Andria, I'm glad that boy's parents aren't reading this forum. I had teenagers, four of them, and I can tell you that although they were good kids and I thought I had them under good supervision, they did things sometimes that curled my hair. But, all four of them grew into good, responsible adults. It's too easy to blame the parents, but is very unfair to do so, unless you know more about the situation than the rest of us do.

Do you know why he was at the border? Was it a school day? Were his parents living with blatant disregard for their child? Or was he a teenager pushing the limits and went one step too far?

The cop was entrusted with a lethal weapon that he, evidently, misused on a teen armed only with a rock. But we weren't there, so we don't really know. And even if we'd been there, we couldn't read what that cop was thinking.

That kid might have grown into a fine, responsible man, or he might have become a criminal. We will never know.

His parents' lives will never be the same, ever. They will grieve forever. Their lives likely have a hole, a void, that can never, ever be filled. there is absolutely nothing more devastating that I can imagine, than the loss of a child. There can be no greater loss.

And that's why I'm glad they can't read here. If I'd just lost a child (God forbid) and I read someone questioning my love for that child, it would sink me deeper into the black void I'd be in. If I had any part of my soul that wasn't devastated, reading that would finish it off for me.

Sorry to sound so harsh. I don't mean it harsh. I know you are a compassionate person. As a mother though, i felt your words deeply.

Janet