Ohio Teen Shot Dead After Egging Cars

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus teenager who was throwing eggs at cars as part of a late-night prank was fatally shot, police said Sunday.

Police said 16-year-old Garrett Burton was with at least one other teenage boy Saturday in the backyard of a home when someone shot him in the head just before 3 a.m. Police have no suspects.

The band at Westland High School, where Burton was a student, played the school’s alma mater in memory of him at Saturday night’s football game.

Another Columbus teen was killed in an egging incident in December 2006. Fourteen-year-old Danny Crawford was shot after a group of boys he was with threw an egg at a car. No one has been charged in that case.


Where do you stop with this: When eggs are outlawed only outlaws will have eggs? Are you sure this wasn’t in Texas? Death Penalty for Egging: Yes / No.

No one in their right mind would argue that the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for egging cars. But you have to wonder…what was this 16 year old doing out at 3:00 AM? Coming home from a late night of studying at the library? Getting an early start so he wouldn’t be late for Mass? No, he was out looking for trouble - and he found some. This is what happens when two stupid people cross paths and one of them is carrying a gun.

We’ve had two cases around here that come to mind.

In the first, some punks were throwing rocks at cars off a highway overpass and one of the rocks went through the window of a passing car and killed a woman and her daughter.

Those boys should have been given the death penalty because their intent was to cause injury and it resulted in the deaths of two innocent people.

In another case, a man and his girlfriend were walking one night and some punks were riding around shooting people with paintball guns.

As the man and his girlfriend were walking through what was otherwise a quiet and safe neighborhood, he saw one of the boys hold a gun out the window of the car and fire. He heard his girlfriend scream and saw a red stain on her blouse, thinking she had been shot with a real gun.

With only seconds to react, he immediately covered her body and returned fire, killing the shooter and critically wounding one of the boys in the car.

It was judged to be a case of self defense and no charges were filed against the man.

…and this is the problem I have with ‘regular’ people carrying guns. I started a thread on owning a gun at home for protection. Why are people being shot without thinking things through, like this?

I guess I can see the paintball gun scenario…but shooting a KID over eggs being thrown at cars? While the kid is in the wrong, he is not doing anything some boys in my classes did on the night before Halloween, when I was a teen some 20 years ago. To think that they’d be shot over it, shows that we are too trigger happy in this country, and we just ask questions later.

The person who shot the egg throwing kid, should be sent to prison for a while.:mad:

First of all, the person who shot the kid for throwing an egg at his car was not a “regular person”. I would be willing to bet he wasn’t even legally authorized to be carrying the firearm. We aren’t too trigger happy in this country, there are millions of registered CCW permit holders in the US. I would be willing to bet everything I own that the person who shot the kid was not a permit holder, and probably already has a criminal record.

By the way CCW = carry concealed weapon.

Like the shooter at VA Tech? He passed the background checks supposedly and look what happened. He was not a criminal, at the time he went on his rampage. I don’t disagree that most people, one would hope, would not react in such a manner. But, this guy did…and we are speculating that he is most likely a criminal, because he used violence like this over something so minor. There are husbands who kills their wives by using guns…and I’m sure their background checks came out clean, also.

There needs to be more stringent guidelines…I say, look at people’s medical records before allowing them to own a gun. The whole VA Tech thing could have been avoided, because it was well known by his family and doctors, that he had a history of mental illness. Just because someone doesn’t have a crime on his/her record, doesn’t mean that today, he/she is mentally stable to own a gun.

I wonder why the article doesn’t say much about the shooter?
Maybe there is more somewhere on this, if I do a google search.

Oh Lord.

Bullet shells for egg shells.
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.


Throwing eggs at a moving vehicle is not just a prank. It can have very serious consequences for the driver. Imagine if the eggs hits the windshield and all that mess spreads across the windshield and distracts the driver. It could possible result in loss of control, accident and even death depending on how fast the vehicle is traveling. A 16 yr old should have enough sense and realize the dangers involved. I am also in agreement as to what is a 16 year old doing out at 3AM. With all the crazies out in force at those hours going home possibly drunk; with all the carjacking incidents and madmen out at that time; with one of the cars possible heading to the hospital during an emergency, nothing but trouble can result from this “prank”. Its truly sad that “pranks” like this often result in deaths. May his soul rest in peace.


Here is an article that gives a little more information. The shooter was someone driving a car. msnbc.msn.com/id/26489339/

Your concern is that people are trigger happy and guns can contribute to violence. That is true it can and does happen.

However, anything can be used as a weapon. A few years ago, a wife ran over her husband with her car and killed him. She claimed it was an accident. However while looking at the security tape it showed that after she hit him, she backed up and hit him a again to make sure that she hit him. So should cars be banned also?

Baseball bats and knives are something else that can be deadly if in the wrong hands.

The answer is not to stick our heads in the sand, but to be vigilant in what we do and what we teach our kids. To be aware of surroundings and how our actions can affect other people. Is the kid partially to blame? Yes. But the reaction was over the top and the shooter needs to be severely punished. People do snap, especially when their pride and joy is damaged. There would have been a confrontation no matter what in this case. It could have been a knife, a bat, or a gun. All of which could have been deadly.

It is a tragedy, but we can take this and use it as a teaching tool to show how bad things can happen. And how some pranks aren’t as innocent as they seem to our kids.

On the other hand, I have first hand experience on how guns can save lives also. On my MIL street, we were all out in the yard with the neighbors. A person was excessively speeding down the street, one of the neighbors acted like he was going to throw something. (There was nothing in his hand to throw.) The guy slammed on his brakes, backed up, jumped out, and pulled a gun. Another neighbor had a gun, and he pulled it out and told the guy to think about it. The guy left before the cops could show up. Who knows what would have happened if the neighbor didn’t have the gun? Granted the whole episode wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the first neighbor. But with all of the kids out, there would have been no way for this guy to stop.

I agree with you Toby.

But people can’t just shoot and ask questions later. I thought we were a civilized society. Throwing an egg at a car…(we don’t know if it was moving or not, maybe more will come out) hardly warrants someone shooting to death, a teenager. My 15 yr old, soon to be 16, is not allowed to wander streets at night (he has never asked to lol), and there is a curfew actually in our small community, thankfully…probably for things just like this.

No doubt that being out at 3am is inviting trouble…but, I still think that throwing eggs, if he was doing it to parked cars, let’s say–is a prank that dates back to when I was a kid…(I never did this, but I know boys who did) and the thought of someone being shot over it, is alarming.

I hope more facts about the case come out, to help us better understand exactly what happened here.:frowning:

From the article I cited previously, the shooter unfortunately knew exactly what he was doing.

Police described what led up to the shooting, saying that Garrett and a friend were throwing eggs at cars when one of the cars stopped. The driver came over to the boys and shot Garrett point blank in the head—then left.

The shooter at VA Tech passed a simple National Instant Criminal Background Check System which is a quick check to be able to purchase a firearm, however it is not the same check that is done for a Carry Concealed permit. The minute the VA Tech shooter left the house with that firearm concealed and loaded he was a criminal. Also the VA Tech shooter was known to be Mentally ill a fact that has lead to changes in how the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is done and in hopefully this may prevent a tragedy like this happening again. Given his past of mental instability, he would have never passed the background check needed for a carry concealed permit.


Oh my gosh…how tragic.

Yes…you’re right. I agree with what you’re saying. A gun, for lack of a better phrase–could be a curse or a blessing, I suppose.

BUT…a bat…or a knife…or another object not designed for killing…takes a few attempts. Or extreme accuracy. A person can be killed with just one bullet. I don’t disagree with your sentiments here.

My dh and I are strongly considering buying a gun. I just wonder how many people buy guns for the sake of protection, and then snap…and they had a checkmark next to their criminal background check…KWIM?

This is a really sad thing that happened…any way you look at it.:frowning:

I have read of several instances in the news where a single swing of a bat to the head or a single knife stab to the chest has caused death.

The same can be said of a bullet. You have to be close or extremely accurate for a single bullet to kill you.

I guess that people should be required to have a license to buy a bat then, huh?:wink: The potential of lethal force of a gun, requires us to need a permit to carry one. I can walk down the street holding a bat…people wouldn’t run for cover. If I walk down the street waving a gun around–people might start running…and screaming… I see your point, but if other objects were used that often as compared to guns in these incidents…we would need licenses to buy knives and carry bats around. :o While they can be used to hurt/'kill people, I think guns definitely stand at the forefront of being the most lethal, if used in violent altercations. If the guy had a bat and started chasing the kid who was throwing eggs…the kid might have outrun him, and would have most likely still been alive. We could look at this incident in a myriad of ways.

My sympathy goes to the egg throwing kid…not a guy who thought shooting a kid for throwing eggs at cars, was justice.:frowning: Yeah, the kid should have been home, asleep in his bed…but that doesn’t warrant him being shot to death. The shooter should be jailed for a LONG time.

Why do all these shootings happen in Ohio?

What a cheap way to go.

Dying after egging a car.

I hope he did something right in life that God may have mercy if not he is eternally a fool.

It is never a smart thing to do something that has the potential to needlessly aggravate and inflame another. Overreactions like this are tragically wrong but nonetheless very common.

The concept is simple. Don’t start something with people whose mental status and anger management skills are unknown to you.

Incredibly sad story.



Wonderful! Your compassion is limitless.:rolleyes: :nope:

Go tell his grieving mother. :mad:

Damn, she or aby other familiy member or friend may even be reading this site for comfort!:frowning:
