Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

To wonder how one kid can trap another in a corner with a BB gun for three hours without the parents noticing

99 replies

ElenStone · 02/04/2011 22:27

Today DS went to a friends house around the corner to play, he forgot to take his phone but as I thought I knew where he was and thought he was safe, I didn't panic. When an hour and a half had gone by I was expecting him to check in and after two hours I started to panic and we started looking for him. We couldn't find him anywhere, just as I was about to call the police he arrived back home and I found out that he and his friend had called in on a friend from school on their way back and a teenage kid had been firing at him from an upstairs flat with a BB gun and had trapped him behind a trampoline, threatening to shoot him. He's only eleven ... he was there for three hours and was so terrified he literally crapped himself.

I'm furious, how can something like that happen? If parents know their kids and another kid are playing together in the garden, you'd think they'd check on them from time to time to make sure they were ok. I'm sure that's not an unreasonable expectation.

DS doesn't want to take it any further as the kid was told off. Not a hope. First thing tomorrow I'm going around there to find out the name of the kid and I'm having him arrested. And I will be pressing charges.

OP posts:

browneyesblue · 02/04/2011 23:08

I hope the police get things moving quickly. I am so angry on your behalf - I just don't know how someone could do something like that.

GiddyPickle · 02/04/2011 23:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

duchesse · 02/04/2011 23:25

I would definitely take this further. You can do serious damage with a BB gun and this teenager sounds like he could do with a very firm grip from the long arm of the law.

LoopyLoopsChupaChups · 02/04/2011 23:37

Let us know how you get on. :)

Original poster

ElenStone · 02/04/2011 23:53

Spoken to the police ... they've taken it seriously and the WPC I spoke to said they all found the incident report so upsetting too and wished DD their best.
They're going to come and speak to him in the morning because of his age and the fact it's a Saturday night, which is pretty much what I expected.

DS is as fine as can be expected, he's in bed watching Star Wars, looking forward to the fudge his grandad promised to bring him tomorrow. He's not looking forward to giving a statement and is worried it'll spoil Mothers Day, but he's dealing with it really well, which is a relief.

@worraliberty - it was a female friend he was playing with, they do play very well together but on the way dropped in on another female friend and of course, the girls ended up going to play together and DD ended up on his own, which shouldn't have been a problem as he only meant to stay for 5 minutes.
I guess the parents weren't paying attention to the kids, a lot of the kids on that road just roam the area, parents don't tend to come looking for them at all and generally can't be bothered with them. Which is why DD is not meant to go into houses if we don't know where he is. I swear, he's not going any further than the (nice, well behaved) boy next door for a while after this.

OP posts:

FabbyChic · 02/04/2011 23:55

OMG I hope your son is okay, good on you for getting the police involved, you should do.

worraliberty · 02/04/2011 23:56

Ok maybe it's just me being skeptical

Seriously though, what a horrible thing to happen and I sincerely hope everything gets sorted out and the little git gets his just desserts.

Original poster

ElenStone · 02/04/2011 23:57

I forgot to say, thanks for all the advice and warm wishes everyone, it's very deeply appreciated :)

OP posts:

womma · 03/04/2011 00:04

Your poor boy, what a horrible thing to happen to him. He sounds like he's been really brave though, poor love. And you are a top Mum, dealing with this so well!

Hope the little turd who did this doesn't know what hit him once the police find him

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 00:56

Thanks Womma, that's a really kind thing to say.

I'm sure they won't go easy on him, the WPC I spoke to said they all thought it was disgusting and passed on kind wishes for DS from all the officers there at the time.

Usually I try and understand why kids do things, having a background in child psych, but in this case I'm just too angry. DS was terrified and he could have been blinded. Is it bad that part of me wishes it'd happened in the small town where I grew up in Ireland ... anyone who did something like that to a kid would have gotten a visit that made them reconsider their opinion of guns. The non-rational angry mum part of me kinda thinks if someone scared the crap out of them it would be just desserts

OP posts:

LDNmummy · 03/04/2011 01:28

That is horrible! Call the police ASAP or another authority. How terrified the boy must have been

LDNmummy · 03/04/2011 01:31

Just read the rest and gathered it was your DS who was the victim. So sorry OP, I am glad he is feeling a little better now. I hope this matter is taken seriously as it is just horrid

Good luck with tomorrow and your DS making the statement, I hope he doesn't feel too down about it.

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 01:43

He was so scared he crapped his pants and of course, he was ashamed of that, which made it worse.

I still can't believe parents let kids roam the street with BB guns, it's just asking for trouble. Our neighbours son has one and he has to ask permission to use it for target practice in the garden, which is the way it should be I think. If kids are to be allowed guns at all, that is. Personally, I wouldn't let DS have one, but then I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 80's, so I don't tend to see them as toys unless they're made of plastic and pointed at the X Box!

OP posts:

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 01:46

Thanks LDNmummy, I'm sure he'll be fine, he's a really down to earth kid. As long as I make a fuss about Mothers Day still being wonderful, he'll be ok :)

OP posts:

KickArseQueen · 03/04/2011 01:54

Shocking!!! Elenstone, I Hope your DS is ok, I really hope they find the boy with the BB gun and actually do something! Well done you for calling the police tonight! (( hugs )) to you both!

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 03:18

Thanks, he seems to be ok now. He's sleeping fine and that's a really good sign. I wish I was too! I'm still too wound up to sleep and I know tomorrow's going to be exhausting. I think I may have a well-earned nightcap.

I'm sure they'll find the boy, the people he was visiting obviously know who he is and I'm fairly sure it's an offence to withhold that kind of information. I just hope they really do something. I'm not going to stop fuming until I know that something's been done and I'm not usually an angry person at all, quite the opposite! But I guess rational and reasonable doesn't really apply when it comes to defending our kids. It'd probably be stranger if I wasn't wondering which fence his head would look best on as a warning to all future wannabe snipers ;)

OP posts:

SenoritaViva · 03/04/2011 08:03

I hope that it goes OK today, please let us know your DS gets through all the stress of today OK.

queenrollo · 03/04/2011 08:23

Thinking of you and DS today, hope it goes as well as can be expected.

cushionyet · 03/04/2011 09:14

Please keep us updated ElenStone. I hope your poor son is feeling better this morning.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 03/04/2011 09:48

Blimey, that is horrifying.
hope the interview goes well and you enjoy MD.

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 11:20

The interview was a complete waste of time. Even before they went to speak to the boy they told me he wouldn't be arrested unless he'd committed a previous offence. When they got back they told me that they'd spoken to the boy and to the other kids present at the time and they all said that DS had told the boy to shoot him, so they weren't taking it further.

I'm really annoyed. DS isn't the kind of kid to say something that stupid and, even if he had, the fact he hid under the trampoline and came home with pants full of poo makes it pretty clear that he was terrified. I'm leaving room for the possibility he might have said it thinking it was a toy from a distance, but even if he had, that doesn't excuse the 15 year old (who should have known better) actually shooting at him. I'm also really annoyed me that the Policeman who came around said "because he's never done it before and he's from a nice family in Pirton". Implying that if he lived on a council estate he'd have been arrested. I don't care if someone lives in a cardboard box or Buckingham Palace, wrong is wrong. He didn't even want to speak to the parents, which I think is ridiculous. For starters, how does he know whether this boy has done anything similar before (or is likely to do anything like it again) without speaking to the parents, and don't they have a right to know? If DS did something like that and I wasn't told I'd be livid. I'm also annoyed at the implication we're not a nice family. I may be in my pyjamas and looking dishevelled and my living room may be untidy, but it's Sunday, you woke me up at 10am when I couldn't get to sleep until six and it's just a few piles of papers FFS.

I know I should probably see things from his perspective and consider that it may just have been a misunderstanding, but I can't get past the feeling that you don't shoot at people, for any reason, ever. And a 15 year old is old enough to know that.

Last week I groaned "nooo ... kill me now" at my partner when I looked at my to-do list for the day. Does that mean if he actually tries, that's my fault. And if he succeeds, will he get away with it because his parents own more land than mine? Grrrrr.

OP posts:

worraliberty · 03/04/2011 11:26

How did they get to speak to the 15yr old without speaking to his parents?

Sorry they were so unhelpful by the way. I bit my tongue last night but I did think that just because they were so sympathetic on the phone, doesn't mean they'll do anything about it

BellsaRinging · 03/04/2011 11:38

Well, I would be making a complaint to the senior officer at the station. The other boy's family background is irrelevant to this matter, and it should be taken seriously. IMO he should be arrested and interviewed under caution. Something doesn't sound right here. I would expect that for this type of allegation statements be taken from witnesses (your DS' should have been a video interview because of his age and the nature of the allegation) and the case be passed on to the CPS for a charging decision. It is potentially a very serious charge. I work as a criminal lawyer, and whilst obviously neither I nor you have seen any of the evidence gathered (though you've presumably seen DS' statement) I am very surprised at the attitude of the police officer. I would definately be taking it further.

SarahStrattonHasNiceBears · 03/04/2011 11:42

You don't have to accept that response. Call them back and make a big noisy fuss. Local papers etc, that sort of thing. Emphasise that it was a gun crime. I wouldn't be happy with that either and it is sending totally the wrong message to both sides involved.

Original poster

ElenStone · 03/04/2011 11:46

The 15 year old was still at the house where it happened, so they spoke to him there.

I've just spoken to the friend DS was with at the time, DS invited her around to go through my jewellery stock for an extra present for her mum (they're not very well off) and I brought it up nonchalantly, without steering her in any direction or giving her any cues and she told me the kid just started shooting at DS.

I'm going to call and speak to the senior officer as soon as my phone recharges. They didn't even take a statement, just confirmed what I'd said on the phone with DS and they didn't even talk to the friend he was with at the time, just the friends of the boy who did it (who are obviously biased) and the parents whose house it was, who are obviously not going to admit they let something like that happen to a young kid who was "in their care".

The police officer didn't seem that interested at all. He point blank tried to stare me down when I argued it was inappropriate not to inform the parents and pointed out that the ability to subject another child to that kind of psychological torture is indicative of deeper problems. He clearly knew it wasn't a game for DS.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2 3 4

Swipe left for the next trending thread