Man Who Killed Teen For Playing Loud Music Claims 'Self Defense'

A man in Florida who opened fire on a group of teens after asking them to turn their music down has claimed that he is not guilty because he was acting in self defense. 45 year old gun collector Michael Dunn shot and killed 17 year old Jordan Davis at a petrol station in Jacksonville during the incident. Dunn, reportedly on the way to his son's wedding, exchanged words with the car full of teenagers, before pulling out a handgun and firing into the car.

Jacksonville homicide Lt. Rob Schoonover has offered the following statement regarding the incident: "[The music] was loud. They admitted that. That's not a reason for someone to open fire... Nobody else in that vehicle was struck; it was just our victim [Davis], which was lucky because the vehicle was shot eight or nine times."

According to Schoonover, Dunn had acted after "feeling" threatened by the teens: "His side of the story is he felt threatened and that is the reason he took action". The trial is currently ongoing.

Comments

[rip3149]

And I thought the Russian government was paranoid....Mr. Dunn you sir are a ****ing retard. You were on the way to your son's wedding? Does your son listen to loud music too? Do you feel threatened? Good! Fucking psychotic loser

[Joss_Frusciante]

That's Just Sick.

[DickHardwood]

Nugent: Obama hired him to take away our gun rights.

[Lion_Slicer]

All you sheeple would realize what's REALLY going on if only you opened your freaking mind so that you could hear the same voices in your head that Nugent and Mustaine do but the Illuminati chemtrails block the signals!

[JD Close]

I can't believe nobody's asked why he was bringing his gun to his son's wedding

[Denjario]

In case the father-in-law forgot his shotgun?

[RickyThomson]

'Murica

heuheuheheu

[Breakingpoint56]

Probably because it was within his constitutionally guaranteed rights. Florida has a higher crime rate than where I live so I'd probably carry a gun as well. You never know when you might truly need it. This was not that case though.

[Crimson.King]

Too many guns and not enough guitars in Florida.

[Kueller917]

Guitars for Guns. We need to get this into legislation.

[Crimson.King]

Wouldn't that be amazing? Trade a handgun for a Strat, trade a .357 for a Paul Reed Smith, trade an assault rifle for a Les Paul Custom...

[introvert10]

I'd agree if I owned guns. Call me selfish, but I don't want a bunch of douchebags to own better guitars than me simply because they are douchebags.

[Crimson.King]

Good point...OK, I decree guns may only be traded for a new Silvertone SS11 or Rogue Rocketeer RR50 though I will trade bullets for guitar picks :

[miregal]

it happens everyday man

[samhell]

Being that your average AK is around $500 and AR's are around $1000, I think it would be a great deal to trade them in for guitars costing many times that amount. I'd trade in all my guns, sell off all the guitars, then buy all new guns and maybe a guitar or two with the leftover money. I love these government gun trade in programs. We profit from them ever time and at taxpayer expense.

[Crimson.King]

There are no guitars for trade, it's just a trick to get yer guns and sell 'em to the highest bidder to cut the deficit...

[Sunny035]

"Guns for Guitars" Kurt Cobain

[schirripar]

I mean, the guy is obviously crazy. But all I'm saying is if some dude was blasting Yoko Ono I might put him down lol

[link no1]

Yoko Ono? Is that who all the kids are listening to these days?

[schirripar]

Not the point I'm trying to make. The only way I would consider murder self defense is if the kids were blasting Yoko Ono. BUT, if they were recreationally listening to Yoko, they probably should be put out of their misery anyway

[Camron62\m/]

in the case it says the kid liked to listen to mostly rap, plus some classic oldies and funk.

[powachord]

who the hell cares what they were listening to??? a kid died for no good reason.

[Camron62\m/]

i realize that. ****ing ridiculous.

[IrishConnor1994]

Wow, so on his way to his son's wedding, he decided to shoot some kid, and actually thought the fact the kids had loud music justifies it?

[Voodoochile711]

Judging by the picture and the fact that he's a gun collector, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me this isn't the first time he's done this.

[Dude475]

Michael Dunn=George Zimmerman

[guitarguy28469]

... And i thought i was retarded!!! wow!!!

[Camron62\m/]

This guy should rot in jail for his ignorance and stupidity and selfishness. There's not nearly enough bad things i could say about this man, i read the same article on MSN. Just ****ing terrible.

[Evilllamas]

What the actual ****?!
Does he realise that when being dead is actually kinda a big deal, and you don't ****ing shoot people for playing music!

[TheNumber6]

just lost faith in humanity again

[Controlpanel]

Mkaes those of us who like to shoot look bad.

Life in prison, with 120 volts of electricity to his ballsack for that duration.

[samhell]

All that without knowing his side of the story? I don't know about you but I've been in situations similar. Simply asking someone to move their car or something and they totally fly off the handle about it and come at me. Of course it becomes a self defense situation at that point. They choose to escalate it and get shot for it. Now obviously we will never know what happened in this case as long as we take this website as a source for our news...

[Izzy-Sweet]

"gun collector"

Yup, that said it all for me.

[Lion_Slicer]

Good on him for Standing His Ground. You can't let these drug-addled miscreants infringe on your God-given constitutional right to your freedom to have everyone else behave exactly as you want everywhere forever and to shoot them if you don't.

[Camron62\m/]

if sarcasm, well said.

[Crimson.King]

Seems to me driving around with a loaded weapon equals someone looking for a fight. As D Boon of the Minutemen used to sing, "little man with a gun in his hand".

[Breakingpoint56]

Its only looking for a fight if you're brandishing it. Good god what is wrong with people here?

[suicidehummer]

Anyone who follects guns is crazy and dangerous if you ask me, a normal person has no need for more than one gun if any...

[SGstriker]

What about classic, antique firearms? If I collect those because they are worth lots of money and don't ever have an intention of shooting them, does that make me crazy and dangerous?
Or also, if I'm into hunting, and I own a hunting rifle. But I also own a handgun for self-defense because there's been a string of robberies in my neighborhood. Does that make me crazy and dangerous?

[lamb of dog]

imho.....yes

[lamb of dog]

and paranoid

[Apollo X]

I don't think it's irrational to own a firearm in an area where there have been several recent robberies. It would be paranoia if he passed someone on the street and shot them without any provocation, but if someone comes at you with a weapon of their own I'm sure you'd rather have some way to retaliate.

[Camron62\m/]

but only if there's a reason to have a firearm in a car, like if it's a dangerous neighborhood. not because of the owners dumbshit ignorance.

[J...Out]

Good thing your opinion has no value.

[introvert10]

Not only do your guns indeed make you crazy and dangerous, your failure to accept this makes you dilusional.

[samhell]

So, because somebody simply own firearms, that makes them "crazy and dangerous"? What kind of ignorant statement is that? You can kill way more people with your car than any guns I know of (save for maybe those on a battleship). Are those who own cars also "crazy and dangerous"? Keep in mind, vehicles are the #1 cause of death in the U.S. More than guns, disease, drowning, etc. Where is the outrage for those who own and drive cars? Consistency is sadly missing in todays youth...

[introvert10]

Cars are designed to get from point A to point B, that's why people own them. Guns are designed to kill things, that's why crazy and dangerous people own them. Big difference between accidental death with a car when your intention was to drive your kids to school, and killing someone with a gun when the sole purpose of the weapon is to purposely kill.

[Breakingpoint56]

I can see why you consider yourself an introvert.

Dangerous people come in all shapes and sizes and in all forms of dangers. A gun has always been used as self preservation and no one here is arguing they aren't meant to kill, but no one is also arguing that its right to use it as an equalizer in a fight against an unarmed assailant. Even cops know lethal force is a last resort.

[jordanzio]

the whole point is that this lunatic obviously did not understand the concept of lethal force as a last resort. Far too often we make the mistake of believing we live in a world full of rational people. Take a look at the facts- there are an alarming number of people suffering from various degrees of mental illness- from depression to many more serious conditions. The system cannot safeguard against this problem and it makes far more sense to take weapons out of the hands of every day citizens than just assume people will use them responsibly with good judgement. This reason alone is why America will continue to experience shooting tragedies at a higher rate than anywhere else on earth.

[samhell]

Well then, being that there are more guns in existence than cars yet cars are still the #1 killer, what does that tell you about your "design" theory? Also, accidental death is very rare... Most of the time it is caused by somebody not paying attention or doing something other than driving when they are behind the wheel. This is willful. They CHOSE to do something other than drive and not pay attention.

[cwm1990]

I collect guns, but im responsible and they are all deactivated, firing pins out and disassembled. and if you do keep your gun loaded than yes your a god damn idiot!! People like this ruin my rights. i shoot recreationally but i dont feel the need to carry any of my guns loaded anywhere. Hope this guy rots

[snoble029]

You're a dick. Americans are violent and paranoid, and that's what I like about them. We should all own a bunch of guns, and be dangerous, there's nothing wrong with that.

PS. Phil Labonte for President 2012! XD

[Madferit420]

you are

[-Retro-]

No good sir...you are.

[TheSmugCanadian]

This man needs to be tied down and forced to listen to whatever music he hates the most until his ear drums explode.

[introvert10]

$1000 says he's a Republican.

[samhell]

What does being a Republican have to do with anything? Democrats are just as pathetic. Its not even a conservative/liberal thing. Look up the Pink Pistols.

[introvert10]

Willing to wager then?

[afatguitarist]

Insert anti gun/ republican comment here

[IrishConnor1994]

Someone who shot 8 rounds into a kid over loud music, and believes he was right to do so shouldn't have a gun collection in his basement...

[tanooj2]

What a ****er

[HaveSomeGlue]

What a shmuck.

[clevelandcavs22]

Of course this happened in florida.

[fullmetal_steeb]

I don't think he's saying that he felt threatened BY the music. He's probably claiming that the kids made threatening comments or gestures after he confronted them. You'd never know, though, because UG stories lack information.

That being said, I still think the guy is a ****ing idiot.

[jon.peebles]

He claimed he saw one of the kids in the vehicle holding a gun. He was wrong.

[fullmetal_steeb]

My point exactly. He never said he was defending himself from the loud music, which is what the headline and the quote by the detective would have you believe.

Apparently, if there's music playing at the scene of a crime, that's a good enough reason for UG to post the story.

[samhell]

Lots of ignorant sheep on the comment section today...

[jon.peebles]

Please, bestow upon us your infinite wisdom.

[pearns]

only in america.

[explosionate]

Nothing good ever happens in Florida does it?

[snoble029]

These guys all make gun owners look bad. The solution isn't to take his guns, the solution is to give the would-be victims guns as well. Go libertarian!

[mitchmitchhh]

The reason that he shot at them is because he thought he saw a shotgun in the car, so giving the victims guns would have just given him more motive to shoot and probably would have ended up with two victims instead of one. I know there is lots of gun owners out there that would never do things like this, but what other way is there to stop things like this from happening besides taking away guns from everyone?

[Breakingpoint56]

I realize our gov't tries to justify using pre-emptive strikes in the case of war, it's still illegal. If the shotgun was not brandished, he was not in danger and was in the wrong for killing an innocent.

[jordanzio]

so you could have twice as many dead people? don't be a fool. You don't fight fire with fire

[Viewtifuldude]

Put him on the "No-Fly" list for living.

[Eclectic Lizard]

Man, America is a ****ed up place

[Pit_]

i sympathize with the shooter in this case. i wanted to do that myself many times but i don't have any firearms.
when somebody plays music loud with the intention to offend an do damage to bystander's health it's a clear act of criminal aggression.
headphones are the alternative if you like music loud. intentional physical harm through loud sound should be considered a criminal act everywhere.

[Breakingpoint56]

Except you have to be in mortal danger to justify using lethal force, you knob.

[IrishConnor1994]

There's a big difference between annoying someone, and ending their life.

[jordanzio]

that is the stupidest thing i have read all day. You honestly wish you could shoot someone if they play loud music you don't like? You would take someone's life over something like that and be able to live with it? If so you are seriously mangled between the ears

[N7Crazy]

...'Murica...

[$hithappen$16]

I live not too far from where this occured. The guy claims that the teens were threatening him and that one had pulled out a gun. Cops investigate the scene and there was no gun to be found aside from the one Dunn owned. He asked them to turn their music down they (in typical teenage fashion. I know because I'm a teenager and we've all been guilty of doing this) probably said something rude. But that is no excuse to kill someone's son. I hear people play loud music in public all the time. You know what I do? I say to myself "damn that's annoying" and go about my merry way. I don't make it a point to tell them to turn it down because I don't give a damn. And if I were to do that i should expect someone to say something rude back. But that is not an excuse to kill someone. This man is a murderer.

[IrishConnor1994]

Dunn probably just said the kids had a gun because it sounded better than saying "When I asked them to turn the music down, they said something mean to me"

[jacobdubya]

I'm willing to bet that this guy just got a little trigger happy. I think that some people stock up on guns in anticipation of using them, the opportunity never presents itself (like someone breaking into their house, as they so believe is going to happen in their paranoid minds), so they find excuses to use their guns.

[CliffBurton321]

Sick f***

[kmister]

I hope he likes prison food. And penis.

[HG57]

Once again we have another ignorant person thinking that the misuse of guns and violence is the way out. Our society has become a lawless society and has no concerns for people that don’t think or look alike. This fool is a murderer and deserves to get what he so easily dishes out or at a minimum let him spend the rest of his pitiful life in prison and I’m sure there is party awaiting his arrival. You jerk I hope you rot in HELL. Stop being a coward and take what you have coming.

[headbang123]

Ok if they were listening to One Direction so he could hear it, that would be self defense.

[DaniArrow]

people don't need to own guns. wanna sort something out? do it like a man and use your fists.

[samhell]

Tell that to all the women who have been beaten, raped by big powerful men yet could have easily defended themselves with a firearm. Seems to be a pretty big homosexual population on this website. How many of them have been beaten and killed with no means to defend themselves? They could have defended themselves with a firearm. "God made man. Samuel Colt made them all equal" You aren't one of those folks who think that a beaten, raped, and dead woman is morally superior to a live woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist a her feet are you?

[jordanzio]

your argument is invalid. For one thing, the women you speak of can go to the authorities. If you knew anything about domestic violence you would know that women usually have been assaulted several times, and don't report the man because they love him. The amount of times a gun helps a woman out of a situation like this is completely negligible. Far more often, weapons are used in acts of aggression than acts of defense, and that is why the average person should not have access to them

[samhell]

Wow. You are genuinely clueless. Until you choose to stop being ignorant, I cannot help you.

[jordanzio]

furthermore, more men actually shoot and kill their wives than women protect themselves from an abusive partner with a gun. look at the statistics.

[samhell]

Please provide said statistics. Unless you are just making them up?

[samhell]

Furthermore, if what you are saying were true, do you not think an armed woman has a better chance to defend herself than an unarmed woman?

[beefcake122]

not sure who I'm siding with, depends on what they were listening to