Man Pursues, Shoots Teenage Girl Dead Over a Silly Teenage Prank
[There was a video here]
An Arkansas man has been charged with first degree murder and a host of other counts after tracking a carload of teens that planned to egg his house and shooting into it, killing one girl.
Adriana Broadway, 15, died early Saturday morning of her injuries after 48-year-old Willie Noble shot up the car in which she'd been a passenger with six other friends. The events surrounding her death have quickly divided a community, according to a CBS account:
Kortazha Williams, 16, who was in the car with Adrian at the time of the deadly shooting, told KTHV the friends met on Friday for Taco Bell and a movie, but then decided to go to Noble's house to pull a prank on a friend.
"It was a joke. We was friends, we was gonna come over there and clean it up," Williams said through tears.
That friend, Noble's teenage son, had apparently pulled a Halloween prank on some of Broadway's friends, and so they decided to return the favor. But when the seven arrived and began dumping leaves on a car outside the house, Noble came out shooting.
The driver of the car managed to flee to a Kum 'n' Go convenience store down the street, where officers found the car "with a shattered window and a bullet hole in the driver's side door" and Broadway unresponsive.
Despite the brutality of Noble's actions, opinion has been split on who's at fault, according to local affiliate KTHV:
Many have commented online, taking a side of the situation. Some have blamed Noble; while others have blamed the parents for allowing their kids to be out so late.
"I know it was late for them to be out," said Williams' mother, Charlene Clark. "They went to the movies, they went to get some Taco Bell, and they just decided to play a joke."
Clark said Noble went too far by aiming a gun at the children.
"You aimed at a vehicle with teenagers," she said. "Everybody played a role in this, and I know him, so I really just don't know what to say behind that. I'm just so sorry for everybody's loss."