Louisiana father killed by teen who snuck in to see underaged daughter: police
"These young kids gotta learn respect, how to treat people, and learn how to deal with conflict resolution," police chief David McDavid said.
Tragedy struck a Louisiana family Sunday morning when a teenager broke into the home and fatally shot a father of four.
Dezmon Hamilton, 34, was shot by 17-year-old Nicholas Mcquirter after the teen entered a second-story window of Hamilton’s home via a ladder to try and visit his 14-year-old daughter, WBRZ reports.
Hamilton had previously stopped the teen from climbing a ladder to see his daughter when the family lived in an apartment complex.
Both men were armed and fired shots at each other. Hamilton died on the scene after suffering multiple gunshot injuries. Mcquirter was treated for serious injuries at the local hospital.
Police say it’s unclear who fired the first shot.
After Hamilton caught Mcquirter inside the home, he took the boy downstairs to talk and the daughter was talked to as well, police say. At some point, the confrontation turned violent.
“The daughter’s mother and grandmother came over to discuss what was going on. The grandmother and her daughter took the 14-year-old off to the side and were talking to her. An argument ensued and then gunshots were fired,” Zachary police chief David McDavid told local media. He described Hamilton as a “young entrepreneur.”
One of Hamilton’s colleagues mourned his death on social media.
“One of the clients of our design business, Dezmon Hamilton, was murdered Sunday morning. We designed the layout of a snowball stand and car wash he was building in Zachary,” tweeted local graphic designer, Carl Gibson. “We spoke often, and I had met with him several times for the meetings downtown.”
In a follow-up tweet, he added, “At the last meeting, I just remember the look of excitement he had when he realized it was really going to happen and that he had jumped one of the final hurdles to get it done,” he wrote. “This is very sad. His mother had come to a few of the meetings and she was so happy for him.”
Mcquirter suffered injuries during the shootout that left him hospitalized in critical condition. He will be formally arrested and charged with second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon, and illegal possession of a stolen firearm upon release, as reported by Complex.
Several social media users have expressed outrage with the victim’s daughter, who “didn’t tell her parents she was expecting company,” as one commenter wrote under the WBRZ article about the crime.
Another wrote, “Now this lil hot in the butt 14 year old will have that on her conscience for the rest of her life. Trying to sneak a boy in the house & her father was shot && killed. No ma’am.”
A third added, “why did he bring a gun on his “date” ? because robbery was the motive all along ?”
Another commenter said we need “stiffer penalties” for youngsters who want to play grown-up.
“It starts at home,” Chief McDavid said. “These young kids gotta learn respect, how to treat people, and learn how to deal with conflict resolution.”
Hamilton had five children. One of them, Dezmon Jr., died at 6 years old in 2014, according to reports.
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