From the Las Vegas Sun: A 20-year-old woman was in stable condition Wednesday night at University Medical Center after she was allegedly shot by a 76-year-old neighbor woman after a dispute, Metro Police said.
Police responded to the incident shortly before 9 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 6500 block of Vegas Drive.
Police said the victim and her twin sister knocked on the door of her neighbor and got into a dispute and then a physical struggle with a person at the apartment.
Police said the woman was shot in the upper torso and transported to University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. She was in stable condition and will not require surgery, officials said. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/02/woman-shot-during-altercation-neighbor-police-say/
Channel 13, Las Vegas had an interview with the victim in the case, a 59 year old woman. The video showed the woman with a black eye. Her husband was beat up and the daughter of the couple tried to get the to females that burst into the apartment to leave by beating them with a baseball bat, but the women refused to leave. The thug intruders then threaten to kill the family.
From Channel 13: Officers responded to the apartment in the 6500 block of Vegas Drive on Wednesday night around 9 p.m.
After the reviewing the case and interviewing witnesses, police have decided that the "victim" recovering from a gunshot wound may not be such a victim after all.
Lorraine Dipaola claims she has never met these two girls before, until they came pounding on her door. She said she opened up and was faced with a bogus accusation.
"They say, we want to know why you threw the f'n dog pop in front of our house. I said, what? I don't even know you," explained Dipaola.
Dipaola says as she stepped back, the young women moved closer, one jamming her foot in the door.
"They stepped in, and the girl says, you're an f'n liar. I said, what did you say to me? She went like this, and of course I hit her back," said Dipaola, who says she immediately felt overpowered.
She describes taking a jab to the left eye and to the ribs. According to Dipaola, the intruders pushed her 76-year-old disabled husband to the floor.
The couple's daughter grabbed a bat and started swinging.
"We literally were protecting ourselves in our own home. I pounded them to protect us, and they would not go down," said Antoinette Gentile, who says she felt compelled to try and protect her parents.
http://www.ktnv.com/story/13975228/woman-shoots-20-year-old-in-self-defense-i-had-no-other-choice
So, the family did the right thing to protect themselves and what did they get for their trouble in which all they did was to protect themselves from harm? They got evicted from their apartment.
From 13 News: The shooting has brought on another emotional burden, as she says her family's being evicted from their home of eight years.
This family got totally screwed. They had two thug women break into their apartment, the thugettes start to beat up people, the married woman of the family warns the thugettes that the will shoot them. The thugettes continue their thuggish behavior and the wife shoots a thugette. Finally, the final insult is that the family gets thrown out to the three street for doing the right thing. The apartments are own by Camden.
Pathetic.
"Don't say anything robophobic."
2 hours ago
This is terrible. I hope they find new (and safer) housing soon. Hopefully, the publicity will lead a more responsible landlord to step forward and offer them an affordable lease.
ReplyDeleteThis article is so one sided it's SICK. The 20 year old went to this woman's house because the woman DID do what she was accused of.
ReplyDeleteThis article ALSO seems to omit the fact this woman has a mental illness.
I know the 20 year old who was shot, this article is bull. This isn't what happened.
I love how someone can come post as "Anonymous" and dispute the facts of the case - the shooter's family got beat up - not just one of them.
ReplyDeleteI guess its ok for a friend of the perps who forced their way in, made accusations, and then beat up on this family, to come here and "anonymously" defend these thugs.
Typical "blame the victim" crap. Go post somewhere with people of like mind - maybe a blog for convicts in state prison?
The 20 year old sounds like a complete piece of trash if she beats up someone for their dog going number 2. Probably a junkie and welfare addict too.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I'm sorry to hear that you know somebody that deranged.
So, anon, what really happened, here's your chance to give your side of the story.
ReplyDeleteSo what if the shooter had a mental illness, shde still had to defend her family.
In addition, there was no reason for the 2 thugettes to enter the house. If they had a problem, go to the apartment mangers and then Metro.
One-sided bull. The article you quoted from also got the age of the woman doing the shooting wrong. She was 76 according to all other news sources that are cut-and-dried with no accusations of guilt or innocence either way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, who keeps a semi-automatic in a cat tower? Really?
I too know the twins mentioned, and they've been nothing but gracious and non-confrontational. From a mutual friend who explained it well:
This was an entirely one sided look at the incident in question. These twins are good, upstanding members of the community both online and in person. They were caring for a dog that Mrs. Dipaola wanted. It was a dog that was homeless and needed care. The twins are dog lovers and knew that this dog (being of larger breed) needed a home on a farm where it could run. They were able to find the dog a home with a local farmer. After having done so Mrs. Dipaola harassed them on multiple occasions about the dog. They've actually spoken about the incident online in the communities we frequent about how one of their neighbors was harassing them over a dog. They weren't accusing her of "throwing feces on their porch" she was allowing her own dog to do it's business on their door step. After harassment from her over ownership of the dog (that she had no right to) went on for a period of time they decided to speak with her about it. They had asked others for assistance in this matter and no one would believe them. They've sought help for the harassment and received none. So they, being civil, went to her home to explain why it was that they denied her the dog that she wanted. They were then forcibly pulled into her apartment where they were assaulted by her family. When they tried to flee they were fired upon.
You commenters should be ashamed for passing judgment on the twins without hearing both sides, and you too, poster.
I may be their friends, and yes, I do believe their side, but I know full well that I don't know exactly what happened. What I want is a fair representation of both sides, which this is not. I am a journalist myself for a newspaper and this kind of shoddy piffle from KTNV would never get published.
Thank you for your side Julie. It certainly expalins some things, though, how did they get pulled into the old ladies house? Two 20 year olds get pulled in the apartment by a 76 year old man, woman and their daughter?
ReplyDeleteAnd all this over a dog? How sad on everyone's part.
I'm not sure age has much to do with it. Their daughter must've been at least 30, probably in her 40's or nearing 50's. That's still 3 on 2, not to mention the twins being unarmed and the levels of physical strength among them being unknown.
ReplyDeleteEither way, KTNV has agreed to get in contact with the twins to get their side.
Some other points that have been made..by both people who know them and those who don't, I might add.
"If I had to say anything to the article, I have to say that lady is hiding something. She says she gave the girls a chance to get out, and yet fired anyway. Intimidated or not, calling the police should have been the very FIRST option, NOT drawing a firearm. It stated there was more than one person in the house at the time so surely one of them could have called the police if they felt severely threatened, however the first initial reaction was to draw a gun instead of contacting authorities to resolve the situation.
Seems to me like the older woman is more at fault here because she SHOULD have known better than to shoot. Even if the women were looking to make trouble, as an older person that lady should have called police instead of trying to take matters of protection into her own hands.
Firing a shot is the HUGE pinpoint for me because they said that the girl (not sure which one) was hit in the lower torso whereas in most cases the law states that only shots placed BELOW the torso are measured for self defense.
So, if the lady was NOT intending to 'hurt' the girl/s she definitely failed at aiming to avoid it. Hitting anywhere in the abdomen can damage vital intestines that cannot be repaired without massive surgery and therapy, so that lady is DAMN lucky she didn't severely injure the girl she shot."
And another,
"Well, something that the media should take into account (and the police) is that during this lady's testimony she constantly averts her gaze. She never seems to have a steady voice, and if you listen to the tone of her "crying" it just SOUNDS like its false.
The article is not only one sided, but the expressions and testimonies of these people should be looked at with a fine-toothed comb. The expressions, tones of voice, and the eyes are all tell-tales of the truth VS. a lie.
Right now, all those factors say that the lady is not being truthful with her story.
Besides, there are THREE people that were in that home, the twins obviously had no gun or weapon with them, so instead of getting a bat or gun the family should have just grabbed a phone and dial the number 911. Since they didn't, its common sense to believe something else was going on. Why the police aren't thinking of this is beyond me, but seriously."
And yes, it's very sad that something like this happened at all.
The various stories about this encounter are strange and do not add up to me about this woman...she's 59 one second and 76 another, in a video it's her husband that's 76. Then it's 'the girls did this'..but in another report it's "they did something else." Apparently no one knows who is who; or what is what with this. The only consistency is the girl was shot.
ReplyDeleteAlso an interesting point...the girl was shot in the back. She obviously wasn't attacking anyone if the family stayed next to each other as they said in the reports "trying to help one another and protect themselves", and if there was a bullet graze on the front door as it passed through the girl, then it was quite obvious that she was leaving the house when she was shot. The woman would not have shot at her (especially in the back) if she were fighting one of her family members...because it would have passed through her and hit the family member.
As a concealed carry permit holder, and an avid gun user in general, first and most obvious rule in self defense is "shoot to incapacitate...not kill" That means shoot them in non vital areas. I believe the upper torso is quite a vital area,what being full of lungs and a heart, correct me if I'm wrong. This woman shot with full intent on killing that girl. Regardless of how 'stressed' she may have been. There are too many holes in this woman's case. I hope the twins tell their side of the story, I'm already for them after reviewing the news thus far.