Two minutes on a porch, a misunderstanding and a gunshot killed a house cleaner
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he was drunk and high, came back from a party, actually broke in through his nieghbours door, 3 doors away, and encountered a 70 some year old cowering man who fearedfor life and safety, stabbed him and nearly killed him.
police closed the "case" and both parties charges were dismissed.
it would have been different if the door wasnt breached.
in the case in topic, it would have been different if both parties announced themselves, and cleaner took the hint from google map inconsistencies.
Even if a building, is suppossed to be empty, or unoccupied, Always confirm with your client you are at the right place, Announce Yourself, and avoid costly mistaken jobsite identification.
the blame goes all around here.
we have similar stand your ground laws where i am, and we call people, or call out while "walking up on someone"
we are also not allowed to carry on someone private property unless explicit, and enduring permission is given by the owner/controller of the property.
A man shoots through a closed and locked door that no one is actually knocking down, and you think the housecleaner fumbling through keys on the porch is at all to blame for her own death? He was a paranoid coward who probably would have killed a neighbor kid one day if he hadn't killed her first.
> we have similar stand your ground laws where i am, and we call people, or call out while "walking up on someone"
You actually shout this when walking down the street behind someone? What a terrible place you must live in.
numerous mistakes by numerous parties combine, to culminate in failure and consequence.
here in alaska, you dont just assume, you have the right place, you take measures to be sure you are where you actually think you are.
that means when you walk onto private property not your own, you call out to make contact, and you dont carry a firearm onto property unless given specific permission to do so.
google errors, wrong house, no confirmation of address, trying keys at door, twitchy gun owner, stand your ground laws, political climate.
these all combine to create a disasterous outcome.
After the shooting, Andersen told investigators he had previously watched videos about what to do if someone tries to enter your home and had devised a plan for a potential break-in, according to court records.
Convinced that was happening, he did not approach the door, turn on a light or call out, court records state. Instead, he allegedly moved to the room he called his “safe room,” unlocked a Pelican case and loaded his Glock pistol.
Note: he did not approach the door, turn on a light or call out, court records state.
All he had to do was yell out loudly, turn on the lights or do something to let whoever was outside know that somebody was inside and armed. Instead he just shot without any notice.
for that matter when you try to enter someone elses house with a key, it normally starts with
'knockknock/ringring "hello smalltime cleaning service im looking for 123 circle boulevard to mop and dust, joe gave me keys, is any one home?"
we have housecleaners up here too, and they are very big on a prolonged contact attempt, when its a "walk-in job" thats because if you dont, you are doing what home invaders do, and all you have to do is attempt verbal contact even if you think noone is there, and you have the right place. its seatbelt simple.
same the other way, " i dont know you, i didnt ask for service your acting like a burglar, go away from my door, and leave"
thats how we do it up here, police are hours, sometimes days away from responding to emergency calls
The pair found work as contractors for a cleaning service. On Nov. 5, they were tasked with cleaning the windows of a recently constructed model home that is part of a new housing development directly east of Andersen’s house, court documents say.
Shortly before 7 a.m., Ríos Pérez de Velásquez and her husband were standing on the front porch of what they believed was the house they were meant to clean, court records say. Given that it was a model home, the records say, they thought no one was living there and observed no lights on inside or cars in the driveway. The pair started trying the keys.
Note: Given that it was a model home, the records say, they thought no one was living there and observed no lights on inside or cars in the driveway.
They were told it wasn't occupied and were given keys to enter and clean. Those were the instructions they followed.
Do not condone or excuse Murder.
BTW this is more like manslaughter than murder. read the statutes before you comment on legal matters.
all you guys that do housecalls should learn from this incident, always check your status, the situation can change suddenly espescially in a stand your ground state.
you, yourself are the first and foremost safety stop.
no one of any reasonable sort, closes thier eyes, and walks across traffic to cross the street.
if you want to get into the habit of attempting entry into a home, that isnt yours, without onsite confirmation, at 7am without announcing yourself, in a stand your ground state, go ahead.
they had the wrong house, thx google maps, as ive said before, the blame goes all around here. its swiss cheese.
1) The House was said to be a "Model House" and no one living in it.
2) Because of the above, they were given keys to explicitly open, enter and clean the house.
3) When they arrived at the house, there were no lights, no cars, no dogs etc. all consistent with the signs of an unoccupied house.
4) So they started trying the keys one-by-one in order to do their job.
The above sequence is perfectly logical and that is what most of us would have done in a similar situation.
The guy did not fire randomly (i am almost sure that racism must be involved here given the current anti-immigrant sentiments roiling the US) but must have seen the victims through a peep-hole/windows and then must have opened fire deliberately. He aimed at one of them squarely with a handgun. No warnings etc. were given. It is murder pure and simple.
“We cannot, as a society, have people deciding literally to shoot first and ask questions later,” said Jody Madeira, a law professor at Indiana University.
maybe you don't intend this , but sounds like victim blaming.
everything that went wrong could have been nullified by heed the reality that actions or inactions have consequences.
providing wrong map info, trusting sketchy information sources, lack of clear communication of purpose, and intent. lack of contact, with humans to confirm or verify.
its more than a victims contribution, there are second and third parties to look at.
stop excusing murder.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/05/what-the-...
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts...
(Gun suicide rates are at record highs, but gun murder rates have dipped)
A militia to deter occupiers is different from protecting one's own house. And cases like this go beyond the Castle doctrine. This made had no legit fear for his life. Wiggling keys in a door and jiggling door handle don't equal legit fear. You have to at least identify a threat. This shooter was irresponsible and wrecked it for many other responsible people. Government will use this to weaken individuals' 2A rights.
Guy in Scotland gets drunk at a party and stumbles back into the wrong house and falls asleep on their couch. Greeted in the morning by strangers offering him coffee and a cigarette and everyone having a laugh about it. That's much more like the world I'd prefer to live in than whatever the fuck is wrong with this country and 40% of its population.
Agreed, when I had this happen to me (once with a dorm in college, another time in an apartment) I just kicked the guy out, didn't give him coffee. Unlike rolph, my first thought wasn't, "I know, I should shoot this guy sleeping on my couch." What a sad world some people exist in and want to spread to the rest of the world.
It sure sounds like Mr. Andersen killed a house cleaner.
> “After some time,” investigators wrote, “Curt said he didn’t mean for anything to happen to anybody.”
What does he think happens when a bullet goes through someone?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68450159
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/02/pizza-d...
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In case of disaster, contact the "Thoughts and Prayers Bot" (sarcasm)
Separately, and hopefully satire: [1]
U.S. Government Launches “Thoughts & Prayers” Subscription Service to Streamline Response to Tragedies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a bold move to modernize federal disaster response, the U.S. government today launched a new “Thoughts & Prayers+” subscription service, allowing Americans to automatically send condolences with one click every time tragedy strikes.
“Why waste precious seconds typing heartfelt responses when you can automate empathy?” said Homeland Sympathy Secretary Chad Grimshaw, unveiling the app alongside a golden emoji of praying hands. “Whether it’s a mass shooting, natural disaster, or devastating celebrity breakup, Thoughts & Prayers+ ensures you’re covered.” (more)
[1] https://allchronology.com/2025/06/17/u-s-government-launches...