family of this young man.

The majority of these comments simply disgust me. So self-righteous - so smug - so ignorant and quick to judge. Here's a thought: let's wait until all the facts are in before spewing hate. You are going to feel terrible if it turns out to be - as they suspect - a simple mistake that cost a teen his life. On second thought ... your kind probably won't.

Oh, and by the way, self-sarysfied justaguy Sounds like the kind of home environment that produces binge-drinking party animals, once they're off their parental leashes in college.

Such a sad story for all involved. Let's stop with the hateful judging and ignorant speculation. All you trigger happy NRA nuts still have your guns to make you feel safe and sound and superior, so relax.

My heart has been hurting since I heard this story. My heart goes out to the boys family and friends.

The man who chose to own a gun does not deserve "compassion" as Mr. Hale suggests. When he chose the behavior, he chose the consequences. He will live with having taken a life for the rest of this life. I would have preferred (even if the intruder was indeed a criminal) that he lock himself in a room and call 911. Let the police and their guns and expertise deal with the situation (which is what they are trained to do)
It is not appropriate for us to judge why the boy he was out at 2:30 (I have been a sleepwalker who would walk outside my house in the middle of the night... there's no telling what might have happened) but it is appropriate for all of us to look inside of ourselves and determine whether we are willing to live the rest of our lives killing anyone who we feel is a threat... after all, we also become killers.

There has to be more to this story. Was the door unlocked, or was it forced open? If the kid walked in wrong house, what happened next? Did he turn on a light ? Did he figure out he was in wrong house? Did owner say anything to him before shooting? etc, so hard to comment accurately without knowing the step by step of the incident.

People keep talking about leaving a door open..
the other report said he came through a window...

Can people just stop being so judgmental and consider this young man lost his life too soon; his family is probably brokenhearted &and devastated over their loss. The young man may have had great potential. His friends who dropped him off, probably thinking"what if...instead of"?"
The homeowner who shot the teenager, for the rest of his life, must live with the knowledge he killed another human being.
Both families are probably suffering. Let us keep both families in our thoughts and prayers and offer our sympathy.

Okay.......lets say all parties involved were black! This situation would not even be a discussion! I think his friends lead him back to the wrong house as a joke or he thought the neighbor was working the midnight shift.......Very sad for all parties involved.

By the way, if he thought this person such a threat, why did he fire a warning shot? If he was so threatening, why not just shoot for center mass? You raise your gun up in the air to fire a warning shot, you lose your target and your ability to defend yourself. Either that, or you felt you were in no immideate threat and had the time to do so. If the assailant had a handgun, he could easily draw and fire while you were waiving your gun in the air like a doof. So this either stinks of poor judgement and no training, or something of a sham story.

By the way, firing at your target and missing does not count as a "warning shot".

For the few of you who haven't already made up your mind, I'll let you decide.

The only point I see you making is the point your head comes to at the top where your brains are supposed to be. Many times people miss targets at close range whether they are trained or not. How do you assume this community minded firefighter did not have training with his handgun? Assumption on your part, just like you assume the Sheriff will whitewash his investigation or maybe it's like your baloney assumption that the result would be different if a Black Deputy or a Hispanic deputy was in charge of the investigation. Get my point.