Davena Stevens, Jouett's 16-year-old girlfriend, told CNN that Jouett was distraught over what she described as a bullying incident at school on Friday. Police Chief Doug Ford said that incident, which led to Jouett's suspension, is part of the investigation.
Jouett has not commented on the allegations. He will appear in juvenile court later this week.
Stevens said she received a Snapchat from Jouett the afternoon of the shooting, saying he would be over to her house at 4:30 p.m. But when news of the shooting hit, and Jouett was nowhere to be found, she rushed over to the Jouett house.
"They said two of his dad's guns were missing, and right then I knew it was probably him," Stevens said.
This kind of thing needs to STOP! I hope the families of the slaughtered librarians sue the 'dad' for every penny he ever earned or earns going forward. I hope the prosecutor files charges of negligent child endangerment, if nothing else.
People who choose to keep arms MUST be held strictly responsible for keeping those guns locked away from stupid/immature/unstable children. PERIOD. If you can't afford a solid gun safe or locking gun case, you can't afford a gun!
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
I'd like to hear more about the "bullying incident" and the response/complicity of the school officials and teachers before I apportion blame. I recall in my high school a gym teacher getting two students to drag a guy into the showers and make sure he washes up--people on the receiving end of the crap can snap, and the outcome is hardly surprising. Yes, the dad may well not have properly secured his firearms, but I'd like to see what else happened. If nothing else, it's a tragedy and a number of lives, including this young man's, were ruined over something that never should have gone this far.
Bullying is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, I don't dispute that. Victims of bullying in childhood are shown to suffer ill effects decades later, studies have measured.
But that has NOTHING to do with a 16 year old kid getting his hands on guns. Or the hundreds of toddlers and other kids who kill themselves or siblings/friends every year by getting their hands on loaded firearms left unsecured by adults. We need uniform legislation that holds gunowners strictly liable both civilly and CRIMINALLY for this kind of abhorrent negligence. NO EXCUSES! It's terrible if this boy was bullied, but also very likely nobody would be dead if he hadn't gotten his hands on 'dad's' firearms and ammunition while clearly in an agitated mental state.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
I am a gun nut. I have firearms and ammo in my home. I fully agree that they are dangerous instruments and there should be strict legal liability on the owner for managing that danger. But a blanket statement implying that no 16 year old individual should have access is not something I can accept in all cases for all individuals.
This is a societal/cultural issue. Most of the denizens of the USofA have accepted that 16 year olds may have a driver's permit that gives them legal permission to operate a car without an adult present in the car with them. IMNSHO, the same was once the case with firearms. But things have changed. Cars are ubiquitous. Guns are generally on public view in limited circumstances. This is not an issue we, Americans, are dealing with very rationally or efficiently. It has been the editorial policy of the New York Times and the Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor for more than 50 years, that firearms should not be possessed by the general public. Against the general impression of the power of the news media, I see not much change in the actual situation in our society. If anything, there is now more polarization on this problem.
Maybe it is really just another small part in the general polarization and loss of energy in the American melting pot.
Big RR wrote:Very interesting topic drift, starting with a rant on how a shooting is being ignored by the media, and ending up diverting to a discussion of TV preacher Osteen and movies and TV shows. What a country/board.
... "
Q: What do you call it when you get a group of people together with short attention spans?
