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Oldgringo wrote:

Again it should never have happened as it should have been dealt with by the authorities in the beginning.

There it is.

Dave2 wrote:

Purplehood wrote:The guy genuinely thought it was his house. The lady inside knew he was nutso. How does walking out the door and taking shots at a guy on the phone show up as justification for the use of deadly force?

Precisely because he was "nutso". Put yourself in his shoes...
Somebody has illegally entered your home, and is doing all kinds of unfathomable things with whatever and whomever (ie, visiting family & friends) is inside. You've reported them before, but the authorities won't come to your aid. Time is running out! You've gotta do something! So you call a locksmith to get you into your house because the bad guys have changed the locks (which just enrages you more). What are you going to do when you finally get into your own house and can confront the BGs? The details of my actions would of course depend on the circumstances, but I doubt it would end well for the burglars/murders/rapists/etc. One thing's for sure, I wouldn't start the process without being armed in some way, even if it's just the knife built into my multi-tool.

Admittedly, there are a few leaps of logic in there, but nothing that seems too implausible to me. And I've got the benefit of having all my faculties.

Now look at it from the homeowners point of view...
There's an [insert favorite expletive] CRAZY person with all the above paragraph -- and probably more -- running through his head trying to break into your home and do something to you and your family! He's tried stuff in the past, but this time it's scarier. You've reported him before, but the authorities won't come to your aid. Time is running out! You've gotta do something! You can't wait for him to get inside... he's crazy, who knows what he'll do then? In fear for your life and the lives of your loved ones, you take your gun and shoot only at the bad crazy guy (not the innocent locksmith who's been duped) three times. Problem (finally) solved.

Again, there are a few leaps of logic in there, but nothing that seems too implausible to me.



I'm not sure if I think the shooting was justified or not, but I'm pretty sure it's not as clear-cut as you make it seem. The article omits many relevant facts that would sway me one way or the other.

seamusTX wrote:

Purplehood wrote:Did I read the article correctly? It seemed like she came out of the house while the old guy trying to get into the house was on the phone with 911. Why was he talking to 911?

If, as reported, he was mentally ill, you can't expect his actions to make sense.

My mother was in the hospital in the same room with a woman who had some kind of delusional or dementia problem. The woman thought she was in her home. Every time we walked in to visit our mother, the other woman started yelling about strangers being in her home and calling the police. Whatever was wrong with her, she could not manage to dial a number on the phone.

That was before 911 was invented. You had to dial some number like 555-1212 for the police.

As for the resident coming out to confront the intruder, we have that age-old debate about where to initiate your defense. My house has a fatal funnel built into it, and I ain't goin' out.

- Jim