A gunfight in your fron yard. What do you do?

[Cosmoline]

.if they

Who's "they"? Who exactly are you going to shoot at? Are you sure they're not police? Are you sure they're the ones posing an unlawful deadly threat to you? Or are they also defending themselves? Unless you've been watching things unfold and can be sure who is the unlawful threat you're not going to know.

If it is necessary that I shoot to end an active, lethal force threat, then all those involved in creating that threat share the responsibility (and the consequences) for creating the reasonable fear of the defender, and his response.

Don't forget it needs to be UNLAWFUL.

Whether they are justified in shooting at each other doesn't matter.

Of course it does! The threat must be UNLAWFUL. You need to read your code.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Thanks for explaining what I "need." If I had a similar style, I would suggest you "need" to read Warren on Homicide.

If you have broken no laws, and bullets start coming through the walls, you have no reason to believe you are under legal assault, do you? Reasonable belief that it is illegal.

Hey, I get it. There are those who think, because those might be police out there dropping bullets on you and your daughter, if you reasonably think you're about to die from incoming gunfire in this situation, you have no choice but to crawl away or die trying.

Because if you, convinced you'll die otherwise, return fire--why, you could go to jail! Fine. There are those who are clearly convinced that if your only "legal" option is to die, you had better do that!

 

[uspJ]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was leaning more toward the secure the children and take cover option myself but could see how many would see that as a justifiable option. I read that the shootout occured over a domestic dispute and that it was two different families fighting about a recent divorce or breakup involving kids. Crazy.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Loosedhorse

Fools rush in where angles fear to tread...

The question isn't
"How can I join in the war" (if you're wanting it that bad, enlist and start volunteering...)

It's How to get out alive...
duck, cover, make sure the family is safe, reinforcements are on the way (cops/911) etc.
It's DEFENSE.

Yeah, only thing I would add to the above defensive suggestions, is make sure your door is locked.

 

[Remo223]

"under legal assault"???

Loosedhorse, what the DEVIL are you talking about?

If your house is being struck by bullets, you BETTER assume they are stray bullets! If not, you need to change your ways.

 

[Pistola]

I don't have small children thankfully.

 

[Ole Coot]

House is "hardened enough". Motion detector flood lights all around. House is brick. No kids so the wife calls 911 from the bedroom on the 2nd floor, so no angle to worry about shots thru windows, just cover doors and wait. Anyone attempting to break in is a "bad guy" and will be treated as such. Also no close neighbors or decent cover outside.

 

[Fred Fuller]

This one has been asked and answered as far as I can tell, and is now in the process of venturing where angles fear to tread.

Closed...

lpl