On the surface, it sounds like something out of a bad movie. A group of teenagers throws eggs at a house. A man steps outside with a gun. Shots are fired. No one dies, thankfully, but a lot could have gone wrong in the space of a few seconds. This was not fiction. It happened in San Mateo, California, just south of San Francisco.

According to police, three boys, ages 16 and 17, had been driving around the city pulling what prosecutors described as pranks on classmates from Hillsdale High School. They had already poured oil on the porch of a house on May 23. In the early hours of May 25, they returned and egged the same house. That is when the homeowner, 54-year-old Craig Miceli, allegedly came outside and opened fire on their SUV.

One of the bullets struck the vehicle’s passenger-side quarter panel. No one was hit, but the situation could have ended very differently. Miceli later told officers he was aiming for the tires, which sounds like something out of an action movie. In reality, trying to shoot out tires is reckless and highly dangerous. The likelihood of ricochets or unintended injury is far greater than the fantasy of stopping a car with a perfect shot.

Miceli also told police that his daughter had been the victim of bullying at school, and that the repeated acts of vandalism made him snap. While the frustration and anger may be real, they do not justify shooting at a moving vehicle filled with teenagers. If the adult response to bullying is to grab a gun and start firing, then we have completely failed at teaching the next generation how to resolve conflict.

After the shooting, Miceli reportedly threw his handgun into a pond. Police later recovered an illegal automatic rifle and a large amount of ammunition from his home. The charges against him include assault with a firearm, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and illegal weapons possession. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 9.

It is easy to dismiss the boys’ behavior as harmless teenage fun, but this is not the time for reckless pranks. Too many people are on edge. Too many are waiting for an excuse to turn frustration into violence. What used to result in detention or grounding now has the potential to end with sirens and body bags.

Miceli may have believed he was protecting his home and standing up for his daughter. What he did instead was reinforce the dangerous idea that the best way to respond to stress or injustice is with bullets. That message is not just wrong. It is deadly.

(Source)

• California father opened fire at teenagers who egged his house, reports say