A 14 year old child is dead. Why would you use it as an opportunity to make a joke?

Its not a joke but the fact is a child lost his life because he was breaking the law, it is sad that a child died but what is more sad is the fact that this boy had no concern for the man he was stealing from, and didnt care that he could be harmed because most kids now days dont concern themselves with the law or others, maybe if his mother had concerned herself with teaching this child about the law and not to break it then maybe he would still be alive.

This should send a message to all thieves.

Citizens have a right to defend what is there's. With the rash of break ins lately and his house was a repeat house (broken into before) he did what he had to do. It is very unfortunate that this happened. Could have been the other way around just as easily.

Some here are missing the point, someone needs to be saying it loud and often...stay in school. Who better the the President because as Teddy Roosevelt called it, he has the "bully pulpit."

Mr. Mclean defended himself and his home. Good for him! It is sad the boy died, but it is his own fault.

I have one guestion. Where the heck are their parents? My young teenagers are at home and usually asleep at 10:30pm on a school night. I guess thats the difference between parenting and being a brood mare.

Bonnie from Decatur, this happened at 10:30 am when they should have been in school.

Ohm I stand corrected. Yes, I know where they are at that time too, school. Thank you Tammy.

It is tragic that this young man is dead and I hope that all of the young would-be criminals out there learn from this young man's tragic mistake.This is what you face when you turn to a life of crime,a short life full of time behind bars and possibly an early death.The man who defended his property had every right to do what he did,who knows,if he had not had a gun,these guys might have killed him.Stay in school and get an education and stay away from this kind of life,if not,you will have a lifetime of misery for yourself and your family.

That's just another one taxpayers won't have to support while he'd have spent most of his adult life in prison.

LOL Bobagain!!!!!

thank goodness the D.P.D. didnt file some halfassed charged against the homeowner for defending himself. Homeowner did his job.....END OF STORY

Kay, What a hard heart you have!

mom says, it was not a breakin, must have been something else, she also wanted the resident to "Whoop" his butt. and if he had done that she would have her that 52 million dollar lotto ticket, i mean law suite. lets see....broken window, climbing into house, thinking no one was home, when spotted yelling lets get out of here, i cant see it being anything but a breakin. another case of "its not my fault", trying to find someone else to blame it on. i knew drugs were involved.

What a terrible tragedy. Mr. Mclean is not at fault at all for reacting to this home invasion, but there is obviously a real problem with parental supervision with all three of these boys, who should have been in school. I'm so sorry that a 14-year-old boy died during the commission of a crime, but he had no business breaking into the house. He should have been in school, listening to the president's speech about the necessity of a good education.

A 14 year old child is dead and that is definitely not a joke. Nor was it a joke when he was breaking and entering into someone's private property. Nor would it have been a joke if Mr. McLean had been killed and/or robbed of his possessions. I agree with you Bobagain, if he chose not to be at school, he should'a been watching that speech and the outcome would have been better for everyone.

.

This story shows that the "thug life" ain't all that, doesn't it? It is VERY sad that a 14-year-old child is dead. I am sorry for his family. I am sorry for the gentleman that shot him. He has to live with that, even though he was defending his home and possibly his life.

In this day and age, a 14 year old can kill you in your bed as much as a 24 year old or someone older. They invaded his home. Our homes are supposed to be our "safe havens". The homeowner did nothing criminal or wrong.

This child paid the ultimate price for the thug life. Hopefully, others will see and learn... this isn't the way to go.

I wish I could say that I'm shocked by some of the heartless comments on here or by "Mike from Moulton"l's ignorant comments, but I'm not. People, a 14 year old boy is dead & a homeowner will have to live the rest of his life with that. The homeowner reacted EXACTLY as he should have, but I'm sure it doesn't lessen his grief. Let's pray for these families & pray that the other 2 boys straighten their lives out.

I'm sure the guy felt bad when he learned the person he shot was just a kid. Tragic.

Kay, the comment you made was totally uncalled for. I have seen kids from perfectly good homes with both parents present go the wrong direction. That was an ugly comment. I am sorry for everyone in this situation.

Horrible, horrible situation. I feel bad for the homeowner who must live with the thought of having killed someone. We can all talk about the theory and rights of it; but, he has to live with the reality. He reacted in the proper way. But being proper will still cause him nightmares.

As for the child, his parents are responsible. He should be in school and not hanging around kids that do this. They too have to live with guilt. The guilt of not raising their child correctly. Not supervising their child.

While I feel pain for the parents, I feel the most for the homeowner in this situation. He was just minding his business and taking care of his property and a young life is lost.

Prayers are appropriate for all concerned.

You know.....it's high time we take America back......one thief at a time. This is a testimony of the importance of our right to possess firearms. Town, city, state, race, sex or age is not discriminated against in unlawfullness; all should be prepared. No one can force another person to abide by the laws of this land.....but I can, and will protect what's mine. I don't care who you are, where you come from or your intent......enter my home without an invitation and I'll say welcome to my home.....with a bullet.

melissa......look at the interview she gave. every thing i said was in there. just because he is only 14, does not mean he is not a criminal. find one thing not included in the tv coverage.

All of you who have made a nasty comment need to stop and think about one thing for a minute, this boy was someones' son, grandson, nephew, etc. Yes he was in the wrong, as were the other two who were with him. And yes, I believe that Mr. Mclean was in the right for defending hisself and his property. But can you all keep in mind that this KIDs family could possibly see some of the hateful things you have wrote? They are hurting too. If you have ever lost someone you love at the hands of someone else, you would understand the pain that brings. Regardless of wether that person was in the wrong or right.

And also keep in mind that Mr. Mclean could possibly read this, and I am sure he is going through his own version of hell right now, wouldn't you be if you had shot and killed a 14 yr old kid? I know I would, and it wouldn't matter if I was in the right or not.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Mclean and his family and also to the boys family for all the pain and suffering that they will all go through.

And to the lady who made the comment about it being one less person taxpayers have to support......you really need to get a heart.

Also, another point of interest in this story:

the child shot and killed was in the Decatur City Schools Alternative Program......looks to me like he already made a bunch of bad choices to begin with. He took life skills classes at the Alternative school as well.....Once again, he made a decision not to listen and look where it got him????

parents probably didnt care what this kid did and let him run wherever all hours of the day. If anyone is to blame for this kids death....its his parents, or the lack thereof. Mother might have been involved, bet u a million his dad wasnt...

You need to read the story again. This kid was NOT in the Alternative school. The 16 yr old was.

Do you have kids? If so, if one of them makes wrong choices in life is that your fault or theirs? I made a lot of wrong choices when I was younger, and it was no fault of my parents. Luckily, I made it through my teenage yrs and took a different road, thanks in part to the crowd I started hanging out with. Also, I have lived in some of the worst parts of Decatur, it is not easy. That is no excuse for the kids breaking and entering, but all I am saying is you could be a little more considerate to his family.

Brandy his mother could have been more upset over her son being dead as well, but all she wanted to do was lay blame at the home owner,and say HE the homeowner should have gave him a whipping last time I checked thats not up to a VICTIM thats up to the PARENT!!! I also know from reports from some kids that knew him knew this wasnt the first time he broke into someones house or car and this wasnt the first time he had stolen something, making bad choices you can learn from your mistakes as you did, this kid and that other two didnt have concern for another human being, they wanted HIS stuff and didnt care what they had to do to get it. and had they got away with it you can bet they would have done it again. I do feel for his family that they lost a child what i dont feel bad for is the fact that knowing this wasnt the first time and his parents didnt care to teach him the difference in right or wrong because had they done that a couple of years ago when he got caught stealing he would have learned his lesson then, but in my opinion from the way his mother acted when interviewed by channel 19 she didnt give a rats behind what that child done, it was NEVER his fault, People need to stand up and say NO MORE from theives and thugs, and hold their parents accountable when they break the law, its always an excuse as to why they did what they did.

I am not saying anything about how the mother was acting, simply because people grieve in different ways. When my brother was killed I was so angry I couldn't see straight either. And I am not disagreeing with what you said, I also am not trying to argue with anyone. I just wish some of the people on here would keep in mind that the kid has a family and that Mr. Mcneal is probably hurting and upset also. Just respect everyone involved by not posting hateful things towards a dead 14 yr old child.

It really isnt that hard to think twice before you type something and post it. Just think if it was your child, would you want to read something like that wrote about your own kid?

as a "real" parent, who actually cares about their kids, i can say without remorse, "show me your friends, and i will show you your future". a lot more could have been done by the mother, and father to guide this boy in a better direction. but she made the decision to let the schools do the raising. now he is dead from being a criminal, not from, anyone elses fault.

People are saying things like Kay needs a heart.. Why? This little THUG was wrong. He had no business in the mans house. If everyone stood up and took care of their kids, took care of their homes, and quit having pity on these low life losers and do something about it, the low-life losers would get the message.

Jail is not a scary place. It is a free ride.

I am glad he shot the kid. Too bad he didn't get the other 2. If it were my house, I definitely would have.. more than once each.

I personally am glad I moved from Decatur. The city is full of liitle boys that want to break into people's houses and steal their things instead of doing something to earn money. There has been way to many break ins for someone not to defend their home. When I lived there my house was broken into 5 times, since I moved to a different city 0 times. All three of these boys knew exactly what they were doing, unfortunetly I know the two that weren't shot and I can say that I am only shocked about one of them. See my son was friends with those two and all I can say is thank GOD I got him away from there!!!! I feel sorry for all the parents and everyone deals with grief in their own way. I'm sure the boy that was shots mother knows the truth she just doesn't want accept because the she has to accept her part in all of this, but blaming the man is way worng. I feel for the man who shot this person breaking into his home. I can only imagine shooting someone then finding out it was one of my child's friends. He is not a hero for this he was only doing what he felt necessary at the time. Everyone left to deal with this terrible ordeal will hopefully learn and grow from this awful experience.

Brandy is justifying the kids actions...

How am I "justifying the kids actions"? I have said from the start that I don't find Mr. Mclean in the wrong, and I don't blame him. The only thing I have been saying is that people should have enough common courtesy to respect the family members and not talk hatefully or rudely about the dead 14 yr old kid. Never once have I said the kid was in the right. Because he wasn't, but that doesn't give anyone the right to make things harder on the family members who are having to deal with the loss along with the knowledge of the wrongdoing the kid did and how it might could have been prevented.

If you have kids, I pray that you never have to experience this. Obviously you don't know the pain of losing someone, then having that person talked bad about.

Also, if you would have read all the reports, Mr. Mclean states that he knew this kid. Do you not think he is going through a lot knowing he unintentionally killed his sons' friend?

Do not put words in my mouth that I have not said.

he is not a hero, but he is still alive, by being prepared to defend his home. you can only backup so far, then you have to fight. how much different would it be if the criminals had used the gun stolen from the same house the first time the house was broken into to kill the home owner.

Come on Kellie, Get off the fence. When it was your family member who was killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time you about had a heart attack just for someone telling he was running with a bad kid. Make up your mind is it ALL parents (except the ones in your family) or what? Bottom line, another lost soul. Another child lost his life. Parents do need to take the time to know who your child is running with and what is going on in their lives. It is hard being a single parent and even harder raising boys. My heart goes out to the family and to the homeowner, he has to live with the fact he killed a child, theif or not, still a child.

My family member that was killed wasnt killed while commiting a crime he was a 10 yr old little boy that went to far down a road and a vehicle hit him which was an accident there is a difference,The police investigated my family members ACCIDENT and found he had nothing to do with any church fire, and the driver of the truck that hit him did no wrong which is right. however this young man was caught in the act of a crime, I got upset over a LIE being told on a child that could no longer defend himself, I do believe Mr. Mason was caught in the act and there are two other suspects that are in custody because of the crimes they have commited. I never once said I didnt feel sad for the mother loosing her son, what i did say however was her blaming the homeowner was wrong, her expecting someone else to "whip" her child because he was doing wrong is wrong. and my family isnt any different than anyone else out there, they arent any more special than anyone else. But Thomas there is a difference in and accident and a crime, but one thing is for sure we are all intitled to our opinions. But I will say this I have three children and all three were taught that you break the law you suffer the consequences, so if you choose to be stupid and break the law dont come to me for help. You choose to be a law abiding citizen contributing to society I will always be there for you. but I sure dont expect ANYONE in this world to spank my child because he did something wrong. I am the one that should be handling not expecting someone else to .

removed my original post, so I will post it again. Fine Shot by a law abidding citizen, in his home. But I guess there are those people who will say "He baited them by having all that stuff he bought from working for a living". This Country is the greatest in the world, But it's citizens are getting sadder, and sadder.

Mr. Mclean states that he knew this kid. Do you not think he is going through a lot knowing he unintentionally killed his sons' friend?

Then where was Mr.Mclean's son ? If they were friends, why was not this 14 yr. old not with him in school ?

CG - an earlier article mentioned that Mr. Mclean's son moved out-of-state with his mother.

instead of the momma wanting Mr. Mclean to whoop her sons butt....why wasnt she whooping his butt. He obvioulsy needed it more than once!! Parents you need to get a grip on your children. Society cant stand the burden of your sorry parenting skills any longer!!