Article Review Pod 2

Concord Monitor

January 21, 2013

Police: 15 –year-old kills Five inside Home (New Mexico)

By: Susan Montoya Bryan

Article Review

By: Meagan White

The newspaper article that I choose is about a 15 year old boy that shot three of his siblings and his parents January 20 2013. The names of the victim were not released immediately but word of the shooting traveled quickly through the law enforcement community.

 Greg Griego the father of the boy involved in the shooting was very popular in his community. He was known for work of 13 years in his local fire department and he was also volunteer chaplain at the county jail. Fire chief James Breen said “Griego had a calming spirit and gentle nature and will be greatly missed.

 Authorities stated each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound and several guns were found in the home. One of those found was a semi-automatic military style rifle. Detectives also stated that there is a lot of evidence left to process at the scene of the crime. The 5 year old boy remains in custody. 

This story stood out to me because of all the shootings happening recently. The story did not give many details. I don’t know if it’s because the crime just happened yesterday or because the family was well known and respected in their community and they don’t want to put blame on anyone. Also when juveniles are involved in a crime they have their right to confidentiality. I would have liked to known if the boy has a background of mental illness of some kind.  I don’t understand what could make someone commit such a horrible act. 

I hope people see the importance behind this story. Guns need to be kept in a safe place. They need to be locked away. I feel that they should be kept in places kept secret from children. I feel that people think “oh my kids know better they would never touch my guns’ and that’s how these accidents happen. The New Found shootings especially bothered me. The shooters mother brought him to a gun range and taught him how to shoot a gun and then kept guns and ammunition lying around the family home. She knew her son had a mental illness and she still felt it was safe to do this?

I can only hope this article brings more attention to the real problem and that is people with children not being responsible with their guns.

Article Review (Pod1)

Judge: California boy murdered neo-Nazi dad, knew it was wrong

By Greg Botelho, CNN

updated 7:48 PM EST, Mon January 14, 2013

   Meagan White

Article Review Pod 1

       The article I choose starts off by telling us that a California judge ruled Monday that a ten year old boy committed second degree murder and knew what he was doing was wrong. The boy fatally shot his father (Jeffrey Hall) who is a neo-Nazi. The article describes a neo-Nazi as “One of the nation's biggest, most well-known neo-Nazi organizations, the National Socialist Movement idolizes Adolf Hitler and touts virulent rhetoric against those who are Jewish, immigrants and not "pure-blood whites," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights group”- Greg Botelho

  Prosecutors claim the father’s background has nothing to do with his death. Also according to the arrest warrant upon arrival of the seen the house was filthy. There were four other children in the home ages 9, 7, 3 and a 2-month old. Krista McCary the boy’s mother and Jeffery’s wife was also at the scene. Three weeks after halls death” McCary was arrested and charged with five counts of willful child endangerment and four counts of criminal storage of a firearm, according to Riverside Superior Court records. In August 2011, she pleaded guilty to one count of each charge and was sentenced to 120 days in custody (all but two of them in work release) and four years of probation.” Greg Botelho”

  The boy told police that he shot his dad because he was tired of his mom and dad hitting him. The boy also claimed he thought his dad was having an affair. The other children in the home claimed they knew were several guns were located in the house. The revolver that killed Hall was taken by the son right off a shelf in the parent’s closet.

The murder trial before county Judge Jean Leonard -- and not a jury -- got underway October 30, 2012. The trial went for a period of 10 days throughout the period of four months.  As there are no "guilty" or "not guilty" verdicts in Judge Jean Leonard court, Leonard instead found it "true" that the boy had committed murder and understood what he did was wrong.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 15, where placement of the boy will be determined. The boy could remain in custody up until his 23rd birthday,

  After reading this article I had so many mixed feelings. I feel bad for the boy and his other siblings. It sounds like they were all living in a really harmful environment. I don’t understand how parents of 5 young children could leave loading guns laying around the house. Guns and abuse are a bad mix.

  The author of this article did a great job. He included many details. The article only included useful information. Once I started reading the article a question would come to mind and then I would go back to reading and my question was answered in the next paragraph. I normally hate reading article like this. They are very sad and heartbreaking. I think there’s a message in this article. People need to realize that guns needs to be locked away. Even in a healthy household,  children can still be curious.