You haven't specified if they had used weapons that shoot bullets or just projectiles like darts / BB's / pellets. If all they did was property damage with projectiles, they should be put to work at minimum wage until the cost to repair the damages has been recouped. Once they work 200+ hours to pay for damages, they'll have a much greater understanding and appreciation of what it takes to replace broken things when someone else damages them.

If they were using guns that shoot bullets, by all means, put them through the system as an adult and prosecute the parents IF it can be determined that the parents let them have access to the weapons. If it can be proven that the parents had no weapons / no knowledge of the weapons, then they shouldn't be held accountable for the weapon use.

Once those boys obtained and decided to use the weapons, they showed that they were capable of determining right from wrong. They made the wrong choice, and are now at the mercy of the judicial system. Let a judge determine their fate.

What worries me is that although no one was hurt, someone could have been hurt. I am all for second chances, personally, because I know that when growing up, the teenage years can be a rough time for many kids who are oftentimes frustrated with the life they were dealt and tend to make mistakes. Charging teens as adults can destroy their prospective future and put them in a downward spiral that predisposes them to a life of crime and illegal activities if they are unable to find legal employment anywhere thereafter. However, what if these two teens are in fact given a break, served with “only” a community sentence, and after some time they once again fall victim to the beliefs or circumstances that triggered this outrage in the first place, the question remains what they would then be capable of. What if the next time they decide to go on a rampage the targets are not so lucky and the teens actually end up killing some family members living in the houses that were shot at? What if a mom, a dad, a toddler, and a 1st grader are sitting at their dining room table eating dinner unsuspectingly, when these teens once again become frustrated with their lives and decide to shoot up the neighborhood, killing this family of four, or worse killing one (or both) of the small children (or the main bread winner of the home). Is it really fair to possibly expose families in the neighborhood to potential future danger simply to give these two teens a break? The ethical line here is obviously very blurry. But I am thinking that maybe it would be best for the authorities to figure out (if it is not already known) why the teens targeted this specific neighborhood for their drive-by shooting. Do the kids live in this same neighborhood? Are there any same-aged peers that reside there with whom the teens may have had a falling out prior to the drive-by? Or did the kids randomly choose this neighborhood to relieve some stress and get even with “society”? The last option is actually the scariest, since it would indicate that the teens are not only indifferent to the welfare or endangerment of others around them, but also act in an unpredictable manner that would make them dangerous individuals to be on the loose. If the latter was actually found to be true, then, as sad as it may be considering the young age of these kids, the teens should be charged as adults for this crime. Regardless of the scenario, however, an effort should be made to provide some professional mental health counseling for these two individuals to get to the root of the problem that triggered this incident.

We need to protect our families from dangerous individuals. Sixteen to eighteen year old young men kill innocent men, women, and children every day in this country, and for the most part, they do it by picking up guns and shooting at people, as if those people and anyone who just happens to be in the vicinity, are no more than bugs on a picnic table.

Individuals who participate in drive-by shootings have made the cold, calloused, calculated DECISION that human life, to them, is worth no more than spit, and that they somehow have the right to take that precious gift away from anyone they choose, at anytime and any place.

Give them a second chance and maybe they won't miss next time.

They used up their second chances a long time ago. They had a second chance to decide that human life was valuable, and they decided it was not. They had a second chance to decide to care about other people and their safety, and they decided that other people aren't worth squat. They had a second chance to humble themselves and understand that they have no right to endanger other people's lives, and they decided to adopt the belief that they alone are entitled to decide who lives and who dies. They had a second chance when they dismissed the possibility of children being killed, and they decided that it didn't matter to them. They had a second chance when they picked up the gun and loaded it. They had a second chance when they got in a car and drove to your neighborhood to shoot. They had a second chance at the instant they fired. In each and every case, they decided that they were completely convinced that firing a gun at houses in your neighborhood, perhaps killing whoever happened to be in front of them, was exactly what they wanted to do. They have had many, many second chances, and EVERY time, they decided that their disdain for the lives of your family and your neighbors was the only thing that mattered to them.

What is your motivation, protecting the lives of your family or giving "one more chance" to individuals who have shown time after time that second chances are not going to alter their decisions in the least? Just as every other second chance that they've been given has resulted in them continuing to behave in exactly the way that they have already decided to act, so will this "second chance". Give them a second chance to shoot at your family and they will take it, only perhaps this time they won't miss. What then, another second chance? How many of your neighbors and family members would you like for them to be allowed to kill before you decide that they have had enough second chances? Attempted murder is not serious enough for you?

I think you are concerned for the wrong people.

Abso-freaking-lutely! Here's why! I used to know a kid who had gotten out of a gang with his life, which is pretty miraculous considering the punishment for leaving a gang is usually death. He told me they recruit at a very young age for one reason and one reason ONLY! That is because they know a young kid can kill without getting into as much trouble legally as an adult would. They actually purposely send the minors out to do the killing just for that reason.

Start trying the minors as adults and this will change. How sad would it be to see a 10-year-old with an Uzi and a head full of memories of killing another human being at such a young age?

Of course they should be punished as adults to set an example. Taking the life or trying to take the life of another is dang serious and they need to be taught that it is wrong.

I live in a small town and am so thankful that type of stuff does not happen here.