Yee-haw
A Harris County, Texas grand jury on Tuesday declined to bring charges against Tony Earls, “victim of an ATM robbery who fired his weapon at a vehicle he believed was transporting the man who had just robbed him, and accidentally shot and killed an innocent bystander, 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez.” The shooting occurred on Feb. 12.
Earls fired nine shots at the wrong vehicle. Texas jurors decided Earls was entitled to protect himself and his property from a fleeing suspect even if his actions cost a little girl her life. Earls’ wife, Deyonna Hines, said in February they are sleepless over the tragedy but blamed the assailant for the girl’s death. “The lives of two families have been forever altered by the poor decision of a man who is still on the streets.”
KTRK:
An investigation determined Earls and his wife were targeted by a robber near a Chase Bank ATM in the Gulfgate area. Earls then got out and shot at the fleeing suspect and a pickup truck that he thought the person was getting into, police said.
But the pickup was not the suspect’s getaway car. Instead, Arlene and her family were inside.
Earls was arrested and charged with aggravated assault but with the grand jury’s decision, his case cannot be presented again, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
“The grand jury, a random group of ordinary people in Harris County who answered their jury summons, heard the evidence in this case as presented by our prosecutors, heard all of the possible charges – from murder to manslaughter to aggravated assault to criminally-negligent homicide. That grand jury also heard possible defenses,” Ogg said, explaining that deadly force can be excused including under defense of property cases.
Despite Earls being black, jurors in open-carry and permit-less carry Texas likely put themselves in his shoes. But one wonders if their decision would have been different had the victim been white, not a young Latina.
Perhaps this tragedy is another reason right-wing media keep audiences stoked on fear. Because repsonsible gun owners among them will bear no responsibility for who their stray rounds kill if they can claim they fear for their lives, which is always. Because repsonsible gun owners’ right to shoot at bad guys trumps bystanders’ right not to be killed. Because in Texas, your right to fire your gun wildly outweighs a 9-year-old’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
There are a few, basic, safe-handling rules for firearms. One is: Be sure of your target. Know what’s in front of and behind it. There was a time in this country when as a responsible gun owner you were accountable for any damage done by the bullet fired from your gun.
Not anymore in Texas.
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