3 Cases of Baffled Gun Violence: When Mistakes End in Death in the US

A series of frankly absurd shootings has shocked the United States, a country where gun violence is part of everyday life. However, these cases, which happened to occur during the same time period, have the potential to shake up Americans – also because the victims are young people in good standing.

The 16-year-old teen who rang the wrong doorbell

The address in Kansas City, Missouri was: 1100 NE 115th Terrace. This is the house where 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers last Thursday night. But the student misread the address, turned his car onto NE 115th Street, a side street, and rang the wrong door just before 10 p.m.

The owner of the parental home, an 84-year-old man, was armed. When he opened the door after much hesitation, he shot Yarl without warning. The teen was hit in the head and right arm before he could get up and run.

The reason the single man gave for his shots: he believed the young African-American wanted to break into his home. (In the state of Missouri, it’s legal to use deadly force to defend yourself against an unlawful attack.) Yarl, on the other hand, says he simply rang the doorbell and didn’t go in the direction of the old white man.

The boy is in hospital, but luckily seems to be on the mend. The shooter was formally charged on Monday. A senior Kansas City politician was shocked by the incident: “I’m pretty shocked at how easily we’re willing to shoot each other,” said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.

The 20-year-old woman who drove into the wrong lane

They were out together on a warm Saturday night, just before 10 p.m.: a group of young people, on their way to friends in a rural part of New York. Near the village of West Hebron, the group, traveling in two cars and a motorcycle, made a fatal mistake by ignoring “No Trespassing” signs and entering private property.

The owner of the house did not hesitate when he saw the motorized visitors on the long access road to his house. He shot at least twice. A shot hit 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, who was in the passenger seat of one of the cars, killing the young woman. Reportedly, by this point the group had already realized they were in the wrong territory.

The alleged perpetrator, a 65-year-old man (who, like everyone involved, is white), felt threatened by the uninvited guests. The convoy of cars drove at high speed towards his remote home and made a lot of noise late at night, his lawyer said in an initial statement. The homeowner also said through his lawyer that he was very sorry about the incident. He is not a villain and there are only victims in this tragedy. He’s already been charged with first-degree murder.

The cheerleader who got into the wrong car

The parking lot of the HEB supermarket in Elgin, a small Texas town near Austin, is huge – as often in America. That was fatal for a group of four young girls on Tuesday evening. Shortly after midnight, as the four cheerleaders were on their way home from a workout at the gym, one of the young women got into one of the parked cars.

She thought it was her own vehicle, Heather Roth said in a statement posted to Instagram. When she saw a man in the passenger seat, she realized her mistake and left. Roth jumped back into her friends’ car. She still tried to apologize to the unknown man. But he, a 25-year-old man, pulled out his gun and started firing at the car with the cheerleaders.

Two of the young women were shot; a cheerleader’s injuries are so severe that she needs intensive care. The perpetrator fled and probably fired more shots. He was arrested by the police at his home. (aargauerzeitung.ch)