Unless you live in the state of Texas, I encourage you to pay attention to what happened to a homeowner in Utah. The homeowner arrived at his house to find a suspicious vehicle in his driveway and his front door wide open.
He retrieved a gun from his car and attempted to hold the two people in his driveway at gunpoint. However, when they tried to drive away he shot at the vehicle in an attempt to disable it. What’s more, a burglar came out of the house and ran when he saw the homeowner, and the homeowner chased after the guy and ended up firing a shot.
When all was said and done, the burglar who came out of the house and the homeowner were both arrested and booked into jail. So what did this homeowner do wrong?
Ohhh where do I begin?
First off, this homeowner was either asleep during his concealed carry course or he didn’t pay attention whatsoever. Remember, you can only use deadly force when you are in fear for your life or seriously bodily injury. When the homeowner approached the car and the occupants tried to drive away, they were obviously no longer a threat.
Plus, trying to disable the car by shooting out a tire or shooting the engine block just proves he wasn’t in fear for his life. If he was, he would’ve shot the occupants and not the car.
And when the other burglar came out of the house and started running, it is never a good idea to chase after him, let alone shoot at him. Again, the burglar was running away so he is no longer a threat. Plus, if you chase him and do catch him you don’t know what knives, tools, or guns he has on him.
The fact is, this homeowner is very lucky…
That he didn’t hit the occupants in the car and that he didn’t hit the burglar he was chasing after. If he did, who knows how long he’d end up in jail. What this homeowner should have done is pulled over to the side of the street when he saw a suspicious vehicle in his driveway. He should have called 911 and given them the license plate and waited for police to arrive.
I realize that’s not the macho thing to do and most people will want to approach the car and confront the burglars. All I can say is this: If you do and they flee, just let them go. And if they don’t flee and you’re forced to shoot them, then you may end up wishing for the rest of your life you had just waited in your car and been a good witness.
In other words, resist the macho side we all have, and exercise self-discipline. Your life is far too important to have it ruined because some low-life burglar broke into your house to steal a TV and you felt the need to confront him or chase after him.
