Teen Knocks on Wrong Door, Gets Shot Dead

The boy thought he was at a friend's house
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2016 4:19 PM CDT
Updated Jul 19, 2016 12:08 AM CDT
Teen Knocks on Wrong Door, Gets Shot Dead
Jeffrey Lovell, 42, of Chicopee, Mass., appears Monday, July 18, 2016, in Chicopee District Court on murder charges.   (Dave Roback/The Republican via AP, Pool)

A Massachusetts man has been charged with murder after he allegedly fired a bullet through his door, striking a teen who mistakenly thought he was at a friend's house, MassLive.com reports. According to the Boston Globe, police found 15-year-old Dylan Francisco on Saturday afternoon outside the Chicopee home of 42-year-old Jeffrey Lovell bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The teen was treated at a hospital, but died that evening. Police say Francisco and a friend had been drinking alcohol at another residence and later mistook Lovell's home for that of another friend. Lovell told police that, after he saw Francisco walk through the backyard and begin banging on a side kitchen door, he thought someone was trying to break into his house, the Globe reports.

Despite a verbal warning from Lovell, Francisco kept banging and broke a window in the door. That's when Lovell allegedly fired a deadly single shot. "He said he felt threatened and then shot and killed this young boy," Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez tells the Globe. A grand jury will ultimately decide what charges Lovell will face, he says, adding, "Certainly we have a situation here that was a homicide, and at this point it is our belief that it was not justified. MassLive.com reports that Lovell's Facebook page has several posts supporting the Second Amendment, and the main photo portrays him aiming a gun. A neighbor, calling the situation "devastating," tells WWLP, “I think it’s very unfortunate at this time and tragic for both families to be going through this.” (A Montana man got 70 years for killing a teen at his house, despite his "Castle Doctrine" defense.)

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