Boy Shot Airsoft Gun at 12-Year-Olds, Police Say
17-year-old allegedly fired from car at Hopatcong Plaza.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested after allegedly shooting an airsoft gun at two 12-year-old Hopatcong boys at the Hopatcong Plaza on the evening of Aug. 1.
Police said the pair of boys went home and told their mother they had been shot with a pellet gun by the 17-year-old while he was in a car at the plaza. The mother went to the plaza with her boys, who identified the car, police said.
The mother then confronted the 17-year-old and found out his name, according to police. The vehicle proceeded to leave the plaza, according to police.
Police said when they went to the 17-year-old's home, he stated it was not a pellet gun, but an airsoft gun. He was subsequently arrested and taken to headquarters and charged on a juvenile complaint and later released to a family member, according to police.
Police said the airsoft gun, which belonged to a friend of the accused, was taken for evidence. The boy was charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, assault, and disorderly conduct.
PJ_Wolf
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
So much for free speech huh Patch? Thanks for deleting my comment above, originally posted yesterday. Sure do miss Brendon...
JOE HOPATCONGITE
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
I enjoy reading the patch,but have never commented before and I am only leaving this comment for one reason only.....I like to read peoples comments,because they are the views of people that live in my community,but it seems like you delete about half of the comments.Sometimes I see on the front page of the patch that there are a few comments on a particular article that seem interesting and when I click on the story there are no comments to be seen.
It seems to me that these comments shouldn't be deleted unless they are bigoted,rascist,sexist,threatening or if they have cursing.I understand deleting hate speech,but It seems also that these comments are normally deleted because they don't match the views of whomever the person is that is deleting them.
Why? Why delete these reader's opinions? Are thier points of view and comments any less valid than the opinions of whomever is deleting them,or whomever is writing the article? In my opinion it is an act filled with bigoted thinking.
I appreciate the service that the patch provides,but more than that I don't appreciate the disservice the patch is doing by stifling and silencing the valid and not valid voiced opinions of my fellow lake dwellers.Not only is it a disservice,but it is downright un American and against the very principles that this nation was founded on.
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it!" -Patrick Henry
Warren
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
I agree that Patch is quick to censor reader submitted content- sometimes because the comment is simply unpopular.
If a comment is to be deleted, the editor should cite which of the terms of service were violated. For example in this article (http://jefferson.patch.com/articles/boat-crashes-on-lake-hopatcong), the editor censored a comment because the information "had not been provided by or verified by the State Police". It's a big difference I will censor a comments which "is inaccurate, false or misleading in any way" vs I will censor a comment which "the police have not confirmed to be accurate".
Jessica
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
Well said Joe.
PJ_Wolf
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
Thanks Joe. If I had to venture a guess, methinks that with the leaving of Brendon {misspellings and all, at least he was trustworthy}, perhaps one of the mayor's loyalists has infiltrated Patch to continue down the path of controlling the public outrage
PJ_Wolf
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
So now you've deleted Joe's post as well. Way to go Patch, make our founding fathers proud
JOE HOPATCONGITE
6:55 am on Friday, August 17, 2012
They deleted my comment,so I posted it again,adding that I would keep putting the same comment up until it stopped being deleted.I then got a long email assuring me that it wasn't them censoring me,but it was too many readers clicking the "flag as inappropriate" tag in the corner of my comment.They cited a story about "Miss Hopatcong" for some reason.I am not sure if I believe this,as every other comment in this comment thread was also deleted and that I don't think anybody would think what I said was inappropriate.Now the comments are back?I still don't know what your original comment was that was deleted,PJ_Wolf.But that is what I was referring to in what I wrote.
Teena Roth
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
Maybe I'm naive but, what's an air soft gun?
Teena Roth
8:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
Another question. Why do I have to sign in every time I want to leave a comment? The reason I know about the Hopatcong Patch is that you email me in the 1st place.
Chrissy
7:44 am on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
What was said that was deleted? Inquiring minds would like to know.