Oops. I was getting caught up on GoT when this popped up in my news feed. I’ll be more diligent with monitoring the timeline next time.
[Pinky] Say, Brain, what would GoT have been like if they all had guns? [/Pinky]
[Brain] Louder. [/Brain]
From a week ago in the Dallas Morning News: A woman in Kaufman County, Texas was awakened last Thursday by a man banging on her door. After she heard her door being kicked in, she hid in a closet and called 911. She stayed on the line with 911 until the man confronted her, at which point she shot and killed him.
While “person kicking in your front door” is a pretty good sign they’re up to no good, I’m wondering why the news report is calling him a “burglar”. “Home invader”, sure, but I would assume burglars are usually less “direct” in their approach.
Or SWAT, DEA or other cops, whether or not they have the correct house and circumstances. And we’re supposed to know immediately who’s who and react accordingly.
Well yes, but that’s a separate issue and this doesn’t appear to be an example of that.
I’m just wondering how many “burglars” start off by banging loudly on the front door and shouting, given the newspaper’s description. Assuming the guy was a stranger, I’d put better odds on 1) crazy person, or 2) very-angry-but-not-actually-crazy person who got the address of the person they’re angry at wrong.
Yeah, you’re right on the “burglar” issue. Probably just another example of lazy journalism.
It can be a last-ditch way to determine if anyone is still home, before commencing with breaking and entering. If caught, feign looking for a wrong address and try another house or neighborhood.
That said, he sounds more crazy than calculating in this account. Which doesn’t change the homeowner’s response in any way. The homeowner has no idea of what weapons the crazy guy may be carrying. Indeed, the relative physical disparity between homeowner and criminal may be such that a weapon isn’t needed to put the homeowner in fear of imminent serious bodily harm.
From a week ago in Cincinnati, a mother of five shot and seriously wounded her ex-boyfriend in the early morning hours of June 6 after he kicked out a window air conditioner and tried to break into the home where she and her children lived. The woman reportedly had a protection order against the man, and also has a license to carry (although that last is maybe not as relevant, given that the shooting took place in her home; I don’t believe Ohio has any licensing requirement to possess a gun, including a handgun, in one’s own home). The local prosecutor’s office indicated the woman would face no charges in the incident.
I’m glad the lady was prepared to protect herself and her 5 kids.
Anyone angry enough to kick a AC out of a window to gain entry is obviously a threat.
Also from last week, and near my neck of the woods, an 18-year-old man was shot and killed in Clayton County, Georgia, after he broke into a house just before 3 a.m. The homeowner was awakened by loud banging on his door, followed by the sound of someone breaking the glass next to the front door in order to break into the house. The homeowner then shot and fatally wounded the intruder with a rifle as the man was coming up the stairs. The homeowner will apparently face no charges in the incident.
Marcia Black’s initial comment reminds me of my two grandmothers. They were very practical & tough ladies that raised families in very rural areas. The nearest neighbor might be over a mile away and that was often a single house. There were no phones in these houses. Grandad was at work with the family’s car. There was no way to get help. Families relied on themselves to deal with whatever problems came up.
Mrs Black had two grandchildren in her house. She handled this situation calmly and without injuring the suspect.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.waaytv.com/templates/AMP%3FcontentID=511490142
btw, I know in some parts of the US warning shots can bring charges. That doesn’t seem to be an issue in this case.
My concern would have been the police. Sometimes they focus on the person holding the gun. It’s important to make sure the 911 operator informs them that a suspect is being detained by an armed homeowner. Point the weapon neutrally at the ground and be prepared to put it down when police arrive.
Better link to same ABC web site. The Google AMP link wasn’t redirecting correctly.
From El Paso, a 22-year-old man forced his way into an apartment “to commit an assault”, but was fatally shot by the apartment’s 21-year-old male occupant; police say that the killing was a case of self-defense.
From Vandalia, Michigan, a 37-year-old man was shot and wounded by a 15-year-old after a “domestic altercation”; not a lot of details here, but the local sheriff’s office has concluded that the teenager was acting in “self defense and the defense of another”.
There will be no charges for a fatal shooting in a phone store in Overland Park, Kansas, earlier this month. The Johnson County District Attorney’s office has determined that a clerk who shot and killed a man armed with a handgun who was attempting to rob the store legitimately “feared for his life and the life of a co-worker”.
From southern Ohio, a fatal mid-morning shooting from back in April has been officially ruled self-defense. A young woman was alone in her home when she heard noises (including the dogs barking). The woman, who had been bathing, opened the door to the bathroom (wearing only a towel) and was confronted by an intruder (wearing only his underwear). She screamed at him to leave, then kicked him to the floor (using her martial arts training), and went to her bedroom to retrieve a handgun. (Once again we have a statement that the shooter had a concealed carry permit, even though the shooting took place in her own home.) The occupant of the house set off an alarm to summon police, but heard noises from another room indicating the intruder was still in the house; when she confronted the man there, he brandished a pair of kitchen shears at her, and she shot him in the chest and head, killing him.
There was apparently no connection between the dead man and his would-be victim; the autopsy showed he had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system at the time he was killed.
From last week in Conway, Arkansas, a man with a gunshot wound claimed he had been the victim of a drive-by shooting, but following an investigation police believe the man was the aggressor, not the victim, and was shot after attempting to rob a neighbor at gunpoint. The man who was shot has been arrested and is facing serious felony charges, while police believe the shooting was an act of self-defense.
From last week in Wilson, North Carolina: A masked man entered a convenience store in the mid-morning hours and showed the clerk a note claiming he had a gun and demanding money. The convenience store clerk displayed her gun, and the would-be robber fled the scene. Police arrested a 22-year-old man, who they say still had the note in his pocket.
Here’s an amusing one from the 4th of July weekend.
Armed robber tries to rob a fireworks stand in a suburb of Houston. Clerk is gathering the money for the robber, and sets the money on the counter. Robber sets his pistol down on the counter to grab the money. Clerk grabs pistol, shoots robber in the face. Robber is taken to hospital, where he dies the next day. Nobody but the robber is physically hurt, but the clerk, per the link, was “very distraught and very upset.”
The robber wasn’t dead at the scene, but you can’t have everything.
I have not heard of the name of either the clerk or robber being released, nor if the Grand Jury has decided to indict the clerk for anything or not. In theory, you could make the argument that the clerk was no longer in fear of his/her life when s/he was in possession of the robber’s weapon, and therefore, using deadly force against the robber would be inappropriate.