Another reason why "warning" shots are a bad idea

[k-frame]

Because the bad guys may decide they don't like it very much, even if they are running away.

Man, 72, shot trying to thwart home burglars
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A 72-year-old Henry County man trying to scare away burglars in his home was in stable condition, police said Thursday.

The man, whose name was not released, awoke around 2 a.m. Wednesday to the sound of burglars in his garage, according to Sgt. Joey Smith with Henry County police. When he spotted the two would-be burglars, the pair ran away, Smith said.

But the incident didn’t end there, Smith said. The homeowner fired a warning shot into the air, prompting one of the suspects to fire back, striking the man in the abdomen, according to police.

The victim was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was in stable condition Wednesday, Smith said. Investigators have not yet determined if the victim knew the burglary suspects.

 

[poolingmyignorance]

Warning shots are most effective when placed in the abdomen.

 

[kingcheese]

Well if there are to guys id consider shooting one of them plenty of warning for the other

 

[bikerdoc]

Very bad judgement.
The threat was stopped. They were running away.

The only purpose that shot served was to reveal his lack of knowledge.

 

[MedWheeler]

^^ That, and the would-be intruder can now claim "self-defense" simply by saying he believed he and his accomplice were being shot at after they had ceased to be any kind of a threat..

 

[beatledog7]

That was not a "warning" shot. It was a "and don't ever come back" shot. So this story has nothing to do with warning shots, really.

 

[MedWheeler]

That was not a "warning" shot. It was a "and don't ever come back" shot.

If so, the "don't ever come back!" shot in this context is still a warning. True, it might not have been a warning that "if you come closer, the next one will count", but it could have been a "if you come back, you will be shot" warning..

 

[Skribs]

This isn't the only reason warning shots are bad. They can EASILY break rule #4.

 

[Texan Scott]

Shooting with no particular target in mind? Why is that ever a particularly good idea?

 

[poolingmyignorance]

^^ That, and the would-be intruder can now claim "self-defense" simply by saying he believed he and his accomplice were being shot at after they had ceased to be any kind of a threat..

Not sure where you live, but here (Texas) you cannot claim selfdefense while in the act of commiting a violent crime. Most crimes are aggrivated by the possesion of a weapon and elevated to a "violent offender". If your carrying a weapon while breaking/ tresspassing, its' assumed your willing to use it to get away with your crime. Such as these guys did.
I'm not debating the home owner's choice was poor, but theres no pracitical claim of self defense in my opinion. Don't want to get shot? Don't be a low life thief.

 

[Kleanbore]

Not sure where you live, but here (Texas) you cannot claim selfdefense while in the act of commiting a violent crime.

That is true everywhere in the country, and it has been since time began.

But someone running away after having been in one's garage for whatever reason is not committing a violent crime.

 

[poolingmyignorance]

feeing the scene of a violent crime, at least.
I'm not one to shoot somebody in the back, but i'll refer to the case of Joe Horn. It was questionable by many, and cost him in excess of $50K... but deemed justified.

 

[colorado_handgunner]

And not to mention that a bullet shot into the air comes down somewhere. Just saying.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kleanbore]

And not to mention that a bullet shot into the air comes down somewhere. Just saying.

That's the real issue.

 

[MedWheeler]

I'm not one to shoot somebody in the back, but i'll refer to the case of Joe Horn. It was questionable by many, and cost him in excess of $50K... but deemed justified.

Joe Horn's case isn't quite the same. Horn wasn't shooting anyone who had managed to flee the scene; he attempted to "arrest" the individuals, and put himself in the position of them having to "go through him" to escape.
Also, the "no bill" ruling in his case is hardly the norm.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Never believed in warning shots. Never practiced them either. Warning shots used to be the norm in the military until warning shots got too close to be wounding/lethal shots or stray rounds hitting bystanders. But enough other steps were added like shout, show, shove, shoot. Always skipped over shove, if they got that close they were a threat anyway.

 

[poolingmyignorance]

They were both shot in the back whie atempting to escape. Though they'd never left the property. So yea that does change things a bit. Okay maybe it wasn't the best example.
But yea warning shots= bad idea.

 

[Kleanbore]

The Grand Jury deliberations in the Joe Horn case remain sealed, but two very important factors have been made public: (1) Horn's attorney has stated that he intended to argue justification on the basis of self defense; and (2) a law enforcement officer who witnessed the shooting said that the actions of the decedents were such that Horn could or would have reasonably believed that they were attacking him.

The 911 call indicates that Horn believed that he would be justified under the section of the Texas code that states that deadly force may be used if necessary to prevent the taking of someone else's moveable, tangible property, but there is a big question about whether Horn could present evidence showing that he had in fact been asked to do so by his neighbor; that's a prerequsite under the law.

Nothing to do with the case at hand, but the Horn incident is widely misunderstood and has been put forth to promote some very erroneous conclusions.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Right, and along those lines, being shot in the back doesn't matter. No law stipulates the side on which a person must be shot for the shooting to be considered self defense or to be considered as legal. If the justification to shoot is present, location of the impact is moot.

Similarly, the use of lethal force for a warning can be legal as well so long as their was legal justification for lethal force. None of the laws that I have seen state that you must try to shoot the bad guys or how well you must try to shoot them.

 

[tepin]

I had a Florida cop once tell me that a persons "home" only covers those areas that are air-conditioned (true living space) which would exclude a garage, porch, patio or balcony.

I had 2 bikes stolen from a 2nd floor screened in apartment balcony in 1996 and I asked if it was considered breaking and entering. Needless to say, only theft.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Similarly, the use of lethal force for a warning can be legal as well so long as their was legal justification for lethal force. None of the laws that I have seen state that you must try to shoot the bad guys or how well you must try to shoot them.

True, though "legal" and "good idea" are very often not the same thing.

 

[Doghandler]

This thread is surely going to be a classic. We've got a clown with a gun shooting at the sky and in another case, a guy who feared his descendents were going to attack him. Gotta love it!

 

[Deaf Smith]

Warning shots are most effective when placed in the abdomen.

I prefer the Mozambique string of 'warning shots'.

Two COM, one cranium.

Deaf

 

[poolingmyignorance]

This thread is surely going to be a classic. We've got a clown with a gun shooting at the sky and in another case, a guy who feared his descendents were going to attack him. Gotta love it!

God I hope thats sarcasm...

decedent [dɪˈsiːdənt]
n
(Law) Law chiefly US a deceased person
[from Latin dēcēdēns departing; see decease]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

 

[Rexster]

Immediate return fire from the bad guy(s) has long been known to be a reason not to fire warning shots. The same applies to running the slide or pumping a shotgun; a bad guy hardened by street life, or by combat, may well immediately fire if he feels threatened.