[Uncle Cliffy]

A 65-year-old man who was knocked off his bicycle by three teenagers on a Pennsylvania trail shot two of them, killing one, police said according to reports.
The Reading Eagle newspaper said the wounded teen, 16, was taken to hospital and the third, aged 15, was taken in for questioning and was later committed to a youth center.
The paper said the mother of the slain boy, 16, asked officials not to release his name until she had been able to tell other members of the family what happened.
The incident happened on the Thun Trail near a bridge over the Schuylkill River, between Reading and West Reading just after noon Wednesday.
Story: Okla. mom won't face charges for shooting intruder
"There was one juvenile who was shot and is deceased [and] another juvenile who was shot and is in surgery," Police Chief Jed Habecker said, according to a report by the WFMZ-TV station.
According to police, the 65-year-old was riding his bicycle when the teens knocked him to the ground, the station said.
Police said two teens then assaulted the man, who drew his gun and shot them.
The man was released by police after they consulted with District Attorney John Adams late Wednesday, WFMZ reported.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46143485/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/cops-man-kills-teen-who-knocks-him-bicycle/?fb_ref=.TyGPbkaPqdY.like&fb_source=home_oneline#.TyGQhuNWpet

 

[JetTeach]

LOL....I was just posting this!! I love it!

 

[IH8Rice]

happened a few miles from my house. the DA and police chief are having a press conference at 3 to discuss any possible charges, if any, are brought against this man. if there are charges, Reading is lost. period.

 

[ICEBALL585]

Good for the guy for fighting back but why the hell was he carrying a gun on a bike ride? How many people actually do that? Amost sounds to me like he was expecting trouble if he was carrying a gun on a bike ride.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

Depends on your environment.

There's a guy who rides/builds trail here and he carries a Beretta 92FS in a belt holster at all times. He's been coined "gun guy." He says he keeps it handy for the cougars he's seen. Everyone has a good reaction the first time they roll up on him riding...

 

[IH8Rice]

Good for the guy for fighting back but why the hell was he carrying a gun on a bike ride? How many people actually do that? Amost sounds to me like he was expecting trouble if he was carrying a gun on a bike ride.

he was on the boarder of West Reading and Reading....the poorest city in the country. im sure he was expecting trouble. there has been a string of recent murders and attempted murders so i dont blame the guy at all for carrying. after hearing the recent sh!t going on around here, i might carry now when i ride. i already carry my firearm everyday as it is.

 

[stevew]

Reading is lost. period.

reading is that bad.....it was always backwards bumfvck pennsylvania to me.

i think levittown is more of a gaping asshole.

 

[ICEBALL585]

he was on the boarder of West Reading and Reading....the poorest city in the country. im sure he was expecting trouble. there has been a string of recent murders and attempted murders so i dont blame the guy at all for carrying. after hearing the recent sh!t going on around here, i might carry now when i ride. i already carry my firearm everyday as it is.

Alright that makes a more sense that he was carrying a gun if it's a rough neighborhood. Although if that area sucks so bad then why go for a bike ride there. Throw your bike in the car and go to some place a little nicer.

 

[local717]

He was in Reading. A 65 year old man carrying a gun is self defense, as long as he has the right permits etc...

 

[local717]

Alright that makes a more sense that he was carrying a gun if it's a rough neighborhood. Although if that area sucks so bad then why go for a bike ride there. Throw your bike in the car and go to some place a little nicer.

Prob just trying to get from point A to point B...

 

[IH8Rice]

reading is that bad.....it was always backwards bumfvck pennsylvania to me.

before i moved here, i thought it was a nice city..until i learned about a cop getting killed the week i moved here.
two other ghetto kids were murdered just two days before this guy killed of his attacking scum

Alright that makes a more sense that he was carrying a gun if it's a rough neighborhood. Although if that area sucks so bad then why go for a bike ride there. Throw your bike in the car and go to some place a little nicer.

because the Thun trail briefly passes through a bad(ish) area then opens up to a nice area. its funny, all the surrounding towns around Reading are really nice...like where i live. it sucks that the poorest city in the country with a high crime rate is 4 miles away from me

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

i wish my laws were like that.

you kill an assailant out of a group of 3, and they lock you up with the remaining 2. (no ****, this has actually happened a few week ago. fortunately the "judge" was fired)

 

[JetTeach]

And sounds to me like old dude had a reason to be packin' anyway.

 

[JohnE]

Well, what was he riding?


I kid...I kid. A bike is not reason to take a life. Protecting your life or that of your loved ones, as he was doing apparently, is.

 

[jonKranked]

Good for the guy for fighting back but why the hell was he carrying a gun on a bike ride? How many people actually do that? Amost sounds to me like he was expecting trouble if he was carrying a gun on a bike ride.

imagine going riding down on ave c

 

[ICEBALL585]

imagine going riding down on ave c

Ha ha ha... no! Skinny white boy like me in that neighborhood, I might last 1 minute before getting jumped

 

[jdcamb]

Ha ha ha... no! Skinny white boy like me in that neighborhood, I might last 1 minute before getting jumped

You might do allright. Jumping skinny whiteboys is bad for bidness. It's the cops that will jack you up down there. Just don't pretend you got rights and everything will be OK. They will be searching your car. They will be keeping your stash and all your cash.

 

[IH8Rice]

thankfully no charges are being brought against the man! i do feel sorry for the man since he had to take someone's life, even if that person was a scumbag

The man acted in self-defense, making his actions justifiable under Pennsylvania’s Castle Doctrine, District Attorney John T. Adams and Cumru Police Chief Jed Habecker said during a press conference. Officials said the shooting was justified because the man was unable to escape, believed his life was in danger and was legally permitted to carry his handgun.

 

[4130biker]

Good to hear that there are no charges- I'll have to research this "Reading"... I'm suprised that the poorest city is in Pennsylvania- I've always viewed the state as a nice place. My only experience was woodward 14 years ago, so maybe I'm a bit biased

 

[IH8Rice]

I'll have to research this "Reading"... I'm suprised that the poorest city is in Pennsylvania-

yeah, it sucks

edit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/us/reading-pa-tops-list-poverty-list-census-shows.html?pagewanted=all

 

[-BB-]

When I was in Highshchool I was a special olympics ski instructor. We would go to Blue Marsh in Reading every other weekend. I was just glad that the bus went directly to the lift/parking lot and we never had to venture into the city. Granted it was winter on the east coast, but it seemed like Reading had a bad case of Perma-Grey. Middle of the rust-belt, miles from anywhere, nothing going on... wonder how anyone made a living. It isn't like it was Scranton and everyone could get a job at Dunder Mifflen.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Heh. I met a fellow, another old fart, at a friend's house this weekend. He immediately recognized me because a couple of years back he was hiking up Snake Mountain when I was riding down. I had stopped to chat at the time, and what he retained was the fact that I happened to be carrying...

 

[syadasti]

Me and a couple of friends knocked out JBP a couple of times once but at that time he was not carrying - we had to help him carry himself down the mountain.

 

[jdcamb]

Heh. I met a fellow, another old fart, at a friend's house this weekend. He immediately recognized me because a couple of years back he was hiking up Snake Mountain when I was riding down. I had stopped to chat at the time, and what he retained was the fact that I happened to be carrying...

Why did your pull your gun out on him?

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I carry a gun when I road ride/commute. Lessons learned in Seattle and Virginia Beach tell me its better to have it and not need it rather than the other way around.

 

[jdcamb]

I no longer carry a gun. I am suspect of my temper. Take my bike, car, wallet, I'm way more resourceful then you. I will figure out a way to get a new bike and more money. Nice try...

 

[cecil]

imagine going riding down on ave c

My buddy and I do night rides in the Clifford/ remington / ave d area just to make the ride more interesting

 

[sanjuro]

Good for the guy for fighting back but why the hell was he carrying a gun on a bike ride? How many people actually do that? Amost sounds to me like he was expecting trouble if he was carrying a gun on a bike ride.

Because there are younger punks who will knock you off your bike and assault you.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Why did your pull your gun out on him?

Din't. Had it on my hip.

 

[cecil]

Ha ha ha... no! Skinny white boy like me in that neighborhood, I might last 1 minute before getting jumped

The brothers won't bother you

 

[sanjuro]

I wonder how many monkeys are projecting their hoodlum-free mountain bike rides as lack of need for protection on bike rides.

When I am in the Sierras, I'm more worried about black bears and mountain lions than people. On my almost daily ride right by the worst projects in SF, people are the problem.

I googled the Thun Trail, and without even switching street view, I can tell it is in a heavily populated area, which I now assume is the inner-city.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Thun+Trail,+reading,+pa&ll=40.339544,-75.942135&spn=0.048347,0.074329&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Schuylkill+River+Trail+-+Thun+Trail,+Reading,+Berks,+Pennsylvania&t=m&z=14

 

[cecil]

I wonder how many monkeys are projecting their hoodlum-free mountain bike rides as lack of need for protection on bike rides.

When I am in the Sierras, I'm more worried about black bears and mountain lions than people. On my almost daily ride right by the worst projects in SF, people are the problem.]

my sister volunteer at glide I was visiting her I went for a walk wow it got pretty bad around there

 

[jdcamb]

My buddy and I do night rides in the Clifford/ remington / ave d area just to make the ride more interesting

Not really seeing the fun in that? Maplewood Park across the river is way more fun. Lately they have been keeping the fence on the bridge open. The view from the scaffolds below the Driving Park bridge is spectacular by the way.

 

[cecil]

Not really seeing the fun in that? Maplewood Park across the river is way more fun. Lately they have been keeping the fence on the bridge open. The view from the scaffolds below the Driving Park bridge is spectacular by the way.

When its muddy like now We usually park at the pellican nest ride up along the river lake ave vets bridge and end up at st Paul and driving park cross the bridge cruise around the hood work our way to culver up to Durand then along the lake to stutson st bridge over river and back to pellican

 

[jdcamb]

I have been walking the dog in Durand. I see the bike tracks. I can't find my way around. I prefer Bay Park West...

 

[ICEBALL585]

When its muddy like now We usually park at the pellican nest ride up along the river lake ave vets bridge and end up at st Paul and driving park cross the bridge cruise around the hood work our way to culver up to Durand then along the lake to stutson st bridge over river and back to pellican

You're crusing right near my house. I live near where Lake Shore Blvd meets up with St Paul. My wife and I ride along the lake in Durand Eastman Park fairly often in the sumertime.

 

[IH8Rice]

I googled the Thun Trail, and without even switching street view, I can tell it is in a heavily populated area, which I now assume is the inner-city.

no, that part of the city has relatively few people living there since its mainly offices, a county college, movie theaters and such. the inner city is bit more east, where the DH race is going to be.
where the person got assaulted is on the boarder of West Reading which is actually a nice little suburb of Reading. like i said before, the Thun trail passes through a bad(ish) area before opening up to a become a nice ride.
these kids beat up two other people before and were beating this guy up before he somehow pulled a gun on them.

 

[sanjuro]

no, that part of the city has relatively few people living there since its mainly offices, a county college, movie theaters and such. the inner city is bit more east, where the DH race is going to be.
where the person got assaulted is on the boarder of West Reading which is actually a nice little suburb of Reading. like i said before, the Thun trail passes through a bad(ish) area before opening up to a become a nice ride.
these kids beat up two other people before and were beating this guy up before he somehow pulled a gun on them.

Apparently Reading has a good bus system.

 

[sanjuro]

my sister volunteer at glide I was visiting her I went for a walk wow it got pretty bad around there

My buddy works for Glide. The Tenderloin District is ROUGH. Not because it is any more violent than any other bad neighborhood, but where as cops in most towns would BEAT the thugs down, we have to tolerate it.

 

[disasterarea]

I wonder what if the old man did not/could not shoot this attackers in time and got himself a major beat down? I guess the obvious answer would be three teenage thugs away to find their next victim. Except now, they have a firearm between them to do it with.
And also, will the backlash from this be for thugs to change their mo by initially causing gbh to their victim to avoid possible retaliatory actions? Perhaps by beating them senseless with a bat rather than just pushing someone off their bike?