3 Georgia Teenagers Fatally Shot in Attempted Robbery, Authorities Say
The shooting could represent a “Stand Your Ground” case if charges are filed. One of the teenagers opened fire first, the authorities said.
No one was hit when one of three masked teenagers trying to rob three people outside a home in Conyers, Ga., fired a handgun at the would-be victims around 4 a.m. Monday, the authorities said. But the tables quickly turned, they said, when one of the people in the front yard returned fire — killing all three teenagers.
No charges had been filed as of Tuesday morning, according to Lee A. Thomas, a spokesman for the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, who said the investigation was continuing.
The names of the three teenagers — one age 15, two age 16 — and of the three people at the residence had not been released by the authorities.
The episode could be a case of self-defense that falls under Georgia’s so-called Stand Your Ground law.
The law states that someone may “use whatever force to protect themselves if a felonious assault is about to be made upon him,” and is not obligated to retreat, according to Ronald L. Carlson, the Fuller E. Callaway chairman emeritus of law at the University of Georgia.
In 2006, a year after Florida passed its own Stand Your Ground law, Georgia enacted a law establishing “no duty to retreat if you’re in the right and attacked,” Professor Carlson said.
The Florida law came under scrutiny after the police invoked it in declining to arrest George Zimmerman after he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.
Mr. Zimmerman said he shot Mr. Martin in self-defense after the teenager punched him, slammed his head against the sidewalk and knocked him to the ground. A jury found Mr. Zimmerman not guilty of murder or manslaughter charges in 2013.
In Georgia, a lethal response by a person who is under attack must be reasonable, according to Professor Carlson.
“The person has to reasonably believe an attacker will kill him or inflict bodily harm,” Professor Carlson said, adding that “the burden of proof is put on the person that uses the law.”
Georgia’s Stand Your Ground law nearly mirrors Florida’s.
Both laws state that people are justified in threatening or using deadly force if they feel it is necessary to defend themselves against a force that is likely to cause their death or great bodily harm.
In 2017, Florida changed the law slightly, making it easier for defendants to use it by placing the burden of proof on prosecutors while in immunity hearings. In Georgia, defendants still have to testify and prove their claim to use the law.
About 25 states have a version of the Stand Your Ground law, though the language can vary significantly from state to state. In Pennsylvania, for example, the law stipulates that a person cannot use deadly force outside of his or her home or vehicle. In Idaho, deadly force can be used to defend not only a person’s home but also one’s place of employment.
Last summer, a Florida sheriff refused to arrest a white man who had shot and killed a black man over a parking spot dispute, citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Three weeks later, prosecutors charged the white man, Michael Drejka, with one count of manslaughter with a firearm in the killing of Markeis McGlockton.
Mr. Drejka did not testify at the trial, and last month he was found guilty of manslaughter.
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