Leonardo Henry (courtesy kfor.com)

“According to a protective order, the victim claimed Leonardo Henry ‘had been molesting (several kids) in the middle of the night for several years.'” kfor.com‘s report tells the tale of Henry’s comeuppance. Not at the hands of police, prosecutors, jury, judge and jailer. At the hands of the 11-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend. “Police say the suspect attacked and stabbed the girl’s mother inside the victim’s home near SE 89th and Bryant. After being shot, the suspect ran outside of the home but didn’t get far . . .

The wounded suspect collapsed in the street and police took him into custody.

The home’s back door is still smashed after the man broke inside and began stabbing his ex-girlfriend.

“He stabbed her in the eye, neck and the chest,” said neighbor Carolyn Marsee.

Seeing the violent assault, neighbors say the victim’s 11-year-old daughter grabbed a gun and shot the attacker multiple times inside the home.

“What she did, the 11-year-old, was amazing,” said Shiree Marsee.

And laudable. To the point where the Oklahoma City police aren’t pressing charges. “I salute her,” the vic’s neighbor tells the TV crew. “And I don’t know how to use a gun.” Time to learn, then. Meanwhile, here’s an interesting question: what if this had gone down in Massachusetts? Bay State law stipulates that

It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm, rifle or shotgun including, but not limited to, large capacity weapons, or machine gun in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user.

I reckon if Mr. Henry had been stabbing his ex-girlfriend in Massachusetts he would have walked out of her house relatively unscathed. Leaving the victim dead and her daughter orphaned. Provided, of course, the victim obeyed MA’s safe storage law. And if she hadn’t, she would’ve been charged.

Which makes this case well worth bookmarking for those who oppose mandatory safe storage laws, in case proponents aren’t swayed by that “shall not be infringed” business in the U.S. Constitution. [h/t JH]

50 COMMENTS

    • Given the perp’s record, perhaps that isn’t all that might have happened to the girl. But at least she wouldn’t have been shot, which is the only thing that actually counts as “violence”, right?

  1. The language of that MA law is so… pants wetting should I say? Written with the attitude that all scary guns are full auto loaded with explosive rounds. Either way… Good on her. Hope her mom recovers quickly and they can get on with their lives.

    • Try San Francisco. Its ordinance stipulates that any handgun not in your immediate possession must be locked up unloaded–even if you live alone. For some reason, the federal district court nor the court of appeals felt that this ordinance violated the Heller ruling.

      • It is utterly fascinating how far the thinking that the gun has agency has been allowed to go.

        The gun has to be locked up (and unloaded) to IT cannot hurt somebody?

        The NC law is written in a way that punishes the responsible party only if someone else misused the gun.

        For example, if teen gets a gun for legitimate self defense, it looks to me like there is no liability even possible to transfer to the person that stored the gun so the teen could get it.

        However, if the teen gets the gun and goes waving it around at school…parent then in violation of the law.

        I’m certainly no legal expert, but this seems to me to capture the essence of what a law like this is really trying to address. “Hey, if you don’t think your kid is responsible enough to have access to the gun, you best keep it locked up else we also come after YOU. Also, if your kid is not as responsible as you think, you are likewise culpable.”

        There’s a lot of “personal responsibility” in the NC law – again, it seems to me – and I like that it does not give the gun agency. It takes the wrongful act of a human to trigger the unsafe storage law, if I’m reading it correctly.

        (obviously other actions could trigger the law, too, such as a small child gaining access and hurting self or others, etc).

        • I’ve often wondered, how does an officer know if the gun was locked and unloaded or not? Couldn’t a person simply keep one tucked away just in case then forget that the gun actually wasn’t locked and unloaded when questions start being asked?

        • That SC law sounds like common sense, not the “common sense” gun grabbing fussbudgets espouse. Here in CA there’s a such thing as “improper self defense”, which very well could’ve been applied here if they were unlucky enough to be attacked in CA. (Sigh)

  2. Where are all the cries of how horrible this senseless act of violence is from the same people who were screaming as loudly as possible after the Burgers and Bullets uzi tragedy?

    /trollface

  3. Good shoot. Too bad that scum bag apparently lived. At least he’ll be going to trial.

    I wouldn’t be surprised at all, though, that if this had gone down in TAXachusetts that the mother and the daughter would have been brought up on charges and her mother’s homicidal ex would have been let go “because his rights were violated (somehow)”.

    • Often times predators are very manipulative of the people around them. Notice how the sister was in denial.

  4. Sometimes I hate living in Oklahoma. But then I remember how much more fucked up other states are.

    I’ve seen a lot of DGUs in the local news in the last few years. Most of the murders by gun were by gangs against gangs. Given the huge meth trade, it’s not surprising. I bet if you crunched the numbers, the number of non-drug/gang related death by gunshot would be less than 10%, if that.

    Still, this is why my wife and I are armed.

  5. I love how this one incident pretty much contradicts every single talking point MDA has.

    I also love that an 11 year old shoots better than 99% of cops under stress. Not a single miss.

  6. My only complaint is that the 11 year old didn’t kill the bad guy. It’s a shame now that the courts and prison systems are going to have to deal with him.

    • Maybe if a couple of bullets that are in him, get pushed in a bit deeper by the attending surgeon……………….just saying??

      • Maybe the doctor forgot to wash his hands, or his instruments hadn’t been sterilized as thoroughly as they should have been, or…
        Honestly, there are a LOT of ways for a doctor to accidentally end this sumbicth.

  7. Well be careful before you go into the “shall not be infringed” thing. Unfortunately, not all children are responsible enough to use a gun, much less strong enough to control it. I’m glad the 11 year old in this story was. But unfortunately not all are. All we can do is build responsible adults out of responsible kids.

    Maybe laws about storage of firearms need to include clauses that allow kids to use the guns to defend themselves. That or instead of taking everyone’s right away, limit the law so that people only get punished if the firearm is used improperly, not just for allowing their responsible son or daughter to know the combination, etc. But that’s just my opinion. Don’t like the law, but it was put there because of idiots somewhere. I don’t like knee-jerk reaction laws like this, and I want the language changed. That way no one is in violation if their responsible child uses it to defend the home, but the irresponsible adults whose inaction leads to children accidentally killing each other are the ones who get charged with a crime.

    I dunno.

    • Or alternately, the government can keep it’s nose out of how we handle
      our property as defined in the Constitution, making these “safe storage laws” a non-issue. If i wish to keep a shotgun behind the door “just in case”, what slimy politician has the right to tell me otherwise? For the first 18 years of my life, my grandfather safely stored his weapons… In the corner of the closet. Everyone knew where they were, as well as the rules regarding them. Not once did one “go off” accidentally or in a negligent manner. But hey, what do i know?i’m just a 23 year old former gunsmithing student who works with cars.

  8. If this had occurred in Massachusetts, neither the mother nor the child would be prosecuted for anything. First of all, MA DAs are not utterly stupid. This case would be a loser and they’d know it. Second, firearms that are “under the control” of the owner are not considered to be “stored” and need not be locked up. Any defense attorney worth his or her salt could make that case.

    • I live in wonderful Taxachusetts and I have discussed things like this with a lawyer, and I have to agree with the post above. The key to the whole thing is, when the police show up, say *nothing* to them other than “I need to speak to my lawyer”. The lawyer is then free to spin whatever story will work – maybe that the gun was locked up, she tried to get it, her ex got to her causing her to drop the gun, the girl then got to it before her ex could… whatever. The thing is, the jury will not want to convict her and a good lawyer probably could get her off *provided* nothing was said to police and said lawyer is free to act.

  9. Another good example, or actually a terrible example of what happens when families follow these ludicrous laws is the Merced Pitchfork Murders.

  10. Yeah that it “went on for years ” really got to me. I hope the girl is taken care of by someone who doesn’t let her be molested every night. Too bad the creep isn’t dead and in hell.

  11. Far from prosecuting her, the OKC police will likely give her a medal.

    People can hate on parents who trust their kids, but honestly there are some kids who are responsible enough to have access to a gun. I did when I was 11, and never once played with the gun or showed it off.
    I’m sorry if your kids weren’t raised right, but a few of them are, like the girl in the story. If her mom hadn’t kept the gun where she could get to it, she would’ve been stabbed to death

  12. “… what if this had gone down in Massachusetts?”

    The dead mother would be a necessary sacrifice for the good of the Almighty State.

  13. That dipshit didn’t think he had anything to worry about. Hopefully a nasty infection will set in and he’ll die a painful death. Downside is we get stuck with the medical bills but it’s cheaper than incarceration.

    • one weeks training and not a single miss. i think mom has a new career on the horizon. training LEOs. with this on her resume, she’d be a shoe-in. if only mom had taught her to double-tap.

  14. I’m sorry, but bad shoot.

    Pedo-fuck is still alive. Any ideas?

    Also if she’d used a .45 we wouldn’t be having this conversation…

  15. An excellent example of the great equalizing power of firearms AND why the less powerful MUST have them. Period.

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