KillerMuffin
Seraphically Disinclined
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2000
- Posts
- 25,603
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.../IDS/UsTopNews/NEWS-CRIME-CHILDREN-DC_TXT.XML
From Reuters, the link should be dead in a few days.
***
SANDPOINT, Idaho (Reuters) - Hoping to end a two-day standoff, Idaho police on Thursday sought to coax six children out of their rural compound where they have been holed up with a pack of attack dogs and possibly a cache of guns.
The McGuckin children, aged 8 to 16, closed themselves off in their home on Tuesday night after their mother was arrested. Since then, police have kept vigil outside the property, which is located in Garfield Bay, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Sandpoint in rural northern Idaho.
"We're putting no pressure on the children. They haven't broken any laws," Bonner County Patrol Sergeant Robert Rahn said Wednesday. "We're exploring avenues such as family members and friends."
The police standoff has brought many local residents uncomfortable memories of the 1992 confrontation in nearby Ruby Ridge, where federal agents shot and killed the wife and son of white supremacist Randy Weaver on his property.
The children's father, Michael McGuckin, died of multiple sclerosis earlier in May, and neighbors have described the family as reclusive and deeply suspicious of government and social agencies.
"That's exactly what we're dealing with," Rahn said.
The mother, JoAnn McGuckin, 46, was arrested on Tuesday after leaving with a police deputy who lured her from the home with an offer of grocery money. She has been charged with felony injury to a child, although officials declined to discuss details of the case.
When police returned to the property intending to place the children in the custody of social services workers, one of the sons yelled "get the guns" and another released a pack of attack dogs out of the basement, officials said.
With those dogs still roaming the property Thursday, police were seeking to communicate with the children over loudspeaker, and had enlisted the help of a 19-year-old sister who had recently moved out of the house, Rahn said.
He added that one of the first priorities was figuring out how to get the dogs under control. "We're working on several options, the humane society and vets," he said.
While police repeatedly said they planned no abrupt action, neighbors warned they could be in for a long wait if they hope the children will leave the home of their own accord.
The children have reportedly been caring for themselves for the past year, eating soup made from lake water and lilies, and have grown used to living in a home that has no power, water or heat.
***
This makes me pretty sad, that something like this should happen. Is it the mother's fault? Did she make them so distrusting? The systems fault? Is there something that could have been done beforehand to prevent this? Is it no one's fault?
It seems the police are doing the best they can, rather than attacking, they're negotiating. Which is one up for the Idaho cops in a very bad situation.
From Reuters, the link should be dead in a few days.
***
SANDPOINT, Idaho (Reuters) - Hoping to end a two-day standoff, Idaho police on Thursday sought to coax six children out of their rural compound where they have been holed up with a pack of attack dogs and possibly a cache of guns.
The McGuckin children, aged 8 to 16, closed themselves off in their home on Tuesday night after their mother was arrested. Since then, police have kept vigil outside the property, which is located in Garfield Bay, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Sandpoint in rural northern Idaho.
"We're putting no pressure on the children. They haven't broken any laws," Bonner County Patrol Sergeant Robert Rahn said Wednesday. "We're exploring avenues such as family members and friends."
The police standoff has brought many local residents uncomfortable memories of the 1992 confrontation in nearby Ruby Ridge, where federal agents shot and killed the wife and son of white supremacist Randy Weaver on his property.
The children's father, Michael McGuckin, died of multiple sclerosis earlier in May, and neighbors have described the family as reclusive and deeply suspicious of government and social agencies.
"That's exactly what we're dealing with," Rahn said.
The mother, JoAnn McGuckin, 46, was arrested on Tuesday after leaving with a police deputy who lured her from the home with an offer of grocery money. She has been charged with felony injury to a child, although officials declined to discuss details of the case.
When police returned to the property intending to place the children in the custody of social services workers, one of the sons yelled "get the guns" and another released a pack of attack dogs out of the basement, officials said.
With those dogs still roaming the property Thursday, police were seeking to communicate with the children over loudspeaker, and had enlisted the help of a 19-year-old sister who had recently moved out of the house, Rahn said.
He added that one of the first priorities was figuring out how to get the dogs under control. "We're working on several options, the humane society and vets," he said.
While police repeatedly said they planned no abrupt action, neighbors warned they could be in for a long wait if they hope the children will leave the home of their own accord.
The children have reportedly been caring for themselves for the past year, eating soup made from lake water and lilies, and have grown used to living in a home that has no power, water or heat.
***
This makes me pretty sad, that something like this should happen. Is it the mother's fault? Did she make them so distrusting? The systems fault? Is there something that could have been done beforehand to prevent this? Is it no one's fault?
It seems the police are doing the best they can, rather than attacking, they're negotiating. Which is one up for the Idaho cops in a very bad situation.
