A Florida man ran down and pinned an 11-year-old girl he suspected of egging his home in a "reprehensible" confrontation that was caught on video, authorities said Monday.
In Texas, it's legal to shoot someone egging your house, as long as they're doing it at night and you have a reasonable belief that you can't otherwise safely stop them. Egging a house is criminal mischief.
Texas Penal Code - PENAL § 9.42. Deadly Force to Protect Property
Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by FindLaw Staff
A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.41; and
(2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
EDIT: Also, where are all these people in Florida getting affordable eggs to egg with?
AND the land cannot be protected by any other means or is considered a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the person shooting them.
Firmly believe every judge would rule an 11 year old with eggs does not fulfill those requirements and therefore would likely be charged with manslaughter of some sort.
Now... If they set foot inside their house, that might be a different story. Eggs I don't think would be considered breaking into a house/vehicle/property
Can't tell at night. Could be a short MS-13 member with a gun who's egging the house. Even if you see they're an 11 year old girl, she could also be a MS-13 super soldier.
If i saw a grown man pinning a young girl on the ground, im going to kick him in the head as hard as i can first, and ask questions later. I can't think of a single reason that he would be justified in doing that.
A vicious kick in the balls would be a good alternative.
I understand the emotion but the better option is to stop the aggressor with the minimum amount of force required to ensure he is stopped. No need to go full Punisher and open yourelf up to lawsuits.
If you're going to get in a fight with a violent aggressor it's best to end it as quickly as possible to minimize risk to yourself and others. Going for the minimum and misjudging that is going to leave you open to harm and potential death. You don't owe the aggressor anything. Their actions created the situation not you.
With this behavior from that guy, maybe there's a reason his apartment is getting egged!
The safety of our children is non-negotiable
As long as the 2nd amendment stands, nobody has a right to safety in USA. The 2nd amendment simply doesn't allow such a right.
So yes the safety is non negotiable, because you can't negotiate safety when the default is that everybody is allowed to own and carry deadly weapons.
I had a kid who lives a block over egg my house a few years ago on Halloween. A few weeks later I saw him riding his bike and stopped him and just asked him not to do it again because it was a pain to clean properly. He apologized, thanked me for not yelling at him and then laughed when he saw my house that hasn't been power washed in years with just a few clean spots where his eggs hit.
Now he comes over every week and plays soccer with me and my toddler and helps us with yard work in the summer.
A little bit of human decency and talking to a kid like they're a person can go along way. Kids aren't stupid, they just don't know a lot of things.
Personally, I would try to get a clear photo of their face and then I would use social media to hopefully find their parents. They would have to be egging my house a few times a week though tbh, it's a lot more work then just power washing it away.
Serious answer: Be a man. Get over it. They're kids. Not everything in life is fair or legal or just. You can't control everything! Will some older teenagers hide behind the "I'm a minor, you can't touch me!" while taunting and provoking you? Maybe. But, again, you aren't their parent and the law will be on their side in any kind of altercation. Don't worry, they'll be overworked, underpaid, and depressed just like us soon!
grabbing a kids arm and waiting for the police or the parent is not that big a deal. tackling or being on top of them is. someone would have easily grabbed me for doing something like this as a kid or now in my area.