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Teenager’s Decade-Old Self-Defense Shooting Resurfaces In Viral Social Media Post

Peretz Partensky/Flickr

A 2015 self-defense shooting by a teenager confronted by two career criminals resurfaced in viral social media posts Sunday.

The 13-year-old in Charleston County, South Carolina, was home alone when he noticed a suspicious vehicle pull up to the back of his house, the Charleston Post and Courier reported on Nov. 12, 2015. Republican California state Senate candidate Mike Netter posted about the incident Sunday, generating over 650,000 views on X, while a similar post by Bill Clinton rape accuser Juanita Broderick generated another 138,000 views.

Upon discovering two men trying to break into the house, the teen “feared for his safety” and retrieved his mother’s pistol and fired at the burglars, who fired back, authorities told the Post and Courier. Police recovered a .45-caliber automatic pistol that did not belong to the family from the scene of the shooting.

The teen’s shots fatally wounded 31-year-old Lamar Anthwan Brown, who had a lengthy criminal record, including six previous felony convictions on drug offenses. The wounded Brown was taken to the hospital by the second suspect, 28-year-old Lee Bennett, who fled after dropping Brown off.

Bennett also had a lengthy criminal record, including charges of assault with intent to kill, and was charged with first-degree burglary and possession of a firearm during a crime with violence, according to the Post and Courier. Prosecutors said the teen would not be charged.

“I tell my kids that if anything ever happens to call 911, but I also tell them to protect themselves if they have to,” the teen’s mother told the Post and Courier. “I never would have dreamed that this would have been a part of our day today.”

She said that the boy first called her to inform her about the incident, then called 911 to report the shooting.