Damon Wells No Longer Feels Safe
It is so sad that after Wells properly defending himself against an armed criminal, that thug's friends are harassing Mr. Wells:
Damon Wells and his home appear no longer safe.
The .40-caliber handgun that Wells carries legally for defense may not be enough to protect the 25-year-old man and his home in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Sunday night, a day after Wells shot and killed a 15-year-old who threatened him with a gun on his porch, Wells' home was under siege. Police sent a car to guard it.
Now the doors on his house are boarded up; the windows, too.
No one appears to be home.
Outside Wells' home Tuesday night, a crowd of about 50 people gathered to mourn Arthur "Ace Boogie" Buford, whom Wells killed during the attempted robbery.
Vigil organizers called for young men to turn away from violence and from turning on each other. They called on those present not to be poisoned by rap music that promotes violence and not to support music companies that produce that music.
Near Wells' home, a utility pole has become a makeshift shrine where sympathizers are leaving stuffed animals, notes and balloons.
Most of those gathering there are teenagers, and they are angry, shocked and sad. They say that no matter what police and court officials say, Buford never did anything wrong.
Yeah,� he *bang!* did *bang!* nothing *bang!* wrong.� *bang*� He will *bang!* always *bang!* be… hold on, I need to reload.� …remembered.� *bang! bang!*.�
Its really sad that people could defend this criminal who went on Wells' property and pulled a gun. The 15 year old decided to die when he decided to commit armed robbery. And now the hunt is on for Buford's accomplice, who would rightfully be charged with murder or manslaughter since someone was killed because he was committing a felony.
I don't know Wells, but I pray that he and is family are kept safe. I can only imagine that he is thinking about moving.
If anyone knows this guy, I'd be happy to help him move. (And I'll be sure to bring my.45.)
Matt, he clearly did do something wrong. Illegal, in fact. Wells was within his rights and apparently (I have to trust the police since I did not witness the event) justified to discharge his weapon. But your post is patently unfair - Buford did not discharge his weapon. And Buford's grieving friends are kids. There is a reason kids don't have the same legal rights as adults - they don't understand consequences. I had a friend die as a result of his own actions when I was 15 or 16, and it was devastating. I didn't understand why. And I doubt these kids understand it either. Add in the fact that they are from a social underclass that often feels (and is) victimized by the system, and it's easy to see why they might have these kinds of feelings. I know it's hard, Matt, but don't be a dick.
I'd also like to point out that there are no reports that the vigil itself was threatening to Wells, or blaming Wells, or anything of the sort. It was clear that it was designed to try and take as much positive from this as possible - maybe some of these kids will start to understand that violence begets violence.
I feel bad for Wells, I truly do. Thru no fault of his own he feels unsafe in his own community, and that's not fair. I hope - the article is unclear on this point - that he's not being threatened with violence by grieving kids, 'cause that's not right, and that's not getting the message the vigil was trying to deliver. (What does "his home was under siege" mean? Were people breaking windows? Had a crowd gathered on his lawn? Or was there just a lot of activity at the utility pole that made him nervous?� Not that I'd blame him - he just had somebody pull a gun on him on his own porch. Crappy reporting.)
As usual…everybody is a victim. Sounds like a lot of social liberals to me. If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times.