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Nice Shot... But Maybe Not the Best One |
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Gregory Morris, 2/8/08 11:50:23 am |
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Man shoots out burglar's tires.
This happened about 15 minutes from my house. The homeowner was licensed to carry a concealed weapon which is a good thing. Coming home to find a burglar in your house is the perfect example of a good time to be armed. Personally, I would not have shot out the tires. First of all, state law only allows you to fire your gun in a situation like this if you (or someone you are protecting) are in immediate danger of death or serious injury. The homeowner said he feared the man might hit him or his wife with the vehicle. If that was indeed the case, he would have been justified in using deadly force.
However, shooting out tires is similar to firing "warning shots". It is not explicitly illegal, but when you do so, you open a box of particularly nasty legal worms. If the homeowner was not acting in self defense, he is liable to be arrested for assault with a firearm, as well as unsafely discharging his weapon in a populated area. I'm not ready to pass judgment on this case, because I don't have all the facts (Tampa Bays 10 is particularly good at leaving out important info.) The article doesn't mention if the homeowner faces any charges, but I suspect he won't, since there were no injuries or property damage (except the criminal's vehicle, which has not been located.)
Generally, in a case like this, I would say let the criminal go and call the police. If he was truly a threat to the man and his wife, the homeowner should have shot the burglar. The rule is: "Know your target and what is beyond it." In a populated neighborhood, there really isn't a good way to be sure bullets fired at a vehicle won't go somewhere you don't intend for them to go. On the other hand, criminals tend to make good backstops. |
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