Teen's lawyer: the fishermen intentionally shot at the teens, resulting in Summer Moody's death

[petronius]

64. I disagree that they can't be separated - if there isn't a valid justification

for discharging the firearm, then it really doesn't matter what the teens were doing (or even if the shooter know of the teen's existence). The question to me is whether or not AL law allows you to fire 'warning' shots to prevent someone from fleeing or to disrupt a suspected crime - if not, the shooter had no legal basis for shooting and ought to be charged.

Absent a legal justification for shooting in response to the teens' actions, it's no different than shooting blindly into the brush under any other circumstances - and I believe that not knowing they were there is never an exculpation for shooting a bystander.

At the same time, it seems improper to make announcements about the shooter before making a final determination about the teens' case - if the case of the shooter depends on whether or not the teens were committing a crime, then how can she say the shooter is clear without determining whether or not the kids were in fact burglarizing, trespassing, or whatever else?