I didn’t think about the fact that most of the time when a person uses a gun in self-defense, they survive until I read about this case. As an instructor and someone who works in the firearms industry full time, I try to look at all the situations I can find where a victim used lethal force to learn from them. Now I am curious what the survival rate is.
Unfortunately, in this case, the young man didn’t live, and I say lock the “alleged” murderers up and call it a day. If it wasn’t truly self-defense, then that’s another story.
A 26-year-old man lost his life after he tried to protect himself during an attempted home invasion in Phoenix on March 14th. Around 1:30 in the morning, the Phoenix Police Department went to the home of 26-year-old Manuel Hinojos because shots were being fired.
When the police arrived, they found one of the people who was apparently breaking into Hinojos’s house, shot and killed him. Detectives say three teenage boys were robbing the house when Hinojos confronted them with a gun.
Two of the teens ran away, but the one got into a shootout with Hinojos. Hinojos did not survive, and they treated his attacker at the hospital. Police later arrested him for allegedly killing Hinojos. They also caught, arrested, and sent the other two to the Juvenile Corrections Center.
I am not sure about Arizona, but in some jurisdictions, authorities can charge someone involved in a crime that ends with someone being killed with felony murder, just like the person who pulled the trigger.
The Felony Murder Rule
“The felony murder rule is a rule that allows a defendant to be charged with first-degree murder for a killing that occurs during a dangerous felony, even if the defendant is not the killer. The felony murder rule applies only to those crimes that are considered “inherently dangerous,” as the rationale underlying the felony murder rule is that certain crimes are so dangerous that society wants to deter individuals from engaging in them altogether. Thus, when a person participates in an inherently dangerous crime, he or she may be held responsible for the fatal consequences of that crime, even if someone else caused the actual death.”
I could not find the actual age of the offenders because they are juveniles. Hopefully, they will get prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. Of course, if the offenders are too young for authorities to charge as adults, they will probably get their hands slapped.
I knew this guy personally. Great kid. He regularly hunted elk and deer every year if they got picked. Knew handgun safety and had just got a new rifle for the next season. He was laying in bed with his wife and kids when he heard the noises outside. The kid that killed him is 15. The other 2 were 15 and 16. The whole thing was caught on their home security cameras clear as day. Really sad thing to have happened to a person so young.