A 17-year-old boy was shot in the face September 10, 2024 following an attempt to ask for a place to take Homecoming pictures in Conifer, Colorado. This accident highlights the rise in violence against teenagers and the general population both on property and on the road.
Brent Metz, the Mountain View councilman who was charged with shooting the 17-year-old, has now been formally charged. Metz is charged with shooting the teen as he and his friend were sitting in a car along side a road. According to Metz, the kids hopped a fence to knock on a Conifer property owner’s door to get permission to take high school Homecoming photos, according to CBS News. When it appeared no one was home, they went back to their car on the side of the road to write a note for the property owner.
According to the Conifer Police department report, Metz pulled up in his truck, pulled a handgun and shot the 17-year-old through the windshield of his Audi. Metz was officially charged with second-degree assault, two counts of menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm — all being felonies. The victim stated that he believed Metz fired his gun unintentionally.
Colorado’s “Make My Day” law allows the use of force, and even deadly force, against an intruder in your home, whom you reasonably believe is committing a crime and posing a physical danger. CBS News brings up Metz’s belief that he could use this law; however, the law in Colorado only states that you may use deadly force under the circumstances in which you are fearful for your life. Since the teenagers were in their vehicle off the property, many think this law should not be allowed.
“I think the rise in gun violence is unnecessary and destructive,” DRHS senior Sara Strauss said. “I think our lackluster laws are contributing to the use of assault weapons, and mass violence is unnecessary and unjustifiable in all circumstances.”
The “Make My Day” law does not transfer to vehicles; however, that has not stopped the rise in gun violence on the road. The stand your ground laws, which allow people to use deadly force in self-defense if they believe it is necessary to protect themselves or others from imminent harm, are now reporting an 8% increase in homicide rates across the United States according to The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. There have been 600 homicides annually across states that have adopted the stand your ground laws.
With the presence of violence in homes, there is also a new rise in violence in vehicles. In Texas, a 16-year-old boy was shot after a suspected road rage incident in Haltom City.
According to Everytown Research, in 2018 there were at least 70 road rage shooting deaths occurring in the United States; in 2022, the number doubled to nearly 141. The same trend occurred with gun injuries on the road. At least 176 people were injured in a road rage incident in 2018, with a large increase to 413 people in 2022. No single state was safe from gun violence on the road, but some states were better than others, such as Vermont with 2.01 per 100,000 and Maine at 0.94 gun deaths per 100,000 people, according to NewsWeek.
“Current young adults are quick to react, to make a judgment,” DRHS Deputy Dave Bruening said.
While nearly every state in the country saw at least one victim from a road rage shooting in 2022; New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin made up 20% of the gun violence road rage victims. On average, the southern United States saw a much larger amount of gun-related violence, with a majority of those states having weaker gun laws.
What can teenagers do to prevent this issue in the future?
“(Students) should be less emotional, be more rational,” Bruening said. “Take a deep breath and not respond emotionally. Make sure to pay attention.”
The non-emergency phone number for the Littleton Police Department is (303) 794-1551, and you can call and make a report if you face a road rage incident.
