Student Kills Intruder with Sword

Where the heck did this kid get a Samurai sword?

Quote :

BALTIMORE - A Johns Hopkins University student armed with a samurai sword killed an intruder in his garage, Baltimore police said Tuesday.

Two laptops and a Sony PlayStation had been stolen by burglars Monday from the home, on University Parkway just blocks from the school, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Early Tuesday, one of the four Hopkins students who live in the home noticed the garage door was open and took a sword with him to investigate, Guglielmi said.

In the garage, the student told police he discovered a man and when the student told the man to get out, the man accosted him, Guglielmi said. The student defended himself with the sword, cutting off the man's hand and causing a severe laceration to his upper body, he said.

Campus security and an off-duty city officer responding to a call for a suspicious person in the area around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday heard screams to call police, Guglielmi said. The man died at the scene, but police are not yet releasing his name, he said.

Michael Hughes, 43, who lives two doors down from the house where the slaying occurred, said he was getting ready for bed at around 1:30 a.m. when he heard screams from the rear of the home.

'I could tell someone was scared'
"There was fear in the voice. I could tell someone was scared," Hughes said.

Three young men were sitting on the front porch of the home around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. A police officer was standing in the doorway, and a single police car was parked nearby.

The men refused to comment when approached by an Associated Press reporter.

Behind the three-story brick rowhouse, a wooden fence was broken. There was a pool of blood in the brick courtyard between the back porch and the garage.

Guglielmi said the man had been arrested on charges such as burglary several times before, and had been released Saturday from a Baltimore County jail.

Police are interviewing the student and his roommates, and are talking to prosecutors about whether to file charges.

Awesome or horrible?

I know I've been making a lot of Arrested Development references lately, but this totally reminds me of the "Sword of Destiny" episode.

Maybe it's all a trick ILLUSION!

"He killed me with a sword. How weird is that?"

King Bee wrote:

Where the heck did this kid get a Samurai sword?

Renaissance faires, private vendors, internet, etc. Really, it's not that hard to track one down.

Also, if he takes weapons classes at his local dojo.

It doesn't sound like this guy intended to inflict lethal damage, and the dead guy was not only stealing from him but also attacking him at the time. I wouldn't call it awesome, but I wouldn't call it horrible, either.

Quote :

Michael Hughes, 43, who lives two doors down from the house where the slaying occurred, said he was getting ready for bed at around 1:30 a.m. when he heard screams from the rear of the home.

'I could tell someone was scared'
"There was fear in the voice. I could tell someone was scared," Hughes said.

Fuck the tone of this article. That kid didn't do a damn thing wrong. That man had broken into his garage and, when told to leave, attacked him. He had every right to hack his shit up with a motherfucking samurai sword.

Yeah, if someone had previously stolen my stuff and come back for more, I'd bring a weapon too. And the guy attacked him, so he was defending himself.

It's not 'awesome' in the sense that I'm in love with killing burglars, but it's not some horrible tragedy either.

unless of course it turns out the burglar was stealing to feed his poor family or something which is still wrong but not something you should be killed for

The article does go on to say that the dead burglar had recently been released on previous burglary charges, so it seems like a case of a repeat offender just picking the wrong guy to rob one day.

Chaltab wrote:

unless of course it turns out the burglar was stealing to feed his poor family or something which is still wrong but not something you should be killed for

And at what point does one ask the burglar, who is actively attacking you, "Excuse me sir, but would you happen to be robbing me blind to support your adorable and impoverished family? Oh, you are? SO sorry for the mistake. Here, take my stereo. Would you like me to make you some sandwiches to take home, too?"

I don't care if this guy was robbing people to pay for his 3-year-old daughter's live saving chemo. He broke into someone's home. When confronted, he tried to assault the homeowner. Fuck him.

I'm not saying the kid did anything wrong even if that were the case.

That reminds me, I misplaced my badass butterfly knife. And yes, I carried it on me.

Baltimore, so he's American. He'll be okay then, they let you kill attackers.

Quote :

In the garage, the student told police he discovered a man and when the
student told the man to get out, the man accosted him, Guglielmi said.
The student defended himself with the sword, cutting off the man's hand
and causing a severe laceration to his upper body, he said.

Life lesson #879: Don't accost the guy with a samurai sword.

Some Condescending Assclown wrote:

Baltimore, so he's American. He'll be okay then, they let you kill attackers.

More importantly, it's Baltimore. They have PLENTY of REAL murders to investigate.

It's awesome. Not just killing the burglar, but killing the burglar with a fucking samurai sword.

...Baltimore is not...that bad.




Okay, it is.

The kid defended his home/roommates/self, there was nothing wrong with that. It's just kind of interesting that he did it with a sword.

The thing is, this guy might actually be in legal trouble.

Yes, you are allowed to kill an intruder in your home. But I believe that only applies if they are actually inside your home at the time (so the garage might not count), and they are armed. And, after some Googling it looks like it isn't legal in Maryland to use deadly force to protect property, although it is legal to use deadly force to protect yourself.

So, I suppose we'll find out what call the police and lawyers make on this one. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Police have released a relevant picture (spoilered for size)

Spoiler:

I'm on the fence about this one. I think what the guy did was right in protecting himself, but it's still something of a tragedy someone died.

It's called a katana you lot of thick skulls.

KelinciHutan wrote:

The thing is, this guy might actually be in legal trouble.

Yes, you are allowed to kill an intruder in your home. But I believe that only applies if they are actually inside your home at the time (so the garage might not count), and they are armed. And, after some Googling it looks like it isn't legal in Maryland to use deadly force to protect property, although it is legal to use deadly force to protect yourself.

So, I suppose we'll find out what call the police and lawyers make on this one. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

That's really bad news.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr Burgler, you weren't going to hurt me? Just take my stuff? Then, I'll call 911 and we'll have a race to see if you can rob me blind before the cops get here." I'm for Castle laws (castle laws = "a man's home is his castle"; a term to indicate that using deadly force to protect yourself, your family, and your property is legal). You don't know if a burglar is "just" going to rob you, or rape you, or kill you, or wear your head for a hat. It's a stranger inside your house--breaking the law. Yet some burglars get to sue the people they were robbing because the people attacked them.

So. So. SO wrong.

There can only be one!

Lapin wrote:

...Baltimore is not...that bad.




Okay, it is.

The kid defended his home/roommates/self, there was nothing wrong with that. It's just kind of interesting that he did it with a sword.

Probably the most effective weapon he had. Certainly, if I thought someone was breaking into my house and was going to investigate with a choice between a large sword and a kitchen knife, I'd take the sword. And if I had a military assualt rifle, I'd take that instead.

I think he should be let off, he warned the guy off and then seems to have attempted to avoid killing him.

Baltimore would have to be pants-on-head retarded to charge this kid for killing the intruder. The intruder could have been armed so the kid was in real danger.

As for getting the sword, heck there are plenty of places online to get one, like TrueSwords.com or KingOfSwords.com. Heck...TrueSwords is where I got my replica of the Master Sword of Legends Past from the Zelda game series.

Antidote, man.

Verandering wrote:

It's called a katana you lot of thick skulls.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Samurai used more than one kind of sword.

Ah, good. That disturbing mental image of Skippy from Family Ties is gone. Now I have a mental image of that Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck cartoon where Daffy is chased out of a treasure filled cave by one of the Forty Thieves. "HASSAN CHOP!"
Oh, wait, he wasn't a samurai. Hmmm...how about that scene from the Star Trek episode "The Naked Time" where Sulu is running around with a sword? They were going to make him a samurai, but Takeii had other ideas.

Penguin wrote:

Antidote, man.

Verandering wrote:

It's called a katana you lot of thick skulls.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Samurai used more than one kind of sword.

Yeah, a wakizashi, which I didn't think was long enough to be labeled a sword.