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Surveillance video from that night showed the youth walking through the lobby of his building when one of the five assailants hit him on the back of his head with a baseball bat. R.S., who thought he had been shot, fell to his knees, and the gun he was carrying fell from his pocket.

R.S. picked up the gun, swung around and fired four shots in about five seconds as his attackers scattered. One of the men was fatally injured, while a second was grazed by a bullet. Police charged R.S. with second-degree murder.

At trial, R.S. testified he opened fire to protect himself from further attack. Court also heard he bought the gun because he had twice been shot at previously, including one incident in which the shooter called his name before firing at him from a car. That shooting occurred two months before the attack at issue.

Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell rejected the boy’s self-defence argument at trial.

“All of the individuals who had commenced the attack were running away,” Forestell said. R.S. “knew that they were running away. He testified to that effect. He no longer faced an imminent threat of force.”

Forestell convicted R.S. in March 2014 of manslaughter, aggravated assault, careless use of a firearm, and illegal possession of a firearm. The youth appealed all the convictions except for having the gun illegally.

In looking at the case, the Appeal Court noted a person may legally use lethal force in self-defence, provided the action is reasonable in the circumstances. The court also found Forestell had misunderstood R.S.’s evidence. In fact, the appellate court said, he never testified to knowing his attackers were running away when he opened fire.