Thursday night, a woman was assaulted and robbed in a south Minneapolis grocery store parking lot. A witness chased the robber and eventually there were gunshots, and the bad guy is no longer a resident of earth. The robber had a gun, and it was drawn at the time he was shot by the Good Samaritan. The shooter had a permit to carry a firearm, but he now has to prove that he is not a murderer.
The Minnesota, the only legal justification for shooting someone is self defense. The fact that the other guy just committed an assault and robbery and has a gun drawn is not sufficient grounds for shooting him. The shooter must prove that he was not the aggressor, that he felt threatened, and that he was unable to retreat. Although I think the result will be that the Good Samaritan will not be charged, and if charged, he would be found not guilty, he has a lot of expense and effort ahead of him.
I'm not sure how things would turn out if the bad guy had a gun pointed at the assault and robbery victim. The Good Samaritan would have a hard time proving that he personally felt threatened, or that he could not retreat. It seems that we do a great job protecting criminals form physical harm. I wonder if this is unique to my state.
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