[LockedBreech]

The tragedy of this is undeniable, and of course the event should be closely scrutinized.

However, in my experience the internet firearm community can be quite quick to scorn the police, perhaps a side effect of our small government, strongly individual rights oriented community. In this matter some context may be illustrative - namely, that in California 13-year-olds involved in gun violence are not at all a rare thing. In a book that I read for a class in my Pre-Law Criminology undergrad - Monster, an autobiography by Sanyika Shakur, a former L.A. Crip - socialization into gang activity throughout California (though obviously concentrated in L.A.) was common for children much younger than that.

In the end, this thing will get armchair quarterbacked to death like every OIS, but never forget the context of the state's criminal history, and most importantly never forget that it happened in heartbeats. This will not be an excuse in all cases - sometimes the police gravely overreact, and they should be penalized accordingly in such situations. Sometimes, though, sad things just happen, events set in motion by other events that come to a head that, perhaps, could not have been avoided. Tweak a fact here or there and it could be a story about how an AK-47 armed teenager fatally shot a cop who hesitated thinking the firearm was a toy.

And on it goes.