CO teen dies after being shot by close family friend

[308Mike]

AFTER BREAKING IN TO SURPRISE HIM (don't pull stupid stunts when trying to surprise people who may be armed) - my deepest condolences to EVERYONE involved:

Colorado teen dies after being shot by close family friend in 'prank that went bad'
Published September 08, 2013 | FoxNews.com


Sept 8. 2013: Praveen Lal speaks about his daughter's death inside their former home. (kdvr)

An 18-year-old high school graduate was shot and killed in Colorado by a close family friend in a “prank that went bad,” according to the victim’s father.

Premila Lal, of Longmont, was supposed to attend Niwot High School’s homecoming football game with her 12-year-old cousin on Friday, but instead decided to return to her family’s home and sneak inside, her father, Praveen, told the Longmont Times-Call.

Her parents, who are in the process of moving to the family to another home in the area to be closer to ailing family members, were not inside the Cambridge Drive residence when Premila and her cousin entered.

Praveen Lal said he left his 15-year-old son and family friend Narrek Galley, 21, to watch the house. He said Premila and the cousin hid in a closet and started making noises to scare the two, and Galley gave a gun to the teen as they proceeded to search the house, the Longmont Times-Call reports.

When Galley found out the source of the sounds, he fired his gun, striking Premila, the Longmont Times-Call reports. Police believe Galley shot Premila because he thought she was an intruder.

“I heard a girl screaming from inside the house. So, I looked out and I saw them coming out. There were three guys and a girl. And they were all running out of the house, screaming, ‘Hurry, hurry. We`ve got to go,’” neighbor Elaine Haddox told KDVR.

Praveen Lal said Galley and his son brought Premila to Longmont United Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

"He carried her. Right to the [emergency room] table," Lal said. "After that, the cops separated everybody and I didn't see him."

Galley was arrested by Longmont Police and charged with suspicion of providing a firearm to a juvenile, child abuse and reckless endangerment. He is scheduled to appear in Boulder County court Monday, and police are investigating whether or not to charge him with killing Premila Lal.

“The 21-year-old let a juvenile male have possession of a handgun without the parent’s permission. That is a felony crime in our state,” Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur told KDVR.

Praveen Lal said Galley and Premila were close friends, the Longmont Times-Call reports.

"I just want to go and tell him we can feel his pain," Praveen Lal said.

The Niwot cross-country team ran a meet Saturday morning in Premila’s honor, writing the initials “PL” on their legs, KDVR reports.

“She graduated with 3.87 GPA with changing three schools. So she was a go-getter. We’re going to miss her,” Praveen Lal told the station.

Click for more from the Longmont Times-Call.

Click for more from KDVR.

[Aesop]

She graduated with 3.87 GPA with changing three schools.

Another tragic proof of epic grade inflation.

And it sounds like stupid runs in the family. Curious how despite the father leaving the gun, and the 15 year old son pulling the trigger, they chose to arrest only the non-family member lunkhead. My state's legislature is clearly getting a run for its money on winning the Stupidest Gun Laws competition, and CO is vaulting into contention for the title.

[rightisright]

She graduated with 3.87 GPA with changing three schools.

Another tragic proof of epic grade inflation.

And it sounds like stupid runs in the family. Curious how despite the father leaving the gun, and the 15 year old son pulling the trigger, they chose to arrest only the non-family member lunkhead. My state's legislature is clearly getting a run for its money on winning the Stupidest Gun Laws competition, and CO is vaulting into contention for the title.

The 21 year old fired the gun.

There is a lot of stupid going on in that story.

[Jericho941]

Another tragic proof of epic grade inflation.

Yes. If only American schools taught "don't prank your friends" like they did back in 1788, when America was perfect.

Shoot everyone involved. That'll learn 'em.

EDIT: But seriously, they need to rake this stupid fucker over the coals. He didn't even try to identify his target, he just fired through the door like he thought he was Major Payne. The blame lies entirely with him, and I don't care if he feels really bad about it. As far as I'm concerned, the only way to make up for this level of stupidity is suicide.

[skb12172]

Yet, there was a Castle Doctrine case in my hometown, where a drunk had the wrong house, was pounding on the door (NOT trying to get in), the homeowner shoots THROUGH THE DOOR and kills him. No charges. FYI, since it seems to matter these days, the drunk was white, the homeowner was black.

[Aglifter]

The fate of the girl is sad, but foreseeable, and understandable.

If someone decided to do that to me, in my house... Once I verify that I know where the dog is/it can't be the dog/decide to shoot too high to hit the dog...

There's no reason to open a door, someone's trying to force his way through, in the event it "might" be an idiot.

With that said, I'm fairly certain none of my friends would expect my reaction to be anything else.

[Jericho941]

So, you have closets with a door to the exterior of the building? Besides, who said anything about opening the door? Hell, block it from opening and then yell at whoever's inside. If it's someone you don't want to shoot, then you can yell at them that you almost shot them, and leave them stuck in there for awhile to think about what they've done. If it's someone you don't know, back off a bit, keep your weapon trained on the door, and call the cops.

I'd want a few more details about the dude shooting the drunk, like whether he told the guy to GTFO first or not, and whether he could see through the door via window or peephole, so he at least could tell if he was going to shoot his neighbor watching TV across the street. If he couldn't, then he needs to die in a fire.

[Aglifter]

Predators have been known to hide in houses, and wait for people to come home.

(I think Manson was hiding in a bathroom cabinet? I remember it was considered too small to hold a person, which is why it took the police so long to find him when he was captured.)

[skb12172]

As for the guy in my hometown who shot the drunk who had the wrong house...

Original Story

Follow Up

I really don't think this was a good shoot. I'm going to wait until somebody has made significant progress at breaking through the door, instead of just pounding on it, before I start letting bullets fly. That's just me. At the very least, I'm going to look through the peephole or out a window.

[Darrell]

As for the guy in my hometown who shot the drunk who had the wrong house...

Original Story

Follow Up

I really don't think this was a good shoot. I'm going to wait until somebody has made significant progress at breaking through the door, instead of just pounding on it, before I start letting bullets fly. That's just me. At the very least, I'm going to look through the peephole or out a window.

A similar event happened here a few years ago. Young guy was blitzed drunk, staggered home (in a new neighborhood), picked the wrong house, couldn't get in so he tried to break in, terrified home owners shot him dead.