Can anyone access the Tennessee public records page? It wasn’t working for me, I’m curious as to if this guy has been in trouble for anything else like this before.
Fortunately for the rest of us, your personal situation is not reflective of the country as a whole. So pardon me if I don’t let this dude off the hook just because your neighborhood has become more dangerous.
eta: unless you live in this town? Did I miss that?
If that jurisdiction is anything like mine, false imprisonment is an actionable tort. So, in addition to any criminal charges, this guy could have opened himself up to a civil action from any or all of the kids too.
Needless to say, another vote for “leave the firearm alone, call the police on their non-emergency line, and let them sort it out.”
My friends and I spent a lot of time at cemeteries at night. We weren’t goth, or vandals, drinking or using drugs - we just liked walking around a spooky place telling ghost stories.
This is complete bullshit. I HATE this whole, “oh, everything is SO much worse nowadays!” People have been saying this for centuries – eons, really. It was bullshit then, and it’s bullshit now.
The very idea that what this man did was remotely appropriate is absolutely disgusting. “Citizen’s arrest” – it sounds more like a hostage situation, almost.
Think about it from their point of view:
-You’re walking through the cemetary late at night, minding your own business, NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG
-Then some guy comes along, with a fucking assault rifle, who FIRES OFF A SHOT, then blocks you in with his car, and refuses to let you leave, holding you at gunpoint.
I’d be scared shitless at that point. How do I know he’s not some random nutjob?
(Note – I’m not some anti-gun idiot. I have no problem with guns. Just stupid people with guns – like the guy here)
And comparing this situation to someone stopping a burglary is absolutely sick.
At night they had no business being there.
That I agree with.
That does not change the fact that you had EXACTLY as much business there as you say this guy had to detain and threaten the trespassers.
Their point of view is WRONG.
What are the hours of the cemetery? If it’s open to the public 24 hours a day, then they had every right to be there provided they weren’t breaking a local curfew.
I just saw that this bozo is from TN. Good Lord. Between the Mosque protests in Murfreesboro, Our Forest Gump candidate for Governor, and this guy , we’re getting way too much bad national press.
I don’t see how. If it’s open to the public at night they have every right to be there even if they’re just hangin’
Why do they have to have a reason you or someone else approves of?
Here’s the place in question (google maps).
We’re not talking about gates and walls here people.
Even if the teenagers were vandalizing the cemerary, it’s still just a property crime. Nobody was in any danger of serious harm until that loon showed up with a gun.
aceplace57, do you really think people should be killed for stealing?
Okay, this isn’t directed at you specifically, but still–people, READ THE THREAD. The guy already admitted that the rifle thing was stupid, but that he doesn’t see a problem with obstructing the exit
And responding directly to you: shooting a warning shot != killing people.
Is trespass a criminal offence in the USA? In the UK it’s a strictly civil matter, and the police won’t get involved. However, as soon as any damage is caused it becomes criminal damage and the police can make arrests.
If I had driven past there and seen a grown man pointing a gun at a bunch of kids, and if I were armed myself, I probably would have shot him.
This.
Edit: Well, probably not. 
But still, I can’t believe anyone thinks that what this guy did was OK.
Seriously? A bunch of kids “acting suspiciously”? They were either doing something wrong or they weren’t.
aceplace57 hows about you just stay right where you are while I threaten you with violence with a deadly weapon up to and including firing it till the cops get to you.
Hanging around on the internet at night. Seems reasonable to me. The internet’s sometimes used for viewing kiddy porn and finding terrorist bomb making recipes. No one should be on here late at night.
At the least I think it’s reasonable that you need to stay where you are till you’ve answered a few basic questions. Why are you here? What’s going on? There’s no harm in that.
Vikings then? 
Please read the full thread. The OP has already backed away from that position and re-assessed the whole case.
Go and look at the facts.
The cemetery is a open type without walls or gates. It looks pretty old and unkempt as well from the image that GH057 posted. If it is not secured, or marked private property with a posted trespassing sign then the kids had every right to be there so long as they were not damaging anything. They were not. They were ghost hunting; which is silly but harmless. The guy illegally detained them with no evidence of a crime with a firearm that he discharged. That is way beyond out of line.