Teen Finds Dad Brutally Attacking Mom, Knows Only Way To Save Her Life Is To Pull the Trigger
There are things we try to protect children and young people from. We try to leave them time to grow up so that they can be as carefree as possible until they’re old enough to start bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders.
We can’t always protect them, though. And sometimes, they’re the ones protecting us.
What would you do, if you were a teenager and witnessed your parents locked in an argument? You may have heard the same hurtful words exchanged before, and you may have seen fists fly.
Would you intervene? Call the cops? Take matters into your own hands?
One unnamed 16-year-old from Fresno, California, now has to live with the knowledge that he shot his own father — but he did it to save his mother.
According to the Fresno Bee, Javier Vera, the 54-year-old father, had been drinking. The man, his wife and their 16-year-old son had just gotten home from a family event.
But when they got home, Vera started choking his 49-year-old wife. That’s when the teen made the decision to stop his father by shooting him.
Officers with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office arrived at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon after a 911 call was placed. The caller — who turned out to be the teen — claimed that a person had been injured.
They found Vera dead upon their arrival, and took his son in for questioning, according to the Visalia Times Delta.
“Detectives interviewed the 16-year-old boy last night and determined his action of shooting his father was done to defend his mother’s life,” said the sheriff’s spokesman, Tony Botti.
Evidence from the home was collected. The boy has since been released, and is back with his mother.
It’s unclear whether the boy meant to wound his father enough to stop his attack or actually intended to kill him, but for now no charges or arrests have been made.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office will continue looking into the case to see if any further action is necessary.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an average of nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
If you or someone you know is in need of help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
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