Florida Teen Jose Torres Charged in Shooting of Anthony Alejandre, 12, Had Illegal Weapons Arsenal in Bedroom

Jose Torres, 17, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., was arrested Thursday and charged with attempted manslaughter of Anthony Alejandre, 12, who is on life support with a severed spine. What is equally shocking is the fact Torres owned an extensive collection of illegal weapons, including guns, swords, knives and brass knuckles. Police confiscated the weapons cache from his bedroom. Er, why was he allowed to keep all these weapons under the nose of adults in his home? Why weren't the parents arrested for allowing him to keep such an arsenal in their home? Sorry, but they should be held accountable for what their son has done.

Anthony Alejandre, 12, remains in Broward General Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The bullet that entered his right cheek severed his spinal column before leaving his body through the left shoulder blade, Detective Jeffrey Kogan said at a news conference Thursday.

The younger boy, who lived across the street from Torres in the 600 block of Northwest First Way, was playing Monday night in Torres' bedroom, Kogan said. The bedroom door was locked, and Torres' mother was in another room.

"[Torres] pulls out a suitcase from under his bed and they each grab a gun," Kogan said, recounting Torres' description. "[Torres] said the victim took the small revolver, and [Torres] took the 9 mm Ruger, which he knew was loaded. He then pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger.""He said he didn't think a round was in the chamber," Kogan said. Investigators said the teen changed his story several times. "Our problem is he said in the past he has shot the gun before." Source: Miami Herald

As a parent of two boys, one 13 and the other nine, I have no qualms about going in my kids rooms and going through their stuff. That's not invasion of privacy. My husband and I are responsible for every facet of their lives until they become adults. I couldn't understand how the parents of the teens, who inflicted such bloodshed and anguish at Columbine High School, were unaware of what they were doing. This could have been avoided if the parents had paid closer attention to what their kids were doing, as is this latest case.