Child Abuse!

(Via Zendo Deb):

12 Year Old Points Gun at Burglars; Group Takes Off

July 11, 2006 08:58 AM
An accused group of thugs were thwarted by a 12-year old with a gun. It happened in Greenville (SC) when police say five masked men stormed into a house and started beating up the child's father.

FOX Carolina's Jamie Guirola reports, Try and picture it. A 12 year old walks into the living room, sees his mother frantically protecting the baby, and several strangers attacking his father. The 12 year old rushes out of the living room, but comes back pointing a gun at the five suspects. As of Monday night, all but one are in jail.

These are the alleged home invaders without their masks. The youngest barely seventeen, the oldest just 20. George Dickert didn't have time to think about their ages when he tells us they broke into his home and tried to rob his family.

George Dickert/Victim: "F*$# you! That's what I was thinking."

Sunday night, George says, one of the suspects in the group followed him into his house after he smoked a cigarette. He tells us the man pulled out a gun, threatening him. When George reached for a different gun in self-defense, a fight broke out.

George: "I work five days a week and my wife works six days a week. We're an honest couple. We do what we have to do to make a living and some idiot decided he wanted what I had."

When the struggle started, police say, two other men came into the house and started beating on George. That's when George's 12 year old son made the move credited with scaring the accused thugs out of the house, and stopping the burglary without even firing the gun.'

Or having it taken away from him! Imagine that!

George: "He did what he had to do to protect his family last night. And a 12 year old child should never have to go through that. Even if he does know what to do, he should not have to do that."

Police later found these four near George's home sweating and breathing heavily. Something George hopes they'll do again if they're convicted and sentenced to the max.

George: "...And I will press and push and do whatever it takes to make sure every individual in it gets it."

Police aren't releasing details about the fifth person they're looking for. George says he has five guns in the house. His taught his son how to use each of them.

Good for him. And he's right, his son should not have had to do what he did, but I'm glad he was able. Of course the Brady Bunch probably considers teaching his boy about guns to be a form of child abuse they'd like to see ended. After all, twelve year old boys aren't supposed to possess firearms. Or airguns. Or rubber band guns.

As far as I'm aware, in the UK - gun control utopia, according to the gun grabbers gun control proponents er, gun safety organizations - it's illegal for a child to have access to a gun. "Safe storage" and all, you know. In England Mr. Dickert would be looking at jail time, his collection of five firearms would already have been confiscated, and his license to own them would have been revoked.

It's simple "common sense" legislation like this that they want to force down our throats here.

Now, on a different topic, let me illustrate "media bias." This was a Fox News story. It's from a decent sized city - Greenville SC has a population of about 56,000. Myrtle Beach, SC has about four times the population. The George Dickert story has one (1) hit on Google - apparently the local Fox News affiliate is the only source to have posted it to the web. Granted, it's only been one day.

On July 7, a 12 year old boy in Myrtle Beach shot his 10 year old best friend with a .22 rifle, apparently with intent. He's been charged with murder. Google has links to ten (10) stories on the incident. One is from a paper in North Carolina, one from Florida and one from Pennsylvania. All of the papers in question belong to The McClatchy Company, which owns five (5) newspapers in South Carolina: The State, The Sun News, The Herald, The Beaufort Gazette, and The Island Packet. The story was on Page 1 below the fold in today's Sun News. They own papers in fifteen (15) other states. Do you think they'll pick up the story of George Dickert's son and spread it around the East coast?

Nah, me either.

Do you think the story of Zachary Haymon will be one told by the Brady Bunch?

I'll be watching.