https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45450558
Summary: On September 7th, 2018, Amber Guyger, an off-duty officer, was returning to her South Dallas flat when she came across Botham Shem Jean in her flat, supposedly threatened him, and shot him dead. Although, right after Jean was shot, Guyger realized that she had mistaken Jean's flat for her own, and his life was taken in vain. She immediately called the police to deal with the situation. Guyger has been placed on leave. Jean was treated four minutes after the incident and taken to Baylor University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was shot one block away from the Dallas police department, and no witnesses were noted. The case is currently under heavy investigation to confirm what happened between the confrontation and the shooting. Botham Shem Jean's mother, Allie Jean, was grief-strucken, confused, and angered by the events leading up to his death. She declared that someone had to be crazy to not realize that they weren't in their own apartment.
Analysis: This article was written by the writers at BBC (they were not named). Last night before I wrote this article, I was sitting on the couch and this event came up on the news. I remember Allie Jean saying something along the lines of "I want the world to remember how my son lived, not how he died." I definitely agree with Allie Jean in the sense that it takes a lot to not realize you had stepped into another person's residence, especially considering that all people have their own unique sense of style and way they furnish their living space. It is rather questionable how she even got into his flat, considering almost all apartments and flats require keys of some sort to enter. In my opinion, it's very suspicious. It is plausible that she could've shot Jean out of fear, but there also could've been motivation behind the shooting, whether it be fear driving from racism, considering that Guyger is white and Jean was African-American, or they might've known each other before this occurred, and their dynamic turned sour. That would explain how she had a way to enter, if they knew each other beforehand and Jean had given her a key. Police Chief Renee Hall commented on the case calling it a "very unique situation", suggesting that an event like this hasn't happened in history before. This article was written to inform the general public that officers can still shoot a gun, even when they're off-duty. Accidental or not, an innocent man is dead at the hands of the police, and humans are fearful creatures that will do anything to defend themselves first, even before reading and looking at the situation.
I agree with you Jordan, this is pretty suspicious. It is really sad to see that someone who did no harm and was minding their business was shot and killed in their own apartment. This story could have been totally different from what we have been told or it could be exactly what happened. When I first heard about this story, I truly felt bad for both the police and the man she shot. Now, I don't know if the lady actually meant to shoot him or if it was truly and accident.
ReplyDeleteThere are different perspectives on all sides of the story- history is written by the survivor and it's written to glorify those who survived. Whether or not the woman meant to shoot him or not. it's still shouldn't have happened.
ReplyDelete-Violet Wiedemer
DeleteI do agree that this situation does seem a little suspicious. I was reviewing this same article and noticed that they aren't handling the situation as an ordinary "manslaughter" case. They don't have all of the facts and details, and they talk about both the victim and the shooter as good citizens. I do believe she could've asked questions and addressed the situation differently without immediately drawing her weapon. Although it was an accident, he could've easily drawn a weapon also because it was his home.
ReplyDelete-Ariana Oliver
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