Exactly! Your action or response is "shoot to stop the threat". It's an inescapable fact that when you shoot an attacker possibly multiple times with a handgun, he'll likely die. However, you must be able to articulate an imminent and reasonable fear for your life. Many factors go into supporting this 'fear'.longtooth wrote:No sir. You shoot to stop the threat.
That threat may be great enough that you are in fear of your life but you shoot to stop the threat. When he quits doing what ever it is that justifies your use of deadly force then you stop shooting.
For example: ("He" is the attacker.)
He said he was going to kill me.
There were two of them.
He clearly had a knife (pipe, gun, etc.)
He was much larger than me.
He refused to show me his hands.
He was beating the crap out of me AND, if I didn't stop him, I was afraid he'd kill me.
Any or all of these factors might go into supporting your belief that you had an imminent and reasonable fear for your life (or that of a third party).