He knew what he could get into when he brought that gun
I am by no means excusing his actions, but teenagers aren't known for their ability to think ahead. Besides, if what I'm reading about him is true, he was explicitly on the side of the rioters.
There are two possibilities here for things that were going through his head as far as I can see. One is that he never in a million years thought that there was a possibility he'd have to shoot people on his own side, neglecting to take into account his own skin color. Two is that he thought that in the event that the rioters came to burn down the property he was protecting, the mere sight of someone with a gun would scare the rioters away.
I think it was more like he was on his own side and thought everyone would be on the same page as him. You're right about them not thinking far ahead, but I can only sympathize to a point. This was months into riots across the country that have escalated and had people shooting on both sides under different circumstances for all of them. If he was going to scare people, he would not take a loaded gun. He is reported to have been shooting for years now, so he knew it was something that could happen.
In this case, being an outside participant really should have snapped him back into reality. He had to pick a side from a side he couldn't even confirm was there. He chose a pro-riot group and essentially had no recourse once he was in. This is something he should have figured out before his drive over the state line.
I am by no means excusing his actions, but teenagers aren't known for their ability to think ahead. Besides, if what I'm reading about him is true, he was explicitly on the side of the rioters.
There are two possibilities here for things that were going through his head as far as I can see. One is that he never in a million years thought that there was a possibility he'd have to shoot people on his own side, neglecting to take into account his own skin color. Two is that he thought that in the event that the rioters came to burn down the property he was protecting, the mere sight of someone with a gun would scare the rioters away.
I think it was more like he was on his own side and thought everyone would be on the same page as him. You're right about them not thinking far ahead, but I can only sympathize to a point. This was months into riots across the country that have escalated and had people shooting on both sides under different circumstances for all of them. If he was going to scare people, he would not take a loaded gun. He is reported to have been shooting for years now, so he knew it was something that could happen.
In this case, being an outside participant really should have snapped him back into reality. He had to pick a side from a side he couldn't even confirm was there. He chose a pro-riot group and essentially had no recourse once he was in. This is something he should have figured out before his drive over the state line.