As reported, a family heard someone yelling, cursing and pounding on their house at about 10:40 p.m. A man called 911 and secured his family members in a locked bedroom, then loaded his double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun. The home invading criminal used a wrought iron patio chair to break a glass sliding door, and then entered the home. The man then fatally shot the criminal in self defense, protecting himself and his family. Prosecutors are calling this a justified self defense shooting, and believe this was a random home invasion.
A recurring theme that I hear in anti gun arguments is the mistaken idea that if a person is law abiding and doesn’t get involved with criminals, then they won’t really have to worry about being attacked by criminals. While some crime is certainly criminal-on-criminal as they try to steal each other’s drugs and drug profits, there is plenty of crime randomly directed at law abiding citizens. This unarmed family had a random home invader come to their house, make them strip naked, rob them, and sexually assault their 10 year old daughter. This unarmed 85 year old woman had a home invading rapist randomly break into her home, rob her, and brutally rape her in multiple rooms of her house. These unarmed motorists and pedestrians were randomly targeted for robbery, kidnapping, and sexual assault. This elderly woman was raped and then set on fire after being randomly selected by a violent criminal. Crime can happen to anyone, even if they are the most law abiding, respected, and loved member of their community, and it is therefore wise to be capable of defending oneself and one’s family.
Luckily for this man and his family, he was prepared, and this story ended with only the death of a violent criminal, rather than his victims.