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Originally Posted by Guest
The Fox News app has a story about a 65 year old Minnesota man. He was awakened by a noise and it was someone breaking into his house. The would-be burglar ran outside to a getaway car and drove off. The homeowner took his .45 pistol and shot at the car. One of the three occupants was hit and died at the hospital. The homeowner was arrested and has been charged with manslaughter.
Was he in the right to fire at the car even though his life or property was not in danger at that point?
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I'd say no. Once the man was fleeing there was no imminent danger.
In Florida if someone enters your home against your wishes you have the right to shoot them. I think that unless the person was brandishing a weapon, most responsible gun owners would question the person first and order him to leave. If he refused to leave and posed a threat then you have every right to shoot him.
If it were me, I'd call 911 and let them know that there was an intruder that was refusing to leave and that if he made a wrong move I'd have no choice but to shoot. In that case hopefully the police would arrive before a tragedy occurs.
But shooting a person that is running away, unless they are running away with your child, is wrong and this guy should be charged and convicted.
It's manslaughter and not murder because it wasn't premeditated and they won't be able to prove that he intended to kill anyone. He can say that he was trying to shoot out the tires.
I would expect that the charges might be reduced to something like reckless endangerment or involuntary homicide.
The laws vary from state to state, but I don't think that shooting a person that is fleeing is legal anywhere.