The California Supreme Court has ruled that a person does not need to have a specific target in mind to be guilt of the crime of attempted murder.
In People v. Stone (2009), the court answers the question: Can a person who shoots into a group of people, intending to kill one of the group, but not knowing or caring which one, can be convicted of attempted murder? The court answers: Yes!
In Stone, the defendant was a passenger in a truck that drove by a group of about 10 individuals associated with the Norteno street gang. When the truck stopped approximately 10 to 15 feet away from the group, the defendant rolled down his passenger window, pulled out a gun, and fired it. The truck then fled the scene.
At trial, a member of the group testified that he did not think the defendant was pointing the gun at anyone in particular but said he ducked when the gun was fired because he was scared of being shot. The witness also stated that he believed the gun was fired “just to scare us” and that he did not “think he was trying to shoot anybody.
The jury found the defendant guilty of one count of attempted premeditated murder in violtion of Penal Code Sections 187, 664.
In reaching its decision, the court determined that the mental state required for attempted murder is the intent to kill a human being, not a particular human being.
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