True fact; you drink you don't think. Second fact; it is illegal to supply alcohol to anyone under age 21. The kid would not have been drunk if someone did not supply the drinks. Guns should also be locked in a gun safe or have trigger locks to keep them out of the wrong hands.

Someone playing a little too much "Grand Theft", conflict is not solved with weapons, that's what the cops are for...
Reminds me of the saying..."Tried to be a hero, ended up a zero!"

rule1999 - when you get older and finally become what you wanted to be when you grow up, you will have to work hard, save your money, and then live life well. When you get to that point, add a couple of extra years, and then you can stay home and blog on every story. You know why? Because you have done something constructive by then. Till then, have a glass of warm milk, grab your spongebob doll, and go to sleep young one.

First of all I am a sister of the Ying Yang twins..and the Gazette did not need to put the address of the people involved....and second of all...Matt Berlin should not tried to stop the fight the first place...you are 19 years old and have ben drinking. dont try to be hard and stop some fight that had nothing to do with you, and another thing to the ying yang twins dont go to parties to start fights in fact they are very good hearted people to just like matt berlin. Matt should be happy his stupidity did not kill anyone, cuz if that would of happened he would of ben even more screwed. p.s a little over exaggerating on 12 shots being fired, if that was the case why werent the bomb squad there?????

SarahB - good comments, thank you (not being sarcastic).

LocalBoy - GET A LIFE!!! Is your full time job writing on these blogs!?!? Maybe you could do something a little more constructive with your time than to comment on every news story the Gazette writes.

Rule1999: Thanks for your input. I have no doubt that Matt might be a great person, but I certainly hope he gets an alcohol assessment. This is his third arrest for underage drinking, plus he has prior arrests for disorderly conduct, etc., that typically occur while one is under the influence of alcohol or another drug. (Whether he was so on those occasions, I have no idea.) He is young and could have a happy and successful life ahead of him if he gets himself some help now. It is not shameful to have a substance use disorder. It is shameful, however, to not seek help for it. If he is diagnosed with alcohol abuse or (possibly) dependency, he can get it into remission. Treatment works. I hope the young man seeks help on his own. Otherwise, I hope the court demands an assessment.

Ya sure it wasnt fireworks HAPPY NEW YEAR

rule - the people who knew Ted Bundy thought he was a great guy also.

Unfortunately a lot of people are commenting on limited information that is here. I live next door to Matt and his family and they are great people, and his parents are very involved parents - people made rude assumptions here. Matt made a very poor choice, but he is a good person, and I believe his intentions were meant well, but I agree that the weapons should not have come out and we have spoken to the family about our concerns. They are the kind of people you can talk to about any concerns and they made me feel better about the situation when we spoke. My kids bedrooms were just feet from this, so if anyone would be concerned or angry it would be me. I have known this family for years and I know that this was a wake up call for them and I am positive this kind of thing will not happen again. One more thing - I heard the shots, and there were not 12... 4 maybe 5 at the most. The neighbor who was having the party is also a great person, who has parties that have always been very under control, it was just bad timing all around. I'm very glad no one was hurt seriously in this situation. Please don't judge people or the situation here unless you know them personally or have all the facts.

I think it is safe to assume he wasn't using a 6 shot revolver. Not being a gun enthusiast myself, I do not know what semi-automatic handguns hold, but I would think they hold 10-16 rounds in the in-handle magazine.

localboy-- good point. You're 100% correct. It's not an excuse! Here's the problem, too many people use it as one because there's no accountability in our society. These offenders are simply products of the environment they've been brought up in. Remember, children are educated in the home first. Many of the parents doing the educating are couch potatoes pulling double duty between the TV and video games. If we can't get a grip on our kids when times are good, how are we going to deal with these poorly educated people with the turbulent times that we face today and tomorrow?? There are some great role models out there for our generations, however, there is so much disconnection in the masses now that the bad are having a negative impact on the people whom have and continue to do the right things.
It's going to take some strong willed people who are willing to stand for good over evil to get off OUR duffs and step out into our communities and do something about it. One of us isn't as good as ALL of us! We can talk about it all we like and wait for Uncle Sam to make everything all better, but it doesn't work that way. Our govt. has done enough damage and we the people have stood by and allowed it to happen! We're reaping what we've sewn!
Here's what we're up against. There are those who know this is true but don't care and don't want to hear it and simply choose to do nothing... There are those who know the truth and care, but, won't do anything about it..and there's those who truly have no clue what's going on and are counting on the leaders in our communities to step up and educate them.

Judging by these losers, the economy is just an excuse. Judgement doesn't fix itself when the economy is good. Quit making excuses for losers.

Janesville is becoming the next Rockford! Especially in this economy. Stress is constantly building up in people and is reaching an all time high. People think this will just be a passing thing and everything will be just peachy cuz the govt. will make it all better. WAKE UP! We're approaching times that man has never seen before and because of many people's lack of knowledge from past history, most have no clue how to get through this. We've become a society driven by money as opposed to peace and good will. I wish I were wrong, but, we aint seen nothin' yet.

Just for the record nobody was hit with a bat. Being there and watching the whole thing the "Twins" were done fighting when he came out with the bat. But come on, anyone is gonna be set off for their safety when they see someone coming with a bad yelling. So then what? one gets matt on the ground while the other gets bat out of hands and throws it.

I heard more info on this story on the radio on the way home. Supposedly he fired two shots at their feet and another 12 into the air. Also, his BAC was 0.18.

the best part of this story, the tough guy shows up with the bat and gets it taken away from him .........lol how embarrassing

Oh yeah, it's also super illegal to discharge any gun in town.

21 to own a handgun. 18 to posess one (borrow) for hunting or use at a range.

He was probably just sick and tired of the Ying Yang twins and their parties/fights/noise. It probably wasn't the first time and he just got fed up. I've had neighbors like that and many times calling the police (even multiple times) isn't a deterrent. Just speculating.
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And I hope everyone is aware that anyone of any age can get a gun these days. FYI
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LOL tinker...I think you're my new hero. That was pure genius.

Sure makes my night of grilling steaks and watching a movie in front of the fireplace with my family sound kind of boring. Drunken idiots with pot, bats and guns...now that's a party!

If I came home to a fight across the street (or anywhere) the first thing I would do is call the cops (especially if I was drinking but not yet old enough to legally do so). I can only assume that Matthew Berlin tried to stop the fight because the alcohol had impaired his judgement.

CCAP: underage drinking, obstruction, disorderly conduct....but just trying to be a good citizen? Right....

janesvillian- That was too funny! I agree. Makes no sense. Also it says he was cited for drinking. So how can he be sure that he wasn't aiming directly at them when he fired the gun? I am sure he has a few felonies-what with the bat & the gun..
Just lucky that he didn't kill someone.
I guess they will NOT be good neighbors anymore.

More like why did he even get involved? Go inside and call the cops. Don't try and be the hero. Use a little common sense.

See Yath hit Yann. See Yann hit Yath. See Matt hit Yath and Yann. See Yath and Yann hit Matt.

That's so backwards, it's like dialing 119.

should have called the cops first. they came anyway, didn't they! besides, if you take a gun and a bat to a fist fight, you have more in mind than being a helpful citizen.

Not nice...