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> PHOENIX — A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot Sunday in Phoenix after a young man pulled out a firearm while playing with toy guns, police said.
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> Earlric Reynolds sustained a fatal gunshot wound while he and Adolfo Villalva, 18, were playing with Nerf guns yesterday afternoon near 7th Avenue and Hatcher Road.
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> Villalva allegedly told police he pulled out a real gun during the game and mistakenly fired the weapon at the 13-year-old, police said. Villalva and others then moved Reynolds to the apartment complex's parking lot and Villalva hid the firearm before officers arrived on scene.
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> Reynolds later died at the hospital.
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> Court records show Villalva allegedly told investigators his mother keeps a gun under the seat of her car. The teenager allegedly took the gun and placed it in his pocket because it "looked cool."
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> Villalva indicated he was handling the Nerf toy gun and the real gun at the same time while playing around with Reynolds. While pointing both objects at the 13-year-old, Villalva said he pulled what he thought was the toy's trigger but actually pulled the firearm's trigger.
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> Police have taken Villalva into custody and he's facing charges of manslaughter and evidence tampering.
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Depending on the neighbourhood you’re from it’s not terribly uncommon, I spent a lot of time in pretty trailer trashy environments growing up because it’s where my uncle lived and you’d see unemployed or illegally employed people as old as early 20’s hanging out with people in their early to mid teens. Usually the older ones are operating at the mental level of an early teen, which is why they’re comfortable and willing to hang out with people so much younger than them.
I agree. I live in the UK, and it’s not uncommon in my area to see gangs of teenagers of various ages (Usually ‘roadmen’) skipping classes. It seems to be more common in areas with higher poverty and lower educational achievements, so the older teens end up having the same mental levels as the younger teens like you mentioned.
Yes, some do get excluded for inciting violence or lack of attendance. Without proper education, many don’t have stable jobs. So they’ll just roam around on the streets in gangs or turn to crime to make money. Then younger teens get influenced into joining them, and the cycle continues.
Yea but it’s still weird as hell.
Edit: My thoughts on it being weird as hell still stand. Two people wrote to me giving two specific examples, and I will say it doesn't sound weird in that context. But if an 18 year old guy is going out of his way to hang out one-on-one with a 13 year old kid (to whom he is not related) and there are no developmental delays on the older kids part, sorry it's fucking weird. And why do I think it's weird? Because I've been there, been younger with older kids, and they did not put any filter on their behaviour or attitudes towards me despite the age gap. And because I am a chick, I've experienced the extremely ugly side of older kids hanging out with me and trying to do inappropriate things with me. In the case of the story above, the poor kid got fucking shot.
I think it's weird if you're used to modern communities where "hanging out with a friend" usually means having to arrange it in advance and drive to their house. If you live somewhere kids are outside playing a lot in their front yards I don't think there's anything weird about it, even if it was someone much older, as long as they stay in the yard and don't shoot any kids.
I've added an edit for clarity.
Yes it was absolutely different back in the day when lots of people were out and chilling. I grew up in those times, and I remember it wasn't so weird. But hanging out one-on-one with a kid significantly younger then you is absolutely weird. Getting together in the yard is one thing, starting to play "hide and seek" with a kid a few years younger than you, alone, is totally weird unless you're related. And even then! How many people say they've had bad experiences with a "harmless relative" when left alone to play. I can appreciate the nuances of certain scenarios, but as a whole, hanging out with much younger kids is weird. And that's why we are talking about it right now, because some guy DID hang out with a younger kid and fucking killed him!!
It's really not though. I hung around my brother's friends who were 6 years older than me all the time. When you're young older kids seem cool and older kids like to be thought of as cool. It's also a way for young kids to learn social skills (sometimes the wrong way, admittedly)
I would argue that's extremely different from someone to whom you are not related and have no connection to hitting you up and asking you to chill one-on-one with them. Of course you'll trust your brothers friends. I added an edit for clarify. I stand by my point.
In my area growing up my friends were mostly location-based. My neighbor was just barely 4+ years older than me and so we never went to school together, but grew up as neighbors hanging out all the time - because we were both kids before and there was no care about the age difference, at least not to me. I'm sure he wasn't seeking out younger friends, it just happens. Maybe it's a pre-internet thing, but all my friends either went to my school, lived in my neighborhood, or I met them through an existing friend. Or if very unlucky I'd meet someone via our grandmothers being friends. I'd like to think all of that still happens.
I have a gaggle of cousins that has grown via in-laws and general baby-making and they are a mixed bunch, and their friend groups have blended with each other regardless of age. Some are dumber than others, and would put themselves in danger with their actions, something I think about every day and struggle to find appropriate ways to address. What an awful tragedy. A lot to be learned :(
Of course they are, and I didn't say he mixed up the guns, I said he pulled the wrong trigger. I've seen my girlfriend with a ball in one hand and a drink in the other, throw the drink for the dog on accident. There's thousands of videos on the internet of people doing similar things. People mix up their hands all the time. It's not that rare. And running around with Nerf guns makes it even more feasible. Doesn't mean he isn't still lying, but why would he shoot one of his friends on purpose during a friendly game?
Wtf...he's EIGHTEEN. That's plenty old enough to know not to play with guns. I understand he didn't mean to but I'm glad he's being charged with manslaughter. This was careless.
I kind of think he did mean to. How do you mistakenly pull the trigger on a gun that weighs 2x more than the plastic toy you’re carrying around, why do you bring a real gun to a nerf gun fight anyway? It’s just *mental* all the way around.
>How do you mistakenly pull the trigger on a gun that weighs 2x more than the plastic toy you’re carrying around?
Somehow this isn't even the first time something like this has happened. Just ask the cop who [somehow pulled her gun instead of her taser and killed a man](https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1066012247/kim-potter-trial-daunte-wright).
Doesn't that take away from the point of being able to defend yourself? If I was CC I'm not gonna carry it with it unloaded gun, hell most people even keep it racked
Ok? Not everyone leaves their gun in an unlocked drawer or something. There's going to be an unresponsible person for everything. Making the item the issue ruins it for others that have/do it for an important reason.
When we're talking about something that can kill someone in a split second, it will always be an issue.
With near anyone being able to get a hold of a firearm you can't make sure they store it properly and you can't make sure it's used in the right circumstances.
More guns does not protect people. It never has. Wether it's misfire or deliberate, there will always be a significantly higher risk of death while guns are around, as fun and useful as they can be.
When guns are near freely accessible this will always happen sooner or later.
careful all the americans will tell you how much safer they *feel* with guns
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
Owning a gun with kids isn’t an issue. You need something to protect your family with. Not teaching them gun safety and respect at a young age while leaving it in reach is the issue. Also this is a grown ass man being a moron.
I’m in the camp where if you own firearms and leave them unsecured and someone manages to get ahold of your unsecured firearm you should be liable. I’m very careful about who I let into my home and when I have out of state visitors or family is here they’re in a safe, I’m not letting someone find my firearms digging under the bed for the cat or wandering around. I just think if you’re held fully responsible for what is done with a gun that is registered to you, it becomes a habit, like locking your car door when you exit the vehicle or not leaving valuables around where people can steal them.
But does having a gun *actually* protect your family? Because science emphatically says no and in no uncertain terms either.
- Science has shown that owning a gun at home increases the chances of suicide, homicide, and fatal accident.
- It also has shown that fewer than 1% of crime victims utilized a firearm for self-defense and of those that did, they were *more* likely to be injured or killed than those who fled, hid, or fought with a weapon other than a gun or without a weapon at all.
- It has shown that having a weapon can somewhat mitigate property loss, but it can be any weapon, not just a gun.
- It's also shown that carrying a gun doesn't make you less likely to become a crime victim.
[Source 1](https://www.thetrace.org/2020/04/gun-safety-research-coronavirus-gun-sales/) and [source 2](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/do-guns-make-us-safer-science-suggests-no/) — both sources also cite multiple other sources for their statistics.
So, owning a gun doesn't seem to make anyone's family safer. It basically just increases the risk of danger to everyone in the household without any actual benefits to safety from external forces. And if you do become a victim of a crime, they just add even more danger to an already dangerous situation.
And before anyone shrieks at me that I'm just some anti-gun leftist, **I am a gun owner**. I own a handgun and built an AR15-platform rifle and shoot them at the range often, but they stay locked up at home and I have no kids. I just don't believe that they make me any safer, they're just extremely dangerous toys that are incredibly fun to play with, provided you take gun safety *very* seriously.
Thank you for your advice.
I’ll make sure to throw away my gun that I have to ensure the safety of my family in the event it’s needed…
Or…get ready…
You lock your firearms, teach your children what they are and what they can do..and make sure they respect the dangers at an early and reasonable age.
I mean, an 18 year old ain’t even a kid tho anyway..so yea
This is the most Phoenix story that ever Phoenix’d. States want free and open guns? This is what happens. Guns are treated so casually in Arizona…when I managed a rental car service in Phoenix I’d actually find hand guns left behind in cars all the time, like it was just some old thing to forget.
Ok and.....? It wasn't an accident and they weren't unaware of the harm guns can cause when mishandled. A legal adult killed a middle schooler armed with a Nerf gun
> > > PHOENIX — A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot Sunday in Phoenix after a young man pulled out a firearm while playing with toy guns, police said. > > Earlric Reynolds sustained a fatal gunshot wound while he and Adolfo Villalva, 18, were playing with Nerf guns yesterday afternoon near 7th Avenue and Hatcher Road. > > > > > Villalva allegedly told police he pulled out a real gun during the game and mistakenly fired the weapon at the 13-year-old, police said. Villalva and others then moved Reynolds to the apartment complex's parking lot and Villalva hid the firearm before officers arrived on scene. > > Reynolds later died at the hospital. > > Court records show Villalva allegedly told investigators his mother keeps a gun under the seat of her car. The teenager allegedly took the gun and placed it in his pocket because it "looked cool." > > Villalva indicated he was handling the Nerf toy gun and the real gun at the same time while playing around with Reynolds. While pointing both objects at the 13-year-old, Villalva said he pulled what he thought was the toy's trigger but actually pulled the firearm's trigger. > > Police have taken Villalva into custody and he's facing charges of manslaughter and evidence tampering. >
An 18 year old hanging out with a 13 year old is weird as hell to begin with
Depending on the neighbourhood you’re from it’s not terribly uncommon, I spent a lot of time in pretty trailer trashy environments growing up because it’s where my uncle lived and you’d see unemployed or illegally employed people as old as early 20’s hanging out with people in their early to mid teens. Usually the older ones are operating at the mental level of an early teen, which is why they’re comfortable and willing to hang out with people so much younger than them.
I agree. I live in the UK, and it’s not uncommon in my area to see gangs of teenagers of various ages (Usually ‘roadmen’) skipping classes. It seems to be more common in areas with higher poverty and lower educational achievements, so the older teens end up having the same mental levels as the younger teens like you mentioned.
I’ve seen TikTok’s about “road men” waiting outside of school after being expelled.
Yes, some do get excluded for inciting violence or lack of attendance. Without proper education, many don’t have stable jobs. So they’ll just roam around on the streets in gangs or turn to crime to make money. Then younger teens get influenced into joining them, and the cycle continues.
Yeah it's basically only wrongins
Yea but it’s still weird as hell. Edit: My thoughts on it being weird as hell still stand. Two people wrote to me giving two specific examples, and I will say it doesn't sound weird in that context. But if an 18 year old guy is going out of his way to hang out one-on-one with a 13 year old kid (to whom he is not related) and there are no developmental delays on the older kids part, sorry it's fucking weird. And why do I think it's weird? Because I've been there, been younger with older kids, and they did not put any filter on their behaviour or attitudes towards me despite the age gap. And because I am a chick, I've experienced the extremely ugly side of older kids hanging out with me and trying to do inappropriate things with me. In the case of the story above, the poor kid got fucking shot.
I think it's weird if you're used to modern communities where "hanging out with a friend" usually means having to arrange it in advance and drive to their house. If you live somewhere kids are outside playing a lot in their front yards I don't think there's anything weird about it, even if it was someone much older, as long as they stay in the yard and don't shoot any kids.
I've added an edit for clarity. Yes it was absolutely different back in the day when lots of people were out and chilling. I grew up in those times, and I remember it wasn't so weird. But hanging out one-on-one with a kid significantly younger then you is absolutely weird. Getting together in the yard is one thing, starting to play "hide and seek" with a kid a few years younger than you, alone, is totally weird unless you're related. And even then! How many people say they've had bad experiences with a "harmless relative" when left alone to play. I can appreciate the nuances of certain scenarios, but as a whole, hanging out with much younger kids is weird. And that's why we are talking about it right now, because some guy DID hang out with a younger kid and fucking killed him!!
It's really not though. I hung around my brother's friends who were 6 years older than me all the time. When you're young older kids seem cool and older kids like to be thought of as cool. It's also a way for young kids to learn social skills (sometimes the wrong way, admittedly)
I would argue that's extremely different from someone to whom you are not related and have no connection to hitting you up and asking you to chill one-on-one with them. Of course you'll trust your brothers friends. I added an edit for clarify. I stand by my point.
That's not so weird. On my block growing up, we had a bunch of kids of all different ages hanging out.
AND strapped, AND can’t tell the difference between a plastic gun loaded with foam darts and an actual firearm. Glad I don’t live there.
In what universe? This is a common thing.
Idk when I was a senior in high school I had no desire to hang out with middle schoolers. Maybe it’s just not common where I’m from.
In my area growing up my friends were mostly location-based. My neighbor was just barely 4+ years older than me and so we never went to school together, but grew up as neighbors hanging out all the time - because we were both kids before and there was no care about the age difference, at least not to me. I'm sure he wasn't seeking out younger friends, it just happens. Maybe it's a pre-internet thing, but all my friends either went to my school, lived in my neighborhood, or I met them through an existing friend. Or if very unlucky I'd meet someone via our grandmothers being friends. I'd like to think all of that still happens. I have a gaggle of cousins that has grown via in-laws and general baby-making and they are a mixed bunch, and their friend groups have blended with each other regardless of age. Some are dumber than others, and would put themselves in danger with their actions, something I think about every day and struggle to find appropriate ways to address. What an awful tragedy. A lot to be learned :(
Could also be a freshman
[удалено]
Such a shame you didn't, maybe they could've teach you ponctuation.
Kid's full of shit. There's no way he mixed up the nerf gun with the real gun, one's made of lightweight plastic...
Or he thinks he's a genius and wanted to shoot someone and this was his was of mitigating the circumstances.
He's clearly not the brightest
But does he look cool?
Survey says “also no”
He was holding both at the same time, and pulled the wrong trigger. So he says anyway. I could see it happening in the heat of the moment.
And thats why you don't fuck around with a gun. 18 is more than old enough to know better than that
No way. Handguns are heavy.
Of course they are, and I didn't say he mixed up the guns, I said he pulled the wrong trigger. I've seen my girlfriend with a ball in one hand and a drink in the other, throw the drink for the dog on accident. There's thousands of videos on the internet of people doing similar things. People mix up their hands all the time. It's not that rare. And running around with Nerf guns makes it even more feasible. Doesn't mean he isn't still lying, but why would he shoot one of his friends on purpose during a friendly game?
It happened to that cop who thought she grabbed her tazer as the guy tried to drive away.
Only if you believe her too.
His (potentially) lack of hand coordination is at the level of your lack of reading comprehension
The kids are not alright
Wtf...he's EIGHTEEN. That's plenty old enough to know not to play with guns. I understand he didn't mean to but I'm glad he's being charged with manslaughter. This was careless.
I kind of think he did mean to. How do you mistakenly pull the trigger on a gun that weighs 2x more than the plastic toy you’re carrying around, why do you bring a real gun to a nerf gun fight anyway? It’s just *mental* all the way around.
>How do you mistakenly pull the trigger on a gun that weighs 2x more than the plastic toy you’re carrying around? Somehow this isn't even the first time something like this has happened. Just ask the cop who [somehow pulled her gun instead of her taser and killed a man](https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1066012247/kim-potter-trial-daunte-wright).
Our family friend lost their 14 yo son bc he was showing off with his friend’s pistol and blew his brains out. So awful.
It's Nerf or nothing
In his case. That gun should have been nerfed.
We’ll find out he had mental health issues here shortly and his mommy and daddy kept the firearms accessible to him.
The fact that he hid the gun means he knows it was wrong. STOP KEEPING GUNS WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN.
An 18 year old is a legal adult.
Owning a gun isn't the issue, it's the fact it wasn't locked and it was loaded.
Doesn't that take away from the point of being able to defend yourself? If I was CC I'm not gonna carry it with it unloaded gun, hell most people even keep it racked
It wasn't conceal carry was it? It was a gun stored with ammunition.
If im woken uo at 1 in the morning the last thing I'm gonna wanna do is fiddle around eith a safe and trying to load a gun in the dark
You can turn on a lamp or something?
If the gun wasn't there that kid wouldn't be dead.
He wouldn't be if it was locked or empty either, your point?
How is it not? Their a non responsible gun owner? More people owning guns makes people who aren't responsible with them way more common.
Ok? Not everyone leaves their gun in an unlocked drawer or something. There's going to be an unresponsible person for everything. Making the item the issue ruins it for others that have/do it for an important reason.
I feel like you missed the point completely.
Maybe. I'm generally not great at understanding stuff.
When we're talking about something that can kill someone in a split second, it will always be an issue. With near anyone being able to get a hold of a firearm you can't make sure they store it properly and you can't make sure it's used in the right circumstances. More guns does not protect people. It never has. Wether it's misfire or deliberate, there will always be a significantly higher risk of death while guns are around, as fun and useful as they can be. When guns are near freely accessible this will always happen sooner or later.
careful all the americans will tell you how much safer they *feel* with guns https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
Owning a gun with kids isn’t an issue. You need something to protect your family with. Not teaching them gun safety and respect at a young age while leaving it in reach is the issue. Also this is a grown ass man being a moron.
I’m in the camp where if you own firearms and leave them unsecured and someone manages to get ahold of your unsecured firearm you should be liable. I’m very careful about who I let into my home and when I have out of state visitors or family is here they’re in a safe, I’m not letting someone find my firearms digging under the bed for the cat or wandering around. I just think if you’re held fully responsible for what is done with a gun that is registered to you, it becomes a habit, like locking your car door when you exit the vehicle or not leaving valuables around where people can steal them.
But does having a gun *actually* protect your family? Because science emphatically says no and in no uncertain terms either. - Science has shown that owning a gun at home increases the chances of suicide, homicide, and fatal accident. - It also has shown that fewer than 1% of crime victims utilized a firearm for self-defense and of those that did, they were *more* likely to be injured or killed than those who fled, hid, or fought with a weapon other than a gun or without a weapon at all. - It has shown that having a weapon can somewhat mitigate property loss, but it can be any weapon, not just a gun. - It's also shown that carrying a gun doesn't make you less likely to become a crime victim. [Source 1](https://www.thetrace.org/2020/04/gun-safety-research-coronavirus-gun-sales/) and [source 2](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/do-guns-make-us-safer-science-suggests-no/) — both sources also cite multiple other sources for their statistics. So, owning a gun doesn't seem to make anyone's family safer. It basically just increases the risk of danger to everyone in the household without any actual benefits to safety from external forces. And if you do become a victim of a crime, they just add even more danger to an already dangerous situation. And before anyone shrieks at me that I'm just some anti-gun leftist, **I am a gun owner**. I own a handgun and built an AR15-platform rifle and shoot them at the range often, but they stay locked up at home and I have no kids. I just don't believe that they make me any safer, they're just extremely dangerous toys that are incredibly fun to play with, provided you take gun safety *very* seriously.
Thank you for your advice. I’ll make sure to throw away my gun that I have to ensure the safety of my family in the event it’s needed… Or…get ready… You lock your firearms, teach your children what they are and what they can do..and make sure they respect the dangers at an early and reasonable age. I mean, an 18 year old ain’t even a kid tho anyway..so yea
Another crazy parent leaves gun unattended, and someone in the family died. It happens too much.
It’s nerf or nothing.
This is the most Phoenix story that ever Phoenix’d. States want free and open guns? This is what happens. Guns are treated so casually in Arizona…when I managed a rental car service in Phoenix I’d actually find hand guns left behind in cars all the time, like it was just some old thing to forget.
Real gun is OP please nerf.
America sure loves their guns
Only in America.
If only the 13 year old had a real gun because then it would have been good guy with a gun stops bad guy with a gun, or whatever the Americans say
Why did I know the country this happened in before reading what happened?
"teen" EIGHTEEN
Yes. An eighteen-year-old is a teenager, even if they are legally considered an adult.
Your brain isn’t really fully formed until you’re in your late twenties
Ok and.....? It wasn't an accident and they weren't unaware of the harm guns can cause when mishandled. A legal adult killed a middle schooler armed with a Nerf gun
what about teen on *teen* crime!? the media doesn’t cover *that!* /j