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I'm always preaching about not trespassing, the following story is my next sermon...
Teen girl shot looking for ghosts
Owner fires from inside 'spooky' house
AP Wire
WORTHINGTON, Ohio - A teenager out looking for ghosts with friends was shot in the head and critically wounded near
a house considered spooky by local teens, police said Wednesday. A man who lives in the house, Allen S. Davis, 40,
was charged in the shooting and told reporters Wednesday from jail that he was trying to drive off trespassers and
didn't intend to hurt the teen girls, whom he called juvenile delinquents.
He said he fired his rifle out his bedroom window Tuesday night after hearing voices outside the home, which is across
the street from a cemetery and blocked from view by overgrown trees and shrubbery. "I didn't know what their
weaponry was, what their intentions were," he said. "In a situation like that, you assume the worst-case scenario if
you're going to protect your family from a possible home invasion and murder."
The 17-year-old girl, Rachel Barezinsky, and two of her friends got out of their car parked near the home about 10 p.m.
and took a few steps on the property, police Lt. Doug Francis said. They jumped back in when a girl in the car sounded
the horn, and they heard what they thought were firecrackers as they drove away. The girls - all seniors at Thomas
Worthington High School in suburban Columbus - drove around the block, and Barezinsky was struck while sitting in the
car as they passed the house again and heard a second round of what turned out to be gunshots, Francis said.
Davis, a self-employed nonfiction writer, said he had prepared the rifle after numerous previous instances of
trespassing, but he didn't know until Wednesday that teens considered his house haunted. Police should charge the
teens with trespassing, he said. "It's really something how homeowners defend themselves and the way the laws are
written, we're the ones brought up on charges while the perpetrators get little or nothing."
Francis said police do not intend to pursue criminal charges against the girls at this point.
As the girls' car drove away from the house, the driver noticed she had blood on her arm and passengers in the back
seat also discovered blood, police said. They saw Barezinsky had collapsed in the front passenger's seat and drove
until they could flag down two police officers. The other girls were not injured.
Some classmates at the high school, which has about 1,700 students, were planning a vigil Wednesday night at the
football stadium. Principal Rich Littell said he had talked to Barezinsky, a well-known cheerleader, at a freshman
welcome dance on Monday night. "It just kills you. She's a great kid, very, very athletic. She was looking forward to ...
the tumbling she was going to do at the football game," he said.
Davis, who was charged with five counts of felonious assault, told officers he had been annoyed by trespassers and
that he was aiming for the car's tires from his first-floor bedroom, police said.
"He admitted to never calling the police, but it just had been occurring and he got frustrated and he was upset, saying
someone trespassed on his property and he was protecting his property," Francis said.
Barezinsky, who also was struck in the shoulder, was taken to Ohio State University Medical Center in critical condition,
police said. The hospital would not provide an update on her condition Wednesday.
Francis said Davis' home had a reputation at the high school for being haunted by ghosts and witches, and students
have been daring each other to knock on the door or go in the yard. Zoning officers have visited the home where Davis
lives with his 64-year-old mother because of complaints that the property has not been kept up, police said.
Betty Davis, 69, who lives around the corner, said Allen Davis was quiet and kept to himself. She said she's not related
to him. "I guess last night was the last straw," she said. "I think it blew everybody's mind it would come to this."
Teen girl shot looking for ghosts
Owner fires from inside 'spooky' house
AP Wire
WORTHINGTON, Ohio - A teenager out looking for ghosts with friends was shot in the head and critically wounded near
a house considered spooky by local teens, police said Wednesday. A man who lives in the house, Allen S. Davis, 40,
was charged in the shooting and told reporters Wednesday from jail that he was trying to drive off trespassers and
didn't intend to hurt the teen girls, whom he called juvenile delinquents.
He said he fired his rifle out his bedroom window Tuesday night after hearing voices outside the home, which is across
the street from a cemetery and blocked from view by overgrown trees and shrubbery. "I didn't know what their
weaponry was, what their intentions were," he said. "In a situation like that, you assume the worst-case scenario if
you're going to protect your family from a possible home invasion and murder."
The 17-year-old girl, Rachel Barezinsky, and two of her friends got out of their car parked near the home about 10 p.m.
and took a few steps on the property, police Lt. Doug Francis said. They jumped back in when a girl in the car sounded
the horn, and they heard what they thought were firecrackers as they drove away. The girls - all seniors at Thomas
Worthington High School in suburban Columbus - drove around the block, and Barezinsky was struck while sitting in the
car as they passed the house again and heard a second round of what turned out to be gunshots, Francis said.
Davis, a self-employed nonfiction writer, said he had prepared the rifle after numerous previous instances of
trespassing, but he didn't know until Wednesday that teens considered his house haunted. Police should charge the
teens with trespassing, he said. "It's really something how homeowners defend themselves and the way the laws are
written, we're the ones brought up on charges while the perpetrators get little or nothing."
Francis said police do not intend to pursue criminal charges against the girls at this point.
As the girls' car drove away from the house, the driver noticed she had blood on her arm and passengers in the back
seat also discovered blood, police said. They saw Barezinsky had collapsed in the front passenger's seat and drove
until they could flag down two police officers. The other girls were not injured.
Some classmates at the high school, which has about 1,700 students, were planning a vigil Wednesday night at the
football stadium. Principal Rich Littell said he had talked to Barezinsky, a well-known cheerleader, at a freshman
welcome dance on Monday night. "It just kills you. She's a great kid, very, very athletic. She was looking forward to ...
the tumbling she was going to do at the football game," he said.
Davis, who was charged with five counts of felonious assault, told officers he had been annoyed by trespassers and
that he was aiming for the car's tires from his first-floor bedroom, police said.
"He admitted to never calling the police, but it just had been occurring and he got frustrated and he was upset, saying
someone trespassed on his property and he was protecting his property," Francis said.
Barezinsky, who also was struck in the shoulder, was taken to Ohio State University Medical Center in critical condition,
police said. The hospital would not provide an update on her condition Wednesday.
Francis said Davis' home had a reputation at the high school for being haunted by ghosts and witches, and students
have been daring each other to knock on the door or go in the yard. Zoning officers have visited the home where Davis
lives with his 64-year-old mother because of complaints that the property has not been kept up, police said.
Betty Davis, 69, who lives around the corner, said Allen Davis was quiet and kept to himself. She said she's not related
to him. "I guess last night was the last straw," she said. "I think it blew everybody's mind it would come to this."
