Stop Shooting Innocent People!

Payton Washington, Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis were all innocent victims whose honest mistakes turned into unnecessary and, avoidable tragedies.

Andrew Lester and Kevin Monahan will both be arraigned today on their respective charges of shooting Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis, who made honest mistakes and were of no threat to these idiots. Payton Washington, a competitive cheerleader from Texas, who also was shot after a friend mistakenly got into the wrong car, had her spleen removed. Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. was arrested and charged with her shooting and one of her cheerleading teammates.

Yesterday at Carmel High School, a young Black male accidentally mistook my vehicle for his Uber ride when I pulled up in front of his school to referee a volleyball match. He opened my back door and was about to step inside.

I knew he was no threat so I never pulled my weapon. I simply told him "I'm not your Uber driver, be careful young brotha and don't just go hopping into vehicles." He immediately and politely closed the door while saying he was sorry.

After I parked and walked towards the school, I could see the young man was embarrassed and scared. So I went to him, dressed in my full referee uniform and said: "hey man it's okay, you just made a mistake no big deal." Young man said to me, "I could have been shot." He was referencing the Ralph Yarl shooting in Missouri.

This shook me for a bit because I know he was right. I do a lot of training with my gun not just at the range but through enhanced scenarios. I am not scared of every human walking earth. Identifying legit threats is part of what comes with being a law-abiding gun owner. You don't shoot people through doors when they come to the wrong house. You don't shoot at cars that pull into the wrong driveway because they are lost.

This is also why I think demonizing young people, even when they do wrong is the not the right approach. When they are in the process of committing violent acts then people have every right to use all legal means to defend themselves and their property. Young teens and adults should be called out on bad and illegal behavior, arrested and prosecuted like anyone else.

But realize for the most part, kids are usually intimidated by adults in general. Most will do no harm to you and many are out here doing amazing things. I know because I see it every time I go into a school and interact with them. I see what my younger generation cousins are doing at school and in their early careers and I'm amazed.

You have that percentage of violent knuckleheads who are not trying to do anything good and will commit crimes no matter what programs or guidance you try and give them. We must deal with that clique, but not by indicting all young people. This is where I strongly disagree with the Republican/conservative/Law Enforcement approach, which also has a tint of racism to it. The American public has become so scared of one another, that we’ve stopped giving anyone the benefit of the doubt, which is leading to an overstressed society where mundane situations are turning into life or death scenarios.

I'm thankful that I was the guy with the gun yesterday and not someone with bad judgment. I hope the young man learned a valuable lesson and will be more careful in the future. I love young people, they are the future and they crack me up, even when they make a mistake.

Peace.