Shot Teen Said To Be 'Garage Hopping'

Published May 8, 2014 at 12:25 PM CDT

Teammates, friends and relatives gather to remember Diren Dede at his football club, SC Teutonia 1910, on April 30 in Hamburg, Germany. German 11th grade student Dede, 17, who was on foreign exchange, was fatally shot in the head and arm when he entered the garage of Markus Kaarma in Missoula, Montana, in the early morning of April 27. (Oliver Hardt/Getty Images)

The surviving teen from a fatal April 27 shooting in Missoula, Montana, has reportedly told police that he and his friend were “garage hopping.”

Diren Dede and a friend, both high school exchange students in Missoula, were out around midnight on April 27 when Dede entered an open garage. The homeowner, Markus Kaarma, opened the inside door and shot four times, killing Dede.

Kaarma has been charged with deliberate homicide, but his lawyers say the family was scared of the intruders because of two recent burglaries. Police are investigating if Kaarma had been drunk or smoking marijuana when he fired.

The case has brought attention to the new phenomenon of “garage hopping,” and raised a new debate over Montana’s “castle doctrine” laws, under which residents have a wide latitude to defend their homes.

Montana Public Radio’s Sally Mauk joins Here & Now’s Robin Young to discuss the case.

Guest

Sally Mauk, news director for Montana Public Radio in Missoula. She tweets @sallymauk.

Shot Teen Said To Be 'Garage Hopping'

Guest

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