A 17-year-old was hospitalized after being shot by a homeowner in Spanish Fort, Alabama, early Saturday morning. Police say the teen allegedly broke into a home on Cason Trace while the family was asleep.
But the teen’s father is speaking out, urging the public to remember there are “two sides to every story.”
According to Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber, the homeowner’s wife was awakened by the sound of breaking glass around 4 a.m. She alerted her husband, who retrieved a pistol and shot the intruder once in the abdomen.
The homeowner then called 911. Responding officers rendered aid and the teen was airlifted to University Hospital in critical but stable condition.
Investigators believe the teen forced his way in through a front window and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance.
The teen’s father told Fox 10 News the boy had been drinking with friends earlier in the night and may have mistaken the house for his friend’s nearby home.
“He remembers going to his friend’s house, drinking, and leaving in a friend’s car to pick someone else up,” the father said. “After that, he doesn’t remember anything.”
The father said his son doesn’t have a criminal record and insists the teen never intended to break into anyone’s home.
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“I feel he was drunk and confused. He thought he was at his friend’s house—and he wasn’t,” the father said.
Police have not announced any charges yet. Investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened that night.
So who’s to blame here? Was it the 17-year-old who, by all accounts, made a dangerous and unlawful mistake?
The homeowner who protected his family in the dead of night?
Or the parent who now pleads confusion over consequences that seem all too predictable?
In a world where seconds matter and intentions can’t be read in the dark, many say responsibility starts at home with mom and dad—long before a window shatters.
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The have been MANY cases of drug deranged people breaking into homes in the middle of the night, killing the residents, then claiming they didn’t know any better and shouldn’t be held responsible. EFF THAT!
Referring to him as a “BOY” implies he is a child that doesn’t know any better. You know the difference between right and wrong by the time you’re 8 years old. This 17 years old “BOY” is an adult and should be treated as one. Dad – you’re lucky your “BOY” is still alive so you can pray he makes a full recovery and doesn’t have to go through life wearing a colonoscopy bag.
But no doubt you’ll try and sue the homeowner in civil court for your “BOY’s” stupidity. Realize this – the home owner did you a great favor by not emptying his gun in him. Had he broke into my house at 4am, I’d opened up on him with a 12ga semi-auto bullpup and emptied a 10 round mag of buckshot in his ass, dropped it, then reached for the Glock. I’d made damn sure I didn’t have to see him sitting in a wheelchair across from me in court.
Take you “BOY” home, hug him, and pray he learned a valuable lesson.
The parents.,
So, illegally drinking or taking illegal drugs is an excuse? Hmmmm… Seems the dad needs to pull his head out and face reality. The old corollary of Darwin’s survival of the fittest of “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” certainly worked here.
What a joke . . there are always two sides to a story and always one of them is the most believable and true.
What is an underage kid doing out consuming alcohol illegally? Breaking and entering? Excuses. The kid is lucky to be alive. He is a candidate for the Darwin Awards. Raised by HIS PARENTS. There is where the problem lies, parents not raising their kids properly and making excuses for them.
Sorry, Dad; when your drunken son breaks into my hope at 4am all he’s going hear is “Bang!”. I am not going to engage him in neighborly conversation.
“He remembers going to his friend’s house, drinking, and leaving in a friend’s car to pick someone else up,” the father said. “After that, he doesn’t remember anything.” “I feel he was drunk and confused. He thought he was at his friend’s house — and he wasn’t,” the father said. ‘The father . . . insists the teen never intended to break into anyone’s home.’
Let’s start with the obvious: 17 year olds are not permitted to drink. First problem (which apparently Dad has no issue with.). He then got in “a friend’s car” — no word on whether he was alone or not — but if he wasn’t, where are the friend’s statements? if he WAS alone, then he drove drunk too — guess Dad has no issue there either. Then Dad says son remembers nothing more. So . . . what basis is there to conclude that he thought he was somewhere else, and that he didn’t intend to break into anybody’s house? There is no basis whatever to make that conclusion. In fact, I would suggest that the evidence is quite to the contrary (but maybe that’s because I live in Ohio). In my state, if you break a window to gain access to a building (home, business, whatever) at 4 o’clock in the morning, it’s pretty clear that you’re trying to break in. We use a thing called a door. It’s usually equipped with a doorbell or a knocker, so that you can ask permission of the owner to enter the premises. You knock on the door or ring the bell, and when someone answers, you say “Is my friend Joey here?” — if you’re sober enough to speak the words. Then the homeowner (holding his pistol or not) can say, There’s nobody here by that name; you’re drunk; go away” and close the door. Nobody gets hurt; nobody’s damaged — the homeowner’s sleep is a little disturbed, but I’m sure he’d have preferred that to having to shoot the kid breaking into his house.
Obviously the kid was trying to break in — maybe he thought he was breaking into his friend’s house (maybe not), but it’s pretty damned clear that he knew he was breaking in. I have friends in Alabama, and I know that they do, in fact, know what a door is and how to use it.
It’s sad this kid got shot, and I do hope he recovers. I hope he’s learned to quit drinking completely until he is mature enough to handle it. And I hope Dad learns a thing or two here too — letting teenagers drink is a recipe for disaster, period, full stop.
I’m sorry for the homeowner who was forced to use violence to stop an intrusion, but I respect his skills — he stopped the intrusion and then acted properly, calling for assistance.
Under age drinking to the point of blacking out? Using an unknown substance? Breaking glass to get into a friends house? Not seeing the “innocence” of this “teen”. Parent who is defending the actions based on his kid being that drunk speaks volumes to how this kid may have been raised.
Protected the family from what?
I would say and unknown intruder breaking a window and attempting to enter their home in the middle of the night.
Protected the family from an illegal intruder! I would have done the same thing but shot a few more times.
How about stupid irresponsible “parents” protecting society from THEIR kids?!
I am sure his friend didn’t say, “When you get drunk, make your way over to my house. If I don’t answer the door, just bust the window and come on in.”
Here is another thing I hope the police cheif, remembers.
A teen underage consumed alcohol.
Someone supplied the teen underage with that alcohol.
Someone allowed said teen to consume alcohol on their premises.
There may have been several teens consuming alcohol and on those premises and at least one possible teen driving while impaired.
The teen was injured after the above happened, all because Someone supplied alcohol to an underage teen.
Looks like an investigation is needed.
So if the teen would have killed the home owner, the wife, the children, because the teen was drunk out of his mind, does the father want to still say remember there are two sides of a story. Here is the part the police chief and the father left out. “The maximum effect of an excuse is zero meters,” my D.I. at Parris Island and my father taught me that. The boy consumed alcohol under age, or more, broke into a house, and put at risk an entire family. The boy made a decision early that night and it was the wrong one.
I hope the father and his son learns the lesson taught to his son and himself. I hope the boy recovers completely and helps teach other teens you shouldn’t go out to get drunk out of mind.
I hope the father and the teen also remembers, even though the teen survived another father has to live with the fact he shot a young man, and he and his family has to live with the fact their place of peace, their home, was broken into, that will haunt the children probably for the rest of their lives.
Put the family at risk? There is no evidence the family was at risk.
If someone breaks a window in your home at 4AM you don’t know their intentions. Taking time to ask their intentions might get you shot. Even had he been at the right house there is no excuse for breaking the window. He is responsible for his actions and the consequences.
Breaking the glass to enter a residence while under influence and indicating the perp thought he was at a friend houses is a stupid excuse.
Is the home owner suppose to ask the individual if he is under the influence of alcohol, drugs or just breaking in to do harm to those inside, etc???? I don’t think so!!
Shooting anyone is sad, but trying to make excuses for this teens’ actions is BS.
teen shouldn’t have broken into the house!
home owner needed to put a few more rds into the teen.
Grow up wtf is wrong with you?
i’m not a communist who hates america, thats whats wrong with me
At 4am with breaking glass, there’s only ONE side of the story that matters: castle doctrine. Poor parenting and drunken confusion aren’t excuses
Totally agree.