Shot falling to earth has significantly less chance of doing harm than a bullet. I didn’t see “handgun” specified, either. Just “gun” in the linked article.
So there’s that.
How tough can it be to round up the people at the house, ask the girl to identify the ones who were beating her, and arrest them?
I was once an ear-witness to some gunshots fired into the air by a guy driving a car, chasing down some kids in another car that had just given his neighbor a lawn-job. :rolleyes: (Nobody else in the house I was in at the time believed me when I said those were *definitely *gunshots, not fireworks. :rolleyes:x2)
So, being that I was a eager to prove them wrong, and this was far from being a dangerous neighborhood, I ran outside to see what was up. Dude had them getting out of their car and commanding them to lie on the ground with his gun in hand, but not really pointed at them.
After some satisfying “I told you so” glances at my compatriots, and sending someone to go call the cops at the guy’s behest, I warned the guy that the cops would not be amused with his Yosemite Sam impression over a friggin’ lawn job. Predictably, the cops had him in handcuffs and off to the hoosegow almost immediately upon arrival. I remember one cop cursing about the amount of paperwork this bonehead had just generated for him.
I figured nothing really major developed out of it, until many months later the guy came looking for me to be a potential witness. Turned out he had gotten charged with multiple felonies, not only for unlawful-discharge of a firearm, but also for something like multiple counts of kidnapping, unlawful confinement, or some such. (it’s been many years)
I feigned sympathy, but I told the guy that there was nothing I could say in his defense other than what I told the cops at the scene - heard shots, went outside, saw dude holding a gun and shouting at a bunch of scared-shitless, compliant kids to lie on the ground. (one, in an ant-pile, lol)
Never heard anything else, but I assume it didn’t go well for him based on his need to go witness shopping.
It sounds like he had justified reasons to shoot. But that doesn’t mean he should have just shot his gun at random. A gun isn’t supposed to be used as a noise-maker. You’re supposed to think about where the bullets are going.
The Straight Dope: Can a bullet fired into the air kill someone when it comes down?
Tougher than you might think, actually. The assailants may not live at the house; they might have been visitors. And the girl may not be able to positively identify her attackers. Human memory doesn’t function well under stress; eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable for that reason.
Very true. But under severe emotional stress it can be hard to stay clear-headed. I figure it’s like someone driving 60 in a 30 mile an hour zone because they’re trying to rush a loved one to the hospital: under normal circumstances they’d recognize what a dumb, dangerous thing that is to do, but in their panic all they are thinking is “hospital, NOW!”
The guy was justifiably scared for his fiancee’s life, and he needed to stop the attack, but he didn’t want to shoot anyone if he didn’t have to. So he shot up into the air, forgetting in his stressed state that that those bullets would eventually be coming back down. He deserves to be punished for it, but I can understand why he did it and can’t crucify him for doing it.
Of course, nobody at the house would have any knowledge of who was there and went to beat a woman across the street.
It doesn’t really matter, does it? Multiple guys beating a woman in the street is so much less egregious than shooting a gun in public, they got the bad guy and arrested him.
That’s the vibe I get from this whole affair:
Shooting Gun in the Air = Terrible
Multiple Thugs Beating Woman in the Street = Meh, at least they weren’t Shooting Guns in the Air.
I agree. There appears to have been no malice involved. But that’s the reason why there’s the concept of recklessness. Sometimes doing something stupid can be a crime.
Do you expect the sort of people who’d invite thugs over to their house to be cooperative with the police? I’d expect them to say, “I didn’t see nothing, Officer.”
Except that no one in this thread has said that, or defended the thugs’ actions.
Funny, the vibe I get is:
Multiple Thugs Beating Woman on the Steet = Terrible
Shooting Gun Into the Air = Dumb Response to a Terrible Event
And sometimes it isn’t. If this guy was some drunk yahoo “celebrating” by shooting his guns in the air, I’d say throw the book at him (just like I’d do with the speeding sportscar driver). But in this case I’d be more inclined to give him the legal equivalent of a stern talking to (just as I’d do with the panicked mother rushing her sick child to the hospital). The law should be capable of taking all the circumstances into account when rendering a judgment.
What’s the more likely reason the assailants haven’t been arrested? The cops don’t think this beating is serious enough to bother with or the bad guys ran away?
There is exactly one person in jail right now, someone from across the street who the cops saw trying to ditch an illegal knife.
How do you know that the folks across the street haven’t been interviewed? How do you know the victim hasn’t picked the the perpetrators out of a lineup?
Unless things are done very differently in Des Moines, there’s an investigation with witness statements and all that stuff. What else, exactly, do you want the cops to do?
I’m sure the lesson we all learned is that if multiple thugs are beating your girlfriend, just use harsh language. Don’t do anything Dumb, like try to get them to stop. You will be arrested, not them.
When I took my concealed carry class, the cop teaching the class made a few points. Never point or fire a gun unless you’re planning on killing whatever you are firing at and never, ever try for a warning shot. Shoot to **stop **the assailant.
Another valuable tip - “any time a gun has been fired, a crime has been committed. the police investigate it to figure out the crime in question.”
Try “Just use harsh language while pointing a gun at them. If they don’t stop, then shoot them.”
The gun wasn’t the problem. The warning shot was.
The guy did exactly what I would do. I wouldn’t want to kill anyone, not even gangbanging scum that would beat a woman. I would want to make them stop immediately as even one more punch has more chance of causing brain or spinal collumn injury than the chance a falling bullet will hurt anyone. He could have yelled as soon as he stepped out the door and maybe he did for all we know but nothing speaks louder than a gun. A gun says death, not maybe I can take this guy since there are so many of us.
I also got Duke of Rats vibe out of this. Nobody particularly lamented the gangs actions in beating a defenseless woman but concentrated on the unlikely event of a falling bullet landing on someones head and seriously injuring them. Ganstaz are such pussy scum I can’t understand the lauding of them in youth culture and yet they are. “Call me up if you a gangsta” indeed. I’ll bet the fiance didn’t sing that song after. And even if the guy has to go to jail do you think he would do any different next time? Hell no, nor should he. He is the one to be lauded. He is a protector and not ganging up on lone female gansta scum.
No, I’d say the lesson here is if you’re going to shoot a gun to stop a crime, you should aim it at the criminal.
Then you should not carry a gun.
I don’t. I have one in my house though. And even though I don’t WANT to kill anyone I would without blinking or thinking kill to save a loved ones life. Actually I have several as I grew up hunting with my Dad as a youth and still live in the country. Not that it pertains much but I’m an Air Force certified marksman as well.
The problem with this is that aiming the gun at the criminal in question also puts the victim in the line of fire. They are beating her which necessitates them being so close to her as to he in the line of fire. Given the situation described, the guy was dammed no matter what.
I totally agree with this, Furious_Marmot.
And I would echo this, miss elizabeth.
Thank you both for your posts which saved me the trouble of all that typing. 