I see that several people still have not watched the videos or read the news stories.
Five days after the incident, Gym in Post#59 claims the burglar was merely holding burglar tools, completely ignoring the fact he was caught actively trying to force the door. Others claim the homeowner blindly shot through the door, without seeing the suspect.
Obviously the picture of the door was too inconvenient of a fact for them to aknowlege
I looked online for other News Stories about the incident, few are as revealing as the one I posted earlier, which clearly showed the door in question, with the very large window in it. There is one however, where the Chief of police states that the intruder was shot as he opened the door, and another where the home owner states that he saw the intruder wearing a black mask and holding a hammer and screwdriver. Neither story gives a detailed account, and perhaps the news reporter misquoted the people in question, but they certainly contain more detail than the critics of the home owner seem to possess.
I have noticed before on this web site, that there are many who jump to condemn the actions of others in an almost knee jerk reaction, especially in a self defense situation.
This doesn't seem very
High Road of them, but perhaps making false statements and making irresponsible attacks with incomplete facts, serves a higher purpose than I can comprehend.
Others, such as Neverwinter, who originally objected to my comparison of a critic as behaving in a Brady Gun control fashion, seems to have come around to my position. (see post 34, 35, and 57) Thanks for the belated support of my position.
Gym has a point about not executing burglars for stealing TV's, but this guy was breaking into an occupied dwelling, which certainly raises questions about his intent to the occupant.
When you commit a crime, such as burglary or purse snatching or mugging, you are leaving yourself open to misinterpretation of your intent. Yes we all know that you are just this harmless little product of a deprived childhood, who needs money for your drug habit, and you wouldn't dream of hurting anyone who doesn't resist your demands for money, but the victim may not be aware of your good intentions, and may misinterpret your breaking into his home as an attack.
In other words, you are taking your life into your own hands when you commit robbery, burglary or other potentially violent crimes. Maybe you believed the house was unoccupied, (seems unlikely in this case) but the home owner doesn't know that, especially when he is an 82 year old man, who would be extremely vulnerable to a physical attack.
But, I guess that some feel that the elderly victim should have invited the young man in for a discussion of his intent over coffee and donuts.