Conflicting reports in North Tacoma shooting
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TACOMA, Wash. -- A Tacoma man told police he was just being a good neighbor when he fired a warning shot into the air early Thursday morning, but the girls he was trying to warn tell a very different version of the story.
David Price was in court on Friday, accused of firing his gun in what he called an attempt to protect his North Tacoma neighborhood. Price told police he saw two boys hanging out at the corner in front of his house at 2 a.m.
Whether he knew it our not, the 17-year-olds were waiting for two girls who lived just 50 yards away.
"We were on Facebook and they asked us to hang out with them and come outside," said one of the girls, Mariah Purnell.
The girls say they had no intention of leaving with the teens, but the guys showed up anyway and that's how they ended up face to face with Price. Police say the boys tried to explain who they were waiting for, but shots soon rang out.
That's when the two versions of the story diverge.
After firing a shot into the air, police say Price got into an argument with the boys. The teens say it was then that Price fired directly at them. At least that's the story they told the two girls.
"He said they ran and hid in the bushes and called the cops. I guess when they heard sirens. He said the guy ran behind a car and shot at them again," said the second girl, Mariah Aspuria.
When police arrived on scene, they arrested Price. They briefly detained the boys before taking them home.
David Price was in court on Friday, accused of firing his gun in what he called an attempt to protect his North Tacoma neighborhood. Price told police he saw two boys hanging out at the corner in front of his house at 2 a.m.
Whether he knew it our not, the 17-year-olds were waiting for two girls who lived just 50 yards away.
"We were on Facebook and they asked us to hang out with them and come outside," said one of the girls, Mariah Purnell.
The girls say they had no intention of leaving with the teens, but the guys showed up anyway and that's how they ended up face to face with Price. Police say the boys tried to explain who they were waiting for, but shots soon rang out.
That's when the two versions of the story diverge.
After firing a shot into the air, police say Price got into an argument with the boys. The teens say it was then that Price fired directly at them. At least that's the story they told the two girls.
"He said they ran and hid in the bushes and called the cops. I guess when they heard sirens. He said the guy ran behind a car and shot at them again," said the second girl, Mariah Aspuria.
When police arrived on scene, they arrested Price. They briefly detained the boys before taking them home.
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Doesn't Komo news have a responsibility to ask parents for permission to interview underage teens?Â
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Idiot
it's true we don't know the whole story, but shooting into the air, is a bad choice.Â
First, there has to be some threat that justifies you defending yourself.  If you take the gun out, to counter that threat, either the threat will go away (they see the gun and attempt to leave, or you wil have to shoot the threat as they keep on attacking). The warning shot is a poor choice. remember, he has no idea where that bullet will come down.
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Just suppose one of those punks had a gun, you shoot into the air, he shoots you. You die, and the punk's story is all that gets recorded.
I agree it was a very poor choice.
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I personally know Dave and I will withold judgement as I wish you would till all the facts are out. Dave has more integrity and honesty than most anyone I know. If he was wrong he'll be the first to take responsibility for it.
 @Don T and of course news articles are not going to tell us any details on what type of kids these were...what they said to him, how they were dressed, what they were doing, besides innocently and quietly standing their like angels. in fear of offending a group, news outlets give minimum information. regardless, anything involving a gun is considered hot. so your friend needs a really good attorney.
 @Saving Grace How does how they were dressed implicate them??
 @Don T Fair enough. We will wait and see. Just glad that nobody was hurt.
@Audio Cat Yes! Thank God for that!
My car was broken into several times in my own driveway. So you bet I was going to contact that unfamiliar suspicious subject sitting on the corner in front of my home. I was also carrying a concealed weapon. However, when this fool started acting like a complete idiot, I simply pulled out my cellphone, turned my speakerphone on and called 911. As soon as dispatch answered, my suspicous subject started his hike out of my neighborhood.
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I feel that I had demonstrated what 99% of responsible gun owner and concealed carry weapons individuals would have done.
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 I'm sorry David Price but you are an idiot and deserve whatever punishment that is coming to you.
If this is as simple as it sounds, that homeowner is a maniac. Unless you are in imminent danger, you shouldn't even show your gun. Even if those boys were being blatantly disrespectful punks (which we don't know), you can't use the gun. He should lose his rights to carry immediately if he wasn't in danger. Warning shots? Please.
I'm guessing we haven't even heard half the story yet. I'm withholding judgement.
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However, any firearm discharged in a non-defense situation, or without the context of an attempted felony, is not necessarily a legal deployment. Â I guess we'll see.
if anyone today believe what kids tell them you are out of your mind,specially these kids,being out at 2am,i am sure their parents knew they were out right?no you say,they were being teens and being dishonest,so yea we will believe everything they tell us,umm NOT
@Denise whether or not the kids are being truthful, whether they should or shouldn't have been out at 2 am, really doesn't matter. Mr Price had absolutely no business shooting at them, in the air or anywhere else. That's why he was arrested and I hope they take his guns away before he kills someone. He should have called the police if he was worried, and he would have been totally in the right. You do not get to take the law into your own hands just because you own a gun.
 I'm sure there is more to the story than this, he shouldn't have fired his gun, but there must be some kind of history here.
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 Kids today like to adopt a threatening attitude and it's hard to sort out what their intentions are. I'm sure they didn't just politely tell him that they were waiting on the corner for the young ladies two doors down. Would you have when you were a kid? It doesn't wash.
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BTW Why weren't they down there standing in front of that house? Maybe their dad was a bigger threat to them.Â
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How about a count of rounds left in the weapon and or casings on the scene?
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The story doesn't have much info.
This guy has either watched too many movies or he's thinking that all the shootings in the news lately would make it ok. This guy needs his gun/s taken away because he's a short fuse with no forethought or prudence.
This guy gives responsible gun owners a bad Rep.
He is lucky someone did not return the friendly shot ;-)
You know what? I do question what they were doing out there at 2 in the morning, but to take justice into your own hands and fire shots when they're not even on your property, that's just flat out barbaric!
Are you kidding me? That man is an idiot and should be charged. You can't just whip out a GUN and start shooting because there are people standing on your street. I don't care if it was a "warning shot", he could have killed somebody. Those boys were doing nothing illegal and must have been scared to death, rightly so. If this guy thought there was trouble (which it sounds like there wasn't, at all) he could have called the police.
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Seriously, in my opinion this guy should be charged with a felony. He's clearly dangerous.
there is no such legal thing as a "warning shot" in Washington state it's considered a illegal disharge of a firearm, so no matter what he was in the wrong, if you have time/ability to fire a "warning shot" then you have no legal right to discharge your weapon.
 @dancingnights999 If its true he shot into the sky then unless someone was flying overhead there was in fact little danger. He was stupid for sure but you could be stretching it here. I also love how you capitalize the word gun. That part was funny.
what goes up always come's down at just a high a velocity, hence why "warning shot's" are illegal, a shot in the air is extrremely dangerous.
 @JFR The velocity going up is way higher than coming down, Mr. Wizard. Once the apex is reached from muzzle velocity, gravity brings it down at 32 ft/sec/sec.
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Lethal force is for lethal threats. There was no threat, the kids were not even on his property.Â
You call 911 when you think there's trouble, not shoot in the air like a 'tard.