Originally, booby-trap laws were in place to get rid of idiots who did stupid shit like, say, jerry-rig something to kill any burglar dumb enough to break into your house.
It originally came about when some dude rigged his apartment door with said shotgun. Problem is, the guy was a scoutmaster, and one of his boy scouts went over to drop something off, and knew where the spare key was. The booby-trap wound up killing the kid.
That story has a lot of internet confusion. The guy was a scoutmaster for about a year in 1979, but the kid was a burglar. Was unable to find out whether the kid-burglar was actually one of his scouts.
Agreed with all of that, and one other bit:
Originally, booby-trap laws were in place to get rid of idiots who did stupid shit like, say, jerry-rig something to kill any burglar dumb enough to break into your house.
It originally came about when some dude rigged his apartment door with said shotgun. Problem is, the guy was a scoutmaster, and one of his boy scouts went over to drop something off, and knew where the spare key was. The booby-trap wound up killing the kid.
This... this is way different.
Home Alone should have been renamed "Kid Commits Hundreds of Felonies".
That story has a lot of internet confusion. The guy was a scoutmaster for about a year in 1979, but the kid was a burglar. Was unable to find out whether the kid-burglar was actually one of his scouts.
This contains facts in the case: https://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/1981/59538-0.html
Here's the beginning of the urban legend (as far as I can tell): https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1986-10-03-8602280720-story.html
And to top off the insanity, the guy is a pedo: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-02-12-9402120149-story.html
It's always possible the kid entered to get evidence on pedo-master. Obviously pure speculation on my part.