Florida - Taking the law into his own hands...lands an elderly Fort Lauderdale man behind bars...and a child in the hospital. Police Detective Travis Mandell says several kids were seen banging on 79 year old, James McIvery's apartment and then running off. He reportedly told cops he came out with a gun in hand and fired two shots into the ground as way to scare off the pranksters. One of the bullets hit a 12 year old. The boy was shot in the stomach- post surgery he is said to be in stable condition. McIvery is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.
Glad the kid is in stable condition, but I'm not sure what this Old Man McIvery is being charged for? I mean the rules of Ding, Dong, Ditch are fairly clear, if you're willing to participate in the timeless battle between youths and the elderly, then you're accepting the risks that come along with that life...it's kind of like the mob in that regard. This kid isn't some innocent civilian caught in a crossfire, kid just didn't come out on top on this particular day, head just wasn't in the game. As far as I'm concerned, score one for the elderly and move on to fight another day. Make no mistake about it, if the aggravation of repeated ding, dong, ditch had given Old Man McIvery a heart attack we wouldn't be charging this pack of unruly youths with aggravated assault, we'd just chalk it up to boys being boys. Well it's about time we start chalking up old cranky men shooting wild'n youths as old men being old men. It's time for the double standard to stop, and it needs to start with Old Man McIvery.
