Of course, the Lubbock paper is already mixing up the terms "victim" and "offender" while they sing praises to someone who broke into another's home at 3 AM.HankB wrote:If the facts are anything at all like what's presented in the story, it's a good shoot, IMHO.
Friends mourn death of shooting victim
BY robin pyle
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Megan Sturdivant broke down in tears when she learned her friend was shot and killed Saturday morning by a Tech Terrace homeowner.
Her friend was 23-year-old Ross Baker, a Texas Tech engineering major.
Baker was shot at about 3:45 a.m. inside a home in the 3000 block of 24th Street. The homeowner, 43-year-old Charles Mire, told authorities he feared for his and his family's safety when Baker entered the home and set off the alarm, according to Lubbock police reports.
Mire said he warned Baker several times to surrender and then fired a warning shot into the ceiling above his head, according to reports.
Baker was taken to University Medical Center, where he later died of internal injuries.
"I was in complete shock," Sturdivant said. "I understand where the other person was coming from, being scared, but at the same time I can't believe he shot my friend and killed him."
She said she doesn't believe that Baker was doing anything criminal on Saturday morning, adding that Baker's family and friends believe that he must have thought he was at his own house, a residence in which he had just moved and located four blocks from the Mire residence in Tech Terrace.
The Mires said they wished not to comment on the shooting, but Amy Mire, Charles' wife, did say "It's a terrible tragedy for everyone involved."
Baker's family declined to comment on Sunday.
"It's just a horrible situation," Sturdivant said. "I still can't believe it."
Baker, who grew up in Weatherford, doesn't have a criminal history in Lubbock, according to police records.
"He was a really great guy, a real gentleman," Sturdivant said.
She recalls her friend as a funny person who also had a serious side. She said she loved spending time with him because he was fun to be around.
Baker especially loved hunting, fishing and skiing, she said.