A Florida jury has convicted a white woman accused of manslaughter in the shooting death of her Black neighbor amid an ongoing feud over the neighbor’s children.
Here’s a really good rule of thumb: don’t shoot someone that you feel threatened by until they break into your house. As long as they are outside–and not shooting at you through the door–you are not in imminent danger. This is a situation where you can readily call the cops and wait. If the neighbor had kicked the door in and come inside, then we’d be looking at a legitimate self-defense claim. But you will almost never get to claim self-defense if you’re shooting through a closed exterior door in your home at someone outside of your home.
If you’re going to carry for self-defense, the most important thing you can learn is de-escalation, so that you don’t murder someone.
Even if you are in imminent danger, maybe don’t shoot through a door to the outside? Responsible gun owners should be aware of the target and what’s beyond it. That’s really hard to do if there’s a door between you. She could have missed the person pounding the door and hit a kid or something.
Well, not unless you’re pretty sure you’re the only bluefor and the building is swarming with opfor… at that point I would shoot through a door. But pretty much only then
“Opfor” and “bluefor” isn’t a thing outside of military operations, and the military has entirely different rules of engagement than civilians do. I’m pretty sure that even cops intentionally firing blindly through a door are risking getting charged with murder.
Here’s a really good rule of thumb: don’t shoot someone that you feel threatened by until they break into your house. As long as they are outside–and not shooting at you through the door–you are not in imminent danger. This is a situation where you can readily call the cops and wait. If the neighbor had kicked the door in and come inside, then we’d be looking at a legitimate self-defense claim. But you will almost never get to claim self-defense if you’re shooting through a closed exterior door in your home at someone outside of your home.
If you’re going to carry for self-defense, the most important thing you can learn is de-escalation, so that you don’t murder someone.
Even if you are in imminent danger, maybe don’t shoot through a door to the outside? Responsible gun owners should be aware of the target and what’s beyond it. That’s really hard to do if there’s a door between you. She could have missed the person pounding the door and hit a kid or something.
My point is that it’s not imminent danger when there’s a hard barrier between you and them.
But yes, unlike cops, normal people are responsible for every single bullet that leaves their gun, regardless of their intentions.
Well, not unless you’re pretty sure you’re the only bluefor and the building is swarming with opfor… at that point I would shoot through a door. But pretty much only then
“Opfor” and “bluefor” isn’t a thing outside of military operations, and the military has entirely different rules of engagement than civilians do. I’m pretty sure that even cops intentionally firing blindly through a door are risking getting charged with murder.
That was the point of my post
Did Oscar Pelistorious teach them nothing!?