Ex-cons with guns in South Carolina? No problem for the NRA and most of the Republican Party.
SUMTER, S.C. — An ex-convict who thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door, police said Saturday.
Quentin Patrick, 22, is accused of killing 12-year-old T.J. Darrisaw on Friday night. T.J.’s 9-year-old brother, Ahmadre Darrisaw, and their father, Freddie Grinnell, were injured but were released after being treated at a hospital.
The family attended a Halloween celebration in downtown Sumter, 45 miles east of Columbia, then stopped at Patrick’s house because the porch light was on, police said. Another sibling was with them but wasn’t hurt.
Police said at least two of the boys were wearing ghoulish masks when they knocked on the door. The boys’ mother and a toddler stayed in the car nearby.
Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock, Police Chief Patty Patterson said.
He told police he had been robbed and shot in the past year.
“He wasn’t going to be robbed again, and he wasn’t going to be shot again,” Patterson said Saturday at a news conference.
She said T.J., a bright young man, suffered multiple wounds, including a fatal shot to his head. No one answered the door at the family’s home Saturday.
“This is by far one of the worst tragedies that I have had to personally experience,” Patterson said. “It happened basically because kids were out doing what they would normally do on Halloween.”
Patrick has been charged with murder, three counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, and one count of assault with intent to kill.
Police said they also charged a 19-year-old in his home, Ericka Patrice Pee, with obstruction of justice when she was caught trying to run away after the shooting with $7,500 in cash. Patterson did not give an explanation for the money.
This is John McCain’s and Sarah Palin’s America. This is the “freedom” they insist on.
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