# Man shoots prowler, finds out he killed his son **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 2, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453 "2012-10-02T03:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/1 "2012-10-02T03:42:33Z")
[http://news.yahoo.com/attorney-conn-man-shot-masked-son-devastated-204702772.html](http://news.yahoo.com/attorney-conn-man-shot-masked-son-devastated-204702772.html) Man’s next-door neighbour (sister) says someone is trying to break into her house. He goes outside with a gun, sees an armed intruder in a ski mask. Intruder advances in a threatening manner, so he shoots and kills intruder, then finds out he’s killed his 15 year old son. Armed, and wearing a ski mask while not skiing? It sounds like the son had a secret life. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/2 "2012-10-02T03:53:57Z")
Has there been any clarification on why his son was doing that? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/3 "2012-10-02T04:14:15Z")
Wow, how tragic for everyone concerned. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/4 "2012-10-02T04:24:11Z")
Big deal. Probably happens every month or so in this country. More typical case is a child sneaking in late after a date, getting shot by a parent who thinks they’re a prowler. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/5 "2012-10-02T11:55:23Z")
So he was willing to shoot _someone else’s_ son, but things are different since it turned out to be his own son? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/6 "2012-10-02T12:09:17Z")
That would be my interpretation, yes. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/7 "2012-10-02T12:20:10Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > So he was willing to shoot _someone else’s_ son, but things are different since it turned out to be his own son? I am presuming the son would have been welcome in his aunts house. I think it’s a prank gone badly badly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/8 "2012-10-02T12:21:17Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > So he was willing to shoot _someone else’s_ son, but things are different since it turned out to be his own son? Yes. When you find someone breaking into your home with a ski mask and a gun, their lineage is usually the last thing on your mind. I, too, want to know what the hell the son was up to. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/9 "2012-10-02T12:27:20Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > So he was willing to shoot _someone else’s_ son, but things are different since it turned out to be his own son? What an odd comment. People are more emotionally attached to their family than they are to people they don’t know. I cried at my mother’s funeral, but I didn’t cry about any of the thousands of people who died in the eastern hemisphere yesterday. If a masked man is approaching you in the dark, on your property, with a knife, shooting him is not an unreasonable response. You could easily be preventing your wife from being raped, or yourself from being murdered. If the invader turns out to be a kid, it’s human to feel horrible about it because of the wasted potential. If it turns out to be your son, it’s natural to be devastated, even if the shooting was a rational action. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/10 "2012-10-02T12:32:11Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Yes. When you find someone breaking into your home with a ski mask and a gun, their lineage is usually the last thing on your mind. Knife, actually. But said masked intruder lunged at him. **Sailboat** , I assume besides the pain of killing his own son, at least part of his angst is wondering what the fuck his son was doing. Was the son going there to rape his aunt? Murder her? “Just” threaten her into giving up valuables? As for a prank, that’s just about the most utterly idiotic prank that I can imagine. Carrying a real knife, wearing a mask, and then when confronted by not-your-target, you lunge at the gun-wielding person? Amazingly dumb. I know teenagers do stupid shit, but I can’t decide whether it comforts me more to think that he was being deeply stupid or criminal. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/11 "2012-10-02T12:34:56Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I am presuming the son would have been welcome in his aunts house. I think it’s a prank gone badly badly wrong. I would not be surprised if it turned out that he was planning to break in and steal from the aunt. Sometimes criminals do victimize people they know. After all, if you’ve been an invited guest in a house, it’s easy to case the place and see where the valuable stuff is. Very sad for the father, though. I’m sure that even if his son was committing crimes, he still loved the boy and it must be a horrible feeling to realize you killed your own son. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/12 "2012-10-02T12:55:07Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I would not be surprised if it turned out that he was planning to break in and steal from the aunt. Sometimes criminals do victimize people they know. After all, if you’ve been an invited guest in a house, it’s easy to case the place and see where the valuable stuff is. Hard to see why he wouldn’t wait till the house was empty if his intent was just to burgle the place. Presumably the kid would know what times his aunt/neighbour would be away from the house. Similarly, if he wanted to kill her, why not just knock on the door. Presumably the Aunt would open the door for her nephew. I suspect he was just trying to scare her as part of some poorly thought-out prank or revenge stunt. It doesn’t sound like he actually got into the house, but was just lurking around outside. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/13 "2012-10-02T12:55:19Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > **Sailboat** , I assume besides the pain of killing his own son, at least part of his angst is wondering what the fuck his son was doing. Was the son going there to rape his aunt? Murder her? “Just” threaten her into giving up valuables? It’s possible that the father will never know what the son was doing and will be wondering about this for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/14 "2012-10-02T13:00:57Z")
I think I understand where Sailboat is coming from. Responsible people do not fire a gun at someone until it is the very last line of defense. That’s why there are laws against this kind of thing, shooting at someone who is NOT inside the home and options exist to retreat and get away. If the firearm had been used as a last line of defense then no one’s son would not have been shot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/15 "2012-10-02T13:09:30Z")
Suicide? Suicide by cop happens; the kid probably knew what would happen if he behaved the way he did. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/16 "2012-10-02T13:12:56Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > Responsible people do not fire a gun at someone until it is the very last line of defense. . If someone comes at me “in a threatening manner” armed with a knife, and if I have a gun in my hand, I’d consider the gun as my last line of defense. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/17 "2012-10-02T13:14:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s possible that the father will never know what the son was doing and will be wondering about this for the rest of his life. From the last I’ve read, no one still has any idea what the hell was going on. His school mates and teachers all say he was an average happy-go-lucky kid. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/18 "2012-10-02T13:16:24Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > I think I understand where Sailboat is coming from. > > Responsible people do not fire a gun at someone until it is the very last line of defense. That’s why there are laws against this kind of thing, shooting at someone who is NOT inside the home and options exist to retreat and get away. If the firearm had been used as a last line of defense then no one’s son would not have been shot. It varies. Some places have [“duty to retreat” laws](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_retreat), but others have [“stand your ground” laws.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_your_ground_law) In the latter, there is no duty to retreat even from public places, and it is permissible to defend yourself with deadly force when under immediate threat of same. Given that Mr. Giuliano is not expected to be charged with anything, it appears the law is on his side in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/19 "2012-10-02T13:19:02Z")
The kid was probably going to rob the aunt. 15 year olds do all kinds of stupid stuff and stealing from ones neighbor/aunt sounds like just the kind of thing a teen would think up. If he’d just run off instead of lunging at his dad, he’d probably have just gotten in trouble and lived to smarten up a little. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453/20 "2012-10-02T13:48:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If someone comes at me “in a threatening manner” armed with a knife, and if I have a gun in my hand, I’d consider the gun as my last line of defense. Retreating is a viable line of self defense. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > \..Given that Mr. Giuliano is not expected to be charged with anything, it appears the law is on his side in this case. Would the law have been on his side if it had not been the son who had been shot? Or might it be since the facts of confrontation are unclear, a grey area concerning self defense allowed prosecutors to stand down, did not want to see any more harm come to the family? > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > \..If he’d just run off instead of lunging at his dad, he’d probably have just gotten in trouble and lived to smarten up a little. Wait. Where did we learn that the knife wielding son lunged at his dad? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-shoots-prowler-finds-out-he-killed-his-son/636453.md?page=2)