82 Year Old Man Shoots Burglars, Faces Charges

Guns, guns, guns. Americans love their guns. Guns definitely are a layer of security. They can save your life and they can also be used against you and they can also get you in lots and lots of trouble.

An elderly man is now facing two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building for shooting 2 people outside of his home. He believed they were trying to get in, and his belief was affirmed when one of them tossed a boulder through one of his windows.

His attorney stated “This is the victim here, an 82-year-old man with no criminal record. He defended life and property.”

The Assistant District Attorney was quoted saying “We don’t live in a place where you can just fire from a window. It is fortunate no one died.”

True.

It definitely isn’t a good idea to shoot someone outside of your home even on your property. However in some states the laws side with homeowners when shooting trespassers.

I appeared on the Maury Povich show to discuss weaponry and self defense. The premise was the shows subjects were facing jail time or in jail because they killed their attackers, which almost happened in the above scenario.

Some of the subjects were victims of domestic violence where others were victims of home invasions or stalking.

So maybe the guy “jumped the gun”, maybe he was legitimately at risk.

The first layer of protection should always be locked secure doors and windows. A monitored home security alarm should run parallel to a secure perimeter. In the above situation with a proper alarm that included glass break sensors, law enforcement would have been alerted the moment the glass broke. The piecing alarm may have also made the burglars think twice.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Maury Povich. Disclosures