It matters if the boy is to be charged with any kind of murder. He clearly knows the difference between open carry, brandishing (pointing) and shooting (only shot at active attackers). He clearly gave the third idiot a chance to reconsider, having had no time to give the first two jackals to pounce the moment he tripped and fell to the street. Open carry, pointing at the ground, does not give you a right to throw a projectile . If you are part of a mob , and your projectile has the capacity to render unconscious, then it's especially deadly lethal especially if your target is alone without backup nearby. I would not shoot you if your projectile misses me, or even if it hits me and I remain conscious. But if your part of a mob and you make one more movement to come at me with your body or with another projectile, then you could justifiably go down for using , or trying to use lethal force on me. Probably this is how the first encounter went down.