Incident is described in my Webster's as 1."an occurence or event. 2."a seemingly minor occurrence that can lead to serious consequences." And that all sounds so simple. Something happened and it was of no importance on a normal day, but when a life is lost through something that should not even matter, it is a different story, isn't it?
My son had a friend. They went to school together, rode bikes together, smoked pot together, drank together and then began to work, date and become responsible adults together. There was an "incident" and now the friend is dead. It all began so simply with a cell phone call. The lady on the phone drifted out of her lane, just a little. Seemed innocent enough in itself. But the car in the lane to her left had to swerve to avoid a collision. He saw the car pull into a drive and followed to tell her what had almost happened because she was on her phone instead of paying attention. He was in her driveway when her husband looked out and seen a stranger waving his arms and confronting his wife. He opened the door with a gun in his hand and shot him. No questions. No communication at all, just pulled the trigger. Now, I ask you, who was right? No one. Who was wrong? No one.
The lady who had been on the phone tried to do life sustaining measures to save his life. His girlfriend watched as his life ebbed away. The man who pulled the trigger cried. An incident? Seems like there should be a word that better fit the circumstance. Who knows.
Did anyone learn anything from this incident? I hope so. I hope the woman on the phone can wait to answer the next call until she is parked. I hope the man who shot him will take a breathe the next time he has a loaded gun in his hand. And I hope his girlfriend can find the help she needs to deal with this incident. They had been a couple as far back as I can remember. No doubt she is being told there is help, but finding it is a whole different matter.
Rest in peace Matt.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the tragic details of this incident (crime) Lou. It has to be very upsetting for you, though have found a way to write about so carefully and objectively. From my perspective the shooter (perpetrator, shooter, killer) should face criminal charges and should be sued for wrongful death by Matt’s family and estate. Even if he thought that his wife was in some kind of danger, there is no justification for the use of deadly force and I believe that no judge or jury would allow him to walk from such an “incident” without consequences.
Thanks for sharing the tragic details of this incident (crime) Lou. It has to be very upsetting for you, though have found a way to write about so carefully and objectively. From my perspective the shooter (perpetrator, shooter, killer) should face criminal charges and should be sued for wrongful death by Matt’s family and estate. Even if he thought that his wife was in some kind of danger, there is no justification for the use of deadly force and I believe that no judge or jury would allow him to walk from such an “incident” without consequences.
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