We made the call yesterday that the families of two teen home invaders shot down in a widow’s home would likely whine that they didn’t deserve to be shot, and sadly, we were right on target:

Family and friends of two teenage boys shot and killed inside a home they had broken into are speaking out. “They didn’t deserve to get killed,” said the sister of 14-year-old Michael Sambrano. He and his 16-year-old best friend were shot and killed on Sunday morning by someone inside a home the teens were breaking into. Police won’t say whether it was the elderly homeowner or her brother who shot and killed the teens who had just broken into their home. “They were on their way out the door, and I just think it was wrong that they were shot,” said Christina Sambrano. But many who live on Arcade Boulevard say the neighbor did the right thing. “Justice was served,” said Robert Robinson.

The widow in the home had been burgled twice before, and the news article states that fingerprints from one of the deceased burglars was matched to one of the previous break-ins. They were killed as they terrorized an elderly woman, yet again.

It’s sad that these young men were predators. It’s sad that they grew up in a sub-culture that feels it is okay to steal from others. It is very sad that his sisters have to bury their brother.

But all of that was very preventable.

These young men made the conscious decision to become criminals. They made the conscious decision to endanger and terrorize the lives of law-abiding citizens by breaking into occupied dwellings.

The elderly brother and sister inside the home had reason to fear that these two home invaders were a threat to their lives. They had a legitimate right to self-defense that includes the right to use deadly force.

The families of the criminals in these circumstances seem to have a pattern of “yes, but…” excuse-making. They seem willing to concede that their relatives were criminals, but always find a way to shift the blame to the homeowner, society, etc. It seems that in their minds, there was always a way to justify the criminal behavior of the predators they helped form.

I’d be very content if I never had to write another story about a home invasion, and the lives scarred or lost as a result of this predatory behavior. Unfortunately, it seems that there will always be those among us who are inclined towards criminality, and there will always be a need for good people to be armed against them as a result.