Randy Smith [above] arrived home after work to find three young men intent on stealing his stuff, one of whom was standing on his porch. Smith “brandished” his carry gun to keep all three bad guys at bay until the cops arrived. “I’ve been broke in once before,” Smith told wtok.com. “I’m just tired of people stealing. I work too hard for what I got and for somebody to just come in and steal it from me. Somebody who’s not working. Just out there looking for somebody to rip off and steal from.” Fair enough. And then . . .
“One of them kinda just act like he wanted to come around the car I fired in the air and told him to stop or the next one would be him.”
Well now, how do we feel about this?
On one hand, a warning shot is highly inadvisable, especially if you don’t live in rural Mississippi. It opens you up to charges of reckless endangerment (or some such thing). And it’s true: you don’t know where the bullet’s going to go. A warning shot also “proves” that you weren’t really in imminent danger of death or grievous bodily harm when you pulled your piece—if you were you would have shot your attacker(s). And strategically, it gives the bad guys an excuse/impetus to attack.
On the other hand, the warning shot worked. The three young men attempting to rob Mr. Smith’s residence remained in place until the cavalry arrived. Bonus! None of them was shot, which would have created a blizzard of paperwork and no end of trouble for Mr. Smith. The perps’ hearing may be a little damaged, as may be the case for Mr. Smith, but everything ended relatively peacefully.
My take: Mr. Smith should have instructed the boys to leave (in no uncertain terms) as he was contacting police and getting to/behind cover/concealment. If one or more of the criminals had made a threatening move towards Mr. Smith he would have been well within his rights to shoot the perp. (Even “better” (i.e. worse) if one of the bad guys had been holding a weapon.) Not a warning shot. Center mass.
I know that’s not the best case scenario (for the more genteel members of society). The best outcome is what actually happened. But the potential downside of a warning shot is too high. It’s an escalation of hostilities. And when you’ve got not one not two but three bad guys in play, the odds of a successful post-warning-shot attack are pretty damn high.
Anyway, as always, result. Note: to wtok: I don’t think Mr. Smith “happened to have his gun on him at the time.” And note to readers: there’s no such thing as a warning shot. You shot at the perp and missed. That is all.
I’d rather not have to fist a pillow to grab my nightstand gun, and the sheep clicker for identifying which pillow is cocked and locked is not really ideal.
Interesting idea to say the least.
The only warning shot I give is the one I inadvertently missed. However if you want to try one think of the intentional grounding rule in football. Fire at at the ground near your target. If it works you can always say you missed when the cops show up.
There is NO such thing as a warning shot – there are VERY bad first shots.
*hint hint*
Say “pEllow” one more time, motherfu*ker! I dare you!
This! i had to stop watching after about 20 seconds because I was so annoyed that he couldn’t say the word “pillow”.
So before banning 3D printers, we have to start doing background checks on purchasers of plumbing supplies and pipe clamps. And if you currently own any, you have 30 days to register them or face felony charges.
Recipe for a Happy Nine:
MP5 and a dozen loaded magazines, and something downrange to shoot which would in this case be pumpkins.
Ah, the All-American zip gun. The problem with the zip gun was never with the gun. Anyone can make a zip gun. The problem was getting ammo.
Then again, I was ten years old at the time.
Henry employees a total of 300 people, some in New Jersey and some in Wisconsin. The loss of any or all of these jobs can’t even be differentiated from the background noise in New Jersey. I only mention this to point out that very few tears will be shed over these developments. Ditto for Kahr, PTR, ATI, and all the rest. As others have pointed out, the “people” living in these states will be glad to see them go.
They are still wise to move away from these places, as I myself have done, for compelling business reasons.
Of more importance to me is that Henry will be producing a (very expensive) replica of the original 1860 rifle, made in USA, like everything else they make. Now that’s cool!
There have been numerous potential dgu where a warning shot meant jail for the shooter. Unlawful discharge, endangerment, I’ve even heard of a case similar where the defender has been charged with detaining the would be robber.
God I can’t wait to bag one of these, and have my picture up on the boards with my trophy. What load would you all recommend?..I was thinking a load for geese would probably be the best..BlackCloud, or HeviShot (expensive though, to shoot a drone)..Winchester DRYLOK Steel?…
This is going to be a new sport for me..And could definitely get new shooters introduced to shooting sports…I am excited.
40mm BOFORS or an 80mm German Flak cannon.
I love that almost everybody who read and commented on this article had the exact same thought, “Oh God yes, thank you PETA for another thing to shoot!”
I wondered if this story would wind up here…it happened a few days ago in the next county down from where I live. I of course have a few ancillary comments:
Mr. Smith knew the intruders (per a co-worker familiar with both parties) and didn’t want to kill any of them…the warning shot was fired to prove to them he was prepared to do so if forced. So I understand why he felt that the shot was called-for, though the ground would have been the far better option. Fortunately, there was no unlawful discharge law to break, as it occurred in the county. One of the few perks to living in Boondock Holler…
Aside from that, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing in the same situation…particularly as it turned out that the perps weren’t armed. While unarmed opponents are more than capable of causing severe injury and/or death, blowing away one or more of them would have looked good before the grand jury, would it not? Just more unnecessary head- and heartache for the homeowner
Speaking of unnecessary, I certainly wouldn’t have laid it all out for the news media. Now he’s on public record as having done this, which could attract ambulance chasers to try for some jackpot justice. It just opens the door to more misery.
One of the dumbest things Ive ever seen.
Ive had a 45 in a throw pillow on my bed for years.
Just laying there between the pillow and the pillowcase.
Just reach in and there it is.
Why pay for some useless contraption??
Is no one remembering Deer Trail, Colorado is now way ahead of the curve by selling drone licenses?
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23676390/colorado-town-considers-hunting-licenses-drones
Can somebody do a mash up video and splice in some video clips of Martin Luther King Jr……..because i’m pretty sure this is why he died on a balcony……for this.
Ok. Why not fly your own counter air-force? remote plane carrying a deplorable small chain, about 5-10 feet long. Wrap that across the propellers and watch it crash!
We were planning a post-Halloween discounted pumpkins + tannerite shooting this weekend!
I was taught to never believe in the “warning shot.” Aside from liability issues, it makes you vulnerable in a lot of ways.
It tells any compatriots of your assailant that, even though you have a gun, you aren’t willing to use it fatally. Or it tells them you are a poor shot. Either way, you’re encouraging them.
It shows that you are trying to intimidate. Intimidation comes from intent. As Yoda said, “Do or do not, there is no ‘try.'” Don’t “try” to intimidate. If you want to be intimidating to an intruder, and pointing a gun isn’t enough, then your implied intention isn’t enough. Firing into the air, or even into the (relatively) safe ground, demonstrates the opposite of that intent.
And finally, even though there are more I can’t think of at the moment, a “missed” shot demonstrates what you have, to any number of opponents you might not know are there. I don’t care what you think of 7.62×39, .223, .45, 10, 9, .22, etc. They might be punk kids who will run at the report, or they’re not, and they now know what you have might be less than what they have.
I guess I have inner city paranoia paired with military paranoia, but my roommate and I respond to weird noises with duress words and have both actively carried around the house, and neither of us has shot the other, so that should be a statistic.
A rifled-barrel shottie was called a paradox gun, back in the day. So now you know.
“ATTENTION: Due to current ammo prices, warning shots are no longer given on these premises to unauthorized visitors. We also do not apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” 😉
Umm, this EPA action was done in 2008, so for all the damage Obama is doing this one is squarely on Bush. A further reminder that the bulk of both parties care less about “jobs” in the US, unless it is a govt job. If you are really upset by this you all better start supporting the Tea Party, read Mark Levins book The Liberty Amendments, and get active on the forming state Conventions to Amend the Constitution. As far as effect on ammo prices, they may actually fall because Canada and China will import subsidized lead ingots to processing facilities cheaper than producing it here.
In the heat of the moment I missed. The guy stopped coming towards me so i stopped shooting. That’s my story and i’m sticking to it. With all due respect, i’m calling my lawyer now.
If you can hear these things from a mile away and they are flying towards your hunt in order to monitor the hunt, isn’t that disturbing the hunt? I would think you could prosecute for being observed by a noisey drone scaring off the game.
If you have a police station or domestic violence shelter in your own home, I guess you’re ok…
The likely reason Ms. Martin was shot with her own gun was because she was not properly trained in its use. If she walked into her local gun shop, bought a gun, stuck it in her purse or pocket, and then waited until she was attacked before trying to figure out how to deploy and retain the weapon, its not surprising she got shot with it.
I know nothing about boxing. If I climbed into a ring with Ms. Martin, she would wipe the deck with me. If I wanted even a snowball’s chance in hell at surviving a boxing match with Ms. Martin, I would need training. Even with training, she would still probably kick my ass all over the place, but then again, she’s a professional level fighter, but that’s another matter.
Point is that you need training to effectively bring a gun into the fight. Training is not standing at a static line and shooting down range at non-moving targets. Training is learning how to dynamically deploy and retain your weapon.
Ms. Martin is about as much an expert in the effective use of firearms as I am a boxing coach.
Funny that she says the first place an abuse victim should go for protection is to a place where everyone has guns.
Christy, have you ever had a car wreck? If so, I guess your incompetence with your tools means you believe I shouldn’t have a car either.
If all shootings are due to lax gun laws, then all wars are due to women giving birth to soldiers. Makes perfect sense.
I may still get a 300 AAC upper, but its hard to justify given that my 6.8 has more power, factory ammo is easier to find and cheaper, and I can’t get a silencer in Kommiefornia.
So, what the hell are you still doing in “Kommiefornia”? You need to take your expertise, your guns and your money and come join the Texas Militia.
Obamacare was designed to fail. They knew and planed for it to be a disaster. The goal is for a nationalized health care system. The politicians will come back and tell us the they tried to fix the system but it is not possible so the only choice to nationalize health care. Then we will be really screwed.
I feel stupider for listening to 15 minutes of Shepard Smith. I’m gonna go do something not-about-this for a while.
So let me see if I understand this…a women got struck by a man after he ignored a no guns sign, but your glad the sign is there to keep you safe because it will keep people from bringing guns…? Clearly the sign didn’t do shit. Because like every other criminal, it was COMPLETELY ignored, What the hell is a bullet shell?