| Don’t commit the crime if you don’t want to die. |
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A disgraced US Space Force sergeant has been jailed for 54 years after chasing down two unarmed teenagers in a stolen car and shooting them, killing a 14-year-old boy.Orest Schur, 29, broke down in the Aurora, Colorado, courtroom on August 15 as he apologized for murdering Xavier Kirk, who died after being struck in the back and head while fleeing the scene in July 2023.
'I am sorry for the events that occurred that night, for the pain, for the grief and trauma that have followed and for the impact that my case had on so many lives,' a tearful Schur told the court.
The boy's 13-year-old friend was also shot in the back but survived. He was hospitalized and later submitted a statement condemning Schur's actions.
'An adult chose to use deadly force against two unarmed teenagers. That is not justice, that is not safety, that is not accountability,' the teen wrote. 'I survived, but I am not the same. My friend didn't survive at all. And no matter what we did that night, I didn't deserve to be shot, and Xavier didn't deserve to die.'
| Did the sergeant know that the car thieves were much too young to drive, and that they were “unarmed”? If not, those facts cannot be included in the evaluation of his judgement in the moment. But regardless, it most definitely is accountability: they committed a crime, and this is the predictable result. |
| So the two underage teenagers were armed with more than 2300 lb of steel-wrapped, stolen car, which is a very different equation. Was this their first time, or were they already hardened thieves? |
| When seconds matter, the police are long minutes away, and therefore not available to protect criminals from those they would prey upon. Face it — the boys screwed up very badly indeed. |
| Don’t piss off a guy with a gun — this is Colorado, even still. People magazine has a photo of the dead kid, and points out that the signals tech sergeant is an intelligence analyst and served in Afghanistan. It sounds like the boys attempted to steal his wife’s car, fled when he interrupted them, then stole and crashed another car immediately thereafter instead of learning the appropriate lesson from being caught the first time. How many cars did they plan to steal that night? |
As the unarmed teens drove away and ultimately crashed the car, Schur fired 11 shots at them, per the forensic testing results — some of which hit 14-year-old Xavier Kirk in the back and head. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died.
The 13-year-old, whose identity has not been publicly revealed, was shot in the back but was able to get to a relative’s home for help.
| So he lived nearby? Had the boys cased the sergeant’s home before embarking on their night of crime? |