A 24-year-old Family Dollar employee is behind bars after shooting a serial shoplifter after he punched the employee in the face.
Last week, a man was shoplifting from a Family Dollar in Phoenix, AZ. Media reported that he was a serial shoplifter, so we can assume the store employees had dealt with him before. Kevin Salas Madrid, a 24-year-old employee of Family Dollar, confronted the shoplifter, who in turn punched Madrid in the face causing his glasses to fall off.
Madrid was armed and fatally shot the shoplifter at least ten times, including multiple times, while the shoplifter lay on the ground. The police have charged Madrid with 2nd-degree murder.
Madrid told an employee after the shooting that he just could not control his anger. He also made a statement to the police that he had made the worst decision in his life, and looking back, it was egregious. [via foxnews.com]
There’s a lot to discuss here, starting with something we talk about a lot here on USA Carry, controlling your anger and ego. I’m sure the emotions were high when the repeat offender returned to the store to steal more merchandise. You can let these emotions take over what a responsibly armed citizen should do. I don’t know about you, but I’m not jeopardizing my life over merchandise from a Family Dollar store.
Now was Madrid within his rights to shoot the shoplifter after being punched? That’s hard to say without knowing more details, and I’m not a lawyer. We often talk about disparity of force, but from the details provided, I think it would be hard to make a case for self-defense. The police reported that no weapons were found on the shoplifter.
Then there’s the fact that he continued to shoot the shoplifter after he was on the ground. We all know you shoot to stop the threat, but in this case, Madrid’s anger got the better of him and, as he said, caused him to make the worst decision in his life.
Carrying a gun is a huge responsibility. You have to be able to control your emotions, or maybe you just shouldn’t carry a gun.
