Does surprising a burglar in my brothers house while he was trying to frantically unplug a big-screen TV count? I walked up behind him, drew my weapon and watched him turn around. He still had one of the power-cords in his grubby-paws and raised them as if he were going to strike me with them. At that point he looked in my eyes to see who was going to flinch and determined that cord vs. .40 caliber is probably a losing proposition. He ran out the door without the TV. I did not fire.gemini wrote:Purplehood wrote:
[I have followed this thread with interest and thought about replying more than I have a number of times, but kept my mouth shut.
Yes, the law states that one can legally do what the OP states that he has done.
So I have pondered this entire incident over and over and still come to the same conclusion. The BG was stopped in the middle of a commission of a crime and ran. I simply don't understand the need to attempt to shoot him. In my mind there is no such thing as a warning-shot. If one shoots at somebody, you are shooting to kill them. So I am not sure what the OP's intent was when he fired.
If this guy was surprised, turned around and made any single gesture, furtive movement or had flinched, I would have shot. But as I read this the BG "partially turned towards me", and thats it, he ran.
/I had to get this one off of my chest.]
Complete sentence from original post:
"He partially turned toward me, he had something in his hands, when he turned I couldn't tell if it was a knife, screwdriver or what and I immediately pulled my gun up and fired, from about waist high."
I appreciate your opinions and personal decisions on when to/when not to shoot. However, I was there, you were not. If you face a similar
event in the future, I'm sure whatever action or inaction you take will be the right decision for you, at THAT fraction of a second in time.
In that split second you will decide possible threat or no threat. Had I felt there was a continuing threat, I would have taken the 2nd shot,
and this whole event would have had a different outcome entirely.
I simply posted a true, factual event and the eventual outcome. For me it's past history. I don't dwell on it.
As I stated earlier. I have thought about the scenario you present, and assuming that you are accurately reflecting what happened, it is my own opinion that you should not have shot from both a legal and a moral perspective.
I think too many people are ready to shoot when they shouldn't be. So I would have to say that I still disagree with you.
It is most unfortunate if this appears to be a personal attack. It is not. If you decide to post a true-life experience, you should be prepared for some feedback from people that indeed have been in the same-boat that you were.