HD Scenerio

[CMichael]

You catch an intruder pointing your shotgun at him.

He says that when he gets out he will kill you and your wife.

Do you shoot him?

Michael

[Jeeper]

Good question.

It really depends what he looks and acts like. I probably would if he seemed really deranged. The problem is that he could be out immediately since he was just breaking an entry.

[PJR]

This is assuming he is on the ground, presenting no immediate physical threat and we are waiting for the police.

The answer is no.

I would conclude that he is bluffing me to let him go before the police arrive. Should I do so there is no guarantee he wouldn't return an hour later with three friends and make good on his threat.

I would inform the arresting officer of the threat and request additional charges be laid. Regardless of the outcome, I would pursue whatever means I could to know the intruder's status -- bail, jailed, trial outcome, sentence length, parole hearings, etc. and prepare accordingly.

[CMichael]

PJ >>
Should I do so there is no guarantee he wouldn't return an hour later with three friends and make good on his threat. <<

If you shoot him with your shotgun he wouldn't be able to return. He would be dead. Most likely all over your wall.

Michael

[MK11]

And if he has no weapon and they conclude he wasn't an immediate threat, you'll have lots of time to make friends in the prison showers.

Interesting question though. I imagine lots of cops, attorneys, judges, etc. get threatened routinely. Probably happens to John Q. Public as well.

[PJR]

Micheal:

That's true but I would then have to explain why I shot a man who was lying face down, not presenting a physical threat. Better to play it straight.

I wouldn't shoot a man simply because he'd made a threat and had no immediate means or opportunity to carry it out and certainly wouldn't shoot one lying face down on the ground.

[Dave McC]

First place, only the most wacked out crooks are going to come back to face an armed opponent. There's little to gain, and gain is their motive, not reputation, honor, or whatever.

Old Prison Joke," What's the baddest %$^&* gun in the world?

Anything held by a scared woman"...

Another....

"What's the dumbest thing anyone can say?

You ain't got the nerve to pull that trigger, B!tch"!....

Second place, that statement constitutes Assault, in most areas. File that charge too, along with anything else he says/does.

And just in case he's the anomaly, keep all your family armed and alert...

[Opie-IN]

There will be no discussion between the person and myself. If it is obvious to me that he has broken into my secured home with my wife and son sleeping, he has caused an immediate danger to my families life. Unless he is running for the door I will shoot him. Period. People do not break into other peoples houses to bring them cookies and a christmas card. My only other comment would be that if I heard him breaking into my house, the last thing I would do is confront him, I would get to my son as fast as I could, get him in the bedroom with my wife and put the bead of that shotgun on the bedroom door while my wife calls 911. IF he comes thru that door he is an immediate threat and will be shot. Get yourself a safe room in your house and use it if anything would ever happen. It is never a good idea to look for confrontation even in your own home.

[krept]

Exactly, good post. I honestly don't see how anyone breaking into your house, especially when they know someone is home, ISN'T an immediate threat. People get shredded all the time because they are in denial - "maybe he really isn't here to hurt me."


Sure, it could be someone with an emergency and they are hysterical or something, but that should be pretty obvious from the getgo. I'm thinking the timeframe is right after entry, not somewhere in the middle of the house. Then it's clear what the intention is.

[nbk2000]

The safest option would be to assume that if the dude is crazy enough to say such a thing to you while you've got a gun pointed at him, that he's crazy enough to carry it out.

If he's standing, murder him.

If 's he's laying down, have him stand up, THEN murder him.

Kitchen knife is found nearby with his hand prints on it.

Sure, you'll have some legal hassles, more serious in some places than others. But let the lawyer handle it, keep your mouth shut, and you'll likely walk. After all, he's in YOUR house at o'dark thirty.

Why should you have to live in fear of some a88hole coming back days or years later to kill you? Do you REALLY want to be worrying about when this idiot paroles?

And what about his clique/car/gang/homies? They may not sit around waiting for the witness (YOU) to testify against one of theirs.

Normally I'm not for murdering another human being (NOT BG, Goblin, or other such euphemisim), but this is one of those "forced to" situations.

Normally people who make threats are just talking out the side of their neck, but he's demonstrated a willingness to go and do things that 99.9% of people aren't, so I'd have to assume he's one of those .1% crazy enough to murder too.

[David Scott]

If the guy had entered my house forcibly he would not have time to make threats. As soon as the flashlight beam hit him, and I saw he was a stranger, he'd be shot.

In general, if I am in a situation that call for me to point a weapon at a bad guy, that situation will also call for me to use it. In my own home, which I lock up carefully every night, a stranger in the house after dark may be presumed to have forced his way in with evil intent. He will be shot for it. I have no intention of waiting to find out what he's carrying or what he thinks he's doing. If I give him time, I give him a chance to attack.

[CBlackjr]

lets see here......he is threating me and my wife and in my home. He's going down. BTW ill make sure he is standing and facing me when he does that.

[ronjeremy]

I don't see where the debate is. I would take the man at his word and respond in kind!
Scenario 1 he lives and has no intention of harming you.
Scenario 2 He lives and makes good on his promise killing your family.
Scenario three You shoot him dead after he grabbed that big kitchen knife of yours and attacked you with it cutting you. You probly would have bruising around your neck where he tried to choke you also. Your lucky to alive!

[NikonShooter]

If a unarmed BG threatened to kill me/my family, and i didn't think i was IMMEDIATE DANGER, i would not resort to murder. We have laws in this country, and although they may not be the best, they are laws.
If said BG would not respond to me telling him to stop/get down/shut the F up, and i felt that he might attack, or if he is armed, then, without question, i will kill him. Only if i feel IMMEDIATE LIFE THREATING DANGER!!

But if he is co-operating, and sitting still, threats or no threats, i will let our courts and LEO do their job.

Plus, I honestly dont think he would come back after staring down the barrell of my 12 guage.

Just my opinion.

[taco]

Several years ago my girlfriend and I were eye witnesses to a federal felony crime and we had to go to the trial and testify what we saw. After a 2 week trial he was found guilty mostly based on our testamony and got 10 years in federal pen. When he was found guilty he jumped up from his chair and threatened to kill me, my girlfriend, our parents, pets, etc. He was immediately charged with threatening federal witnesses and went to trial again few months later. Again he was found guilty and this was his 3rd "strike" with the feds so he got 25 years. He didn''t say anything that time.

[Double Naught Spy]

I don't catch live intruders in my home.

This of course assumes we are in my home and I identify him not as a cop, fireman, family member or friend, but then, those people aren't really intruders. Understand, there is no actual catching involved. The intruder either makes it out before I can respond or he doesn't. "Intruders" in my home, by the fact they are intruders, are perceived as an immediate and very dangerous threat to my life and the lives of my family. He does not need to threaten me verbally to be judged as a threat to me by me because I will be in fear for my life.

Besides, I am not qualified to hold "intruders" at gun point until the authorities arrive. I certainly don't want to get close enough to try to cuff or tie him up. I would have preferred that he would have made it out before I ever got to see him. I can't defend against that which is not there with lethal force because they made boobytraps and bombs illegal for some reason.

I am sorry, I can't stop laughing. What do you mean, "I" caught an intruder and he was talking?

By the way nbk2000, at least in my state, if you cause an intruder in your home to cease to be alive, it is not called murder, but self defense by the nature of the fact that he is an intruder and I feel in fear for my life. So for Erick, he is shootable. God Bless Texas! However, I can't sit there and burn him to death over several hours with a Bic lighter. There are some reasonable aspects to our laws as he apparently was not really a threat if I could sit there for hours and burn him with a lighter until he died. Of course, in the grand scheme of lawyers and legal fees, shooting may not be in my best financial interest, but I have no doubt it is in my best longevity interest and that is all that matters.

[madgrad]

"He charged me officer, I was in fear of my life" nuff said

All this while they're cleaning up his innards from my walls, and floors.

LMAO