Who here would give a warning shot?

[babe]

Warning shots are an all-around bad idea. Very, very bad idea. Only use your firearm if you need to use it - and if you need to use it, your goal should be to incapacitate the threat.

In a scenario where your home is burglarized while you are home, but the suspect was clearly caught off-guard by the fact that I was home, I would not fire immediately if I did not feel an immediate threat. My "warning" would be a VERY bright light and a gun pointed at his face with instructions to "drop to the floor and put your hands behind your back". If he runs away, oh well, he ran away. Hopefully the cops catch him later. (Note: never, ever, EVER shoot someone who is running away. EVER!!) If he complies, then the gun stays pointed at him while I dial the police. If he attacks, well, there will certainly not be a warning shot.

If the suspect's behavior is such that he clearly knew I was home, and broke in anyways, I would most definitely fear for my life and take appropriate action to end the threat, immediately. Again, no warning shot.

I can't think of a single scenario where a warning shot is a good idea, other than a Hollywood action flick where the protagonist cop is trying top keep the bad guy from getting away.

What about the fact that most violence is comitten between people who know each other. Couldn't that give you at least a few situations where a loud BANG might wake some sense into someone caught up in the heat of the moment?

[Nodaedul]

If the situation has escalated to the point where you can justify deadly force then you aren't going to get in trouble for firing a warning shot. Just don't call it a warning shot when you explain it to the police. You feared for your life, fired and missed... whoops. Just be sure to shoot something that stops the bullet from flying through your neighborhood and keep it in the general direction of the bad guy.

In the hundreds of shooting videos I've seen, bad guys intending only to rob or steal typically take immediate flight as soon as the first good guy shot goes off so it will probably maybe work sometimes. You're going to have to justify deadly force to police if you do this because warning shots are a slippery slope towards willy-nilly discharging firearms all over the place.

[DSB]

What about the fact that most violence is comitten between people who know each other. Couldn't that give you at least a few situations where a loud BANG might wake some sense into someone caught up in the heat of the moment?

"Officer, I was just trying to 'wake some sense into' them."

You really need to not own firearms.

[njineermike]

What about the fact that most violence is comitten between people who know each other. Couldn't that give you at least a few situations where a loud BANG might wake some sense into someone caught up in the heat of the moment?

You just passed fom clueless to stupid. Congratulations.

[CandG]

What about the fact that most violence is comitten between people who know each other. Couldn't that give you at least a few situations where a loud BANG might wake some sense into someone caught up in the heat of the moment?

If I fear for my life, or the lives of my family, I will use lethal force if "non-lethal" defense isn't an option. Warning shots are not "non-lethal". And I don't care if I know the person or not. Does that answer your question?

Here are two extreme examples to further illustrate my point: If my kid is sleep-walking towards me with a knife in his hand chanting "must kill daddy", then of course I'm not going to shoot him. I'm also not going to fire an idiotic warning shot to "wake some sense into him" as you so eloquently worded it. I'll use non-lethal force, like clapping my hands loudly or yelling. If my kid is wide awake, it's the middle of the day, and he points a gun in my face and says "I've always wanted to do this, and mom's next!" then yes, I would use lethal force, and no, it would not be a warning shot.

Look dude, you're convinced that warning shots can be a really good idea sometimes. Fine. Why did you ask us for our opinions?

[njineermike]

"Officer, I was just trying to 'wake some sense into' them."

You really need to not own firearms.

He needs a foam helmet.

[titan2]

Interesting point, which leads me to think about the 'shoot them in the arm, leg or gut' crowd....wanting to stop a threat but trying to avoid being fatal.

Yeah, it always worked in 'Lethal Weapon'....

[Blademan21]

OP I hope you do not own a gun. You are clueless and a danger to yourself. I bet you don't have a carry permit. Lucky us that you don't. Sorry but you asked for this

[MrOrange]

What about the fact that most violence is comitten between people who know each other. Couldn't that give you at least a few situations where a loud BANG might wake some sense into someone caught up in the heat of the moment?

Disregarding the presumed spelling error, that factoid is a classic case of "Lies, damn lies, and statistics".

The shooter and shootee knowing each other stat included suicides, police shooting known gang members, gang members shooting gang members, armed robbers shooting store employees who knew them, etc.

It's also one of the all-time classic cases of anti's lies being accepted and promulgated by the media, and thus being believed by folks who don't question the source of their news.




I just hope some of the counterpoints given in this thread end up in the thesis.

[ScottsBad]

This is a sucker troll thread if I've ever seen one. But I'll play, OP if you have such a hard time discerning the correct actions to take when someone breaks into your house, you probably are also weak in other areas of your life.

In fact, armed, you may present more of a threat to your family than if you didn't posses a firearm. I recommend you sell it.

[heidad01]

Interesting point, which leads me to think about the 'shoot them in the arm, leg or gut' crowd....wanting to stop a threat but trying to avoid being fatal.

http://imgur.com/gallery/gv0yY

[heidad01]

Wonderful response. You should be a mediator or diplomat. I think you give great advice and I empathize with your emotional response. I also believe my emotions are weakness, but I haven't been able to establish that 'clear criteria'....in fact I don't know that it exists.

http://imgur.com/gallery/gv0yY

[heidad01]

I take it you didn't do very well in reading comprehension in school. The question was never if a warning shot was a good idea. We are all in agreement thst tactically and legally, it isnt. My question was who here would consider firing one under any circumstances. And I've already counted 4 yes's. So the only person who isn't 'clear' on things is you.

http://imgur.com/gallery/gv0yY

Don't be a DOUCHE or a choosy beggar Babe!!!

[bsg]

i would not give a warning shot.

[Kwaek]

Kwaek...what an amazing and personal story. I really appreciate you sharing that, albeit anonymously. You said your story doesn't answer my question, but in a way it does better than any other.

First you were affected traumatically by the shooting. I think the same, and probably much worst would have happened to me if I had gone through that. But you paused. You spoke to him, both consciously and unconsciously. You gave him a chance to the point of putting your own life in mortal jeopardy. As much as others might say you were tactically foolish I think it says something profound about who you are.

To be honest, I don't think I was thinking I wanted to "give him a chance." I was thinking that, "That's the kid from up the street. He's drunk, and should just go home to sleep it off and he's going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow." I dropped my guard and let him get too close. He didn't run up to me, he walked casually with a screwdriver in his hand. By letting him stab me, not only did I risk my life, I put my wife in danger. THAT is NOT acceptable.

My take-away from this is: If someone is in your house, uninvited, at 2am, they are there for no-good, or they are not in their right mind. In either case, stay alert and on guard. If they don't back down when they know are armed they are a mortal threat. Shoot to stop.