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Police believe that 14-year-old Mohammed Nasser acted in self-defense when he fatally stabbed his stepfather on Wednesday night. Nasser said, "Well, he threatened me and my family, so I had to do what I had to do to protect my brother and my mother and my other little brother."
Newsday reports that Nasser's stepfather Arturo Moreno was drunk when he arrived at the Ozone Park home he shared with Nasser's mother, Arwa Moreno, Wednesday night. He started to threaten her with a knife, and Nasser and his brother (who live with their grandmother on Staten Island but were visiting) ran to help her. Nasser first broke a bottle over Moreno's head, but that did not stop him, so Nasser managed to take Moreno's knife and plunged it into Moreno's chest.
The Moreno's landlords, who heard screaming and crying, went to check the situation and found Moreno bleeding. Nasser's mother allegedly asked them not to call 911 because it was an "accident," but the landlord did and Moreno was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital. According to the Sun, the family had a history of domestic abuse. The Queens DA's office has not pressed charges, but an investigation is still continuing.
Nasser said he was trying to forget the incident, "I didn't feel that I did anything wrong. Because I really did take his life, and I didn't hope for that. I just wanted to stop him from hurting my family."
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I think you mean PROTECT his mother, not PROTEST.
Who is copy editing over there????? (No one, it seems.)
I was confused about that as well, but it seems it's fixed now.
On the story, while I sympathize with the teen, I find it a little eerie that he's so calm about it. Also, the photo that accompanies the article in the Daily News shows him far too comfortable with the events. The photo editor's choice, surely, but it gives me the shivers.
I don't understand how this is seen as perfectly acceptable, but harming a burglar is not. To me it seems similarly threatening.
Newsday reports that Nasser's stepfather Arturo Moreno was drunk when he arrived at the Ozone Park he shared with Nasser's mother, Arwa Moreno, Wednesday night.
Wow, they own Ozone Park??? Amazing. Seriously, read through it ONCE.
lotsa grumpy guses for a friday.
Jaund, maybe he's in shock.
Nasser's mother allegedly asked them not to call 911 because it was an "accident,"
...? What bizarre (alleged) logic.
Jrod,
I thought about his being in shock as well. Hopefully his mom and/or grandmother will help guide him to some methods of coping with it and not just give him a pat on the back. I also think the media needs to address it in a wider manner. If there was a history of domestic abuse, the mother needs to take some responsibility for keeping herself and her children in harm's way; they were allowed to make weekend visits, after all! Whose good judgment was that?
No doubt the DA will file charges, he should have let law enforcement do their job will be the DA's arguement.
The DA's office will be doing its job by filing charges, but I can't imagine he'll get convicted if these facts are true.
That guy is 14?
I imagine the mom wanted to report it as an "accident" since most victims of domestic abuse have a tendency to blame themselves psychologically and don't want attention brought on themselves. The son probably had enough of that noise and killed the guy that was beating his mom. Sad story all around.
Do buses run at 4AM?
Sorry, wrong thread. DA!
so be it. just saved the taxpayers millions.
while i do believe people should be able to kill whomever they please, this young man broke a bottle over the man's head & was able to take the knife out of his SF's hands. somewhere in there it's possible that the knife didn't have to end up in the guy's chest. that said, again, if the guy had to go he had to go.
I'm not a criminal lawyer, but from what I remember from my law school and bar exam days, self-defense (or defense of others) is a complete defense to murder. Defense of property is not a defense to murder. So you can kill someone if you are protecting yourself or someone else, but not if you are protecing your property. This is why harming a burglar is still murder, unless you have a justifiable belief that the burglar intends to harm you or your family. Guest at 10:55, like I said, I'm not a criminal lawyer, so I have no professional opinion on whether the DA will file charges. From what I know about DAs, however, they don't usually file charges unless they think they have a pretty good chance of winning, because their conviction rate is their measure of their effectiveness. They won't press charges unless they really think they can win this one, and I'm not sure that they can. They can argue that law enforcement should have done its job, but law enforcement wasn't in the room while the mother (and possibly the other siblings) were being threatened. Plus, it sounds like the authorities knew about the history of domestic violence, and did nothing, so this would be a pretty lame argument. To midtown moper, I seriously doubt the kid had time to analyze all his possibilities in the split second it took to grab the knife and stick it in the guy's chest. Also, I'm sure the stepfather didn't just give up and run away once the kid took the knife; he probably continued to come after the kid and/or his mother.
Not a criminal lawyer guest:
Thanks for the detailed update.
Am I alone in thinking that if someone has broken into my home, that the individual is willing to hurt/kill me? I know that the whole defense of property versus self thing is true, but if you're in my home uninvited, don't expect a friendly welcome.
I imagine the mom wanted to report it as an "accident" since most victims of domestic abuse have a tendency to blame themselves psychologically and don't want attention brought on themselves. The son probably had enough of that noise and killed the guy that was beating his mom. Sad story all around.
- if you are responding to me at #6, you missed my point. When someone is bleeding to death, why decide whether or not to call 911 based on whether it's an "accident?" You either need an ambulance or you don't. My comment had nothing to do with the psychology behind domestic violence, or even this particular situation. I was commenting on the logic contained in the one sentence, without regard to anything else.
She probably said "it was an accident" to protect her son (from going to jail), who just maybe saved her and her other children!
#1= SPELLING NAZI.. if you cant correct protest to protect in the article adn still understand it. You shouldnt be reading gothamist.
Drunk and threatening the mother and both kids with a knife?
Mmm k, buh-bye.
One quick veerdict if I was presiding: innocent.
Damn, I wish I were a judge.
Alas, an unregistered blog commenter.
jaund, you seem to imply that something's wrong with the kid because he isn't hysterical. Personally, if I was in the same situation, I don't think I'd shed a tear over the dead guy either. Pretty hard to empathize with a drunk who threatens your mom with a knife, no?