Weatherford Man Uses AR-15 To Stop Car Burglar

[bblhd672]

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Weathe ... 26123.html

A Weatherford man's quick thinking stopped an in-progress car burglary, and police say his no-nonsense response was the right call.

[Bitter Clinger]

NICE! Well done!

[Ruark]

Looks good, but again, there's a potential for disaster here. Your actions in a situation like this have a lot of implied meaning. For example, he knocked on the window of the car with his AR and told the would-be thief to "get out of the car." OK. But what was he going to do if he DIDN'T get out of the car? Shoot him through the glass? Then he told him to "get down." What was he going to do if he DIDN'T get down? Blow his head off point blank? The guy apparently wasn't even armed. And if he got out of the car, he hadn't actually stolen anything, so there was no stolen property to recover. He's just standing there.

On the surface, this looks like a good action by a responsible citizen. When you start thinking it through, though, some very serious questions come to mind.

[Keith B]

Looks good, but again, there's a potential for disaster here. Your actions in a situation like this have a lot of implied meaning. For example, he knocked on the window of the car with his AR and told the would-be thief to "get out of the car." OK. But what was he going to do if he DIDN'T get out of the car? Shoot him through the glass? Then he told him to "get down." What was he going to do if he DIDN'T get down? Blow his head off point blank? The guy apparently wasn't even armed. And if he got out of the car, he hadn't actually stolen anything, so there was no stolen property to recover. He's just standing there.

On the surface, this looks like a good action by a responsible citizen. When you start thinking it through, though, some very serious questions come to mind.

If he didn't get out, then you hold him at gunpoint until police arrive. If he does get out, but doesn't get down, he is not going to just stand there, he is going to more than likely run. The guy with the AR did a great job of controlling the situation.

[Vol Texan]

Looks good, but again, there's a potential for disaster here. Your actions in a situation like this have a lot of implied meaning. For example, he knocked on the window of the car with his AR and told the would-be thief to "get out of the car." OK. But what was he going to do if he DIDN'T get out of the car? Shoot him through the glass? Then he told him to "get down." What was he going to do if he DIDN'T get down? Blow his head off point blank? The guy apparently wasn't even armed. And if he got out of the car, he hadn't actually stolen anything, so there was no stolen property to recover. He's just standing there.

On the surface, this looks like a good action by a responsible citizen. When you start thinking it through, though, some very serious questions come to mind.

Not knowing the guy, or the situation - I can can only answer the questions about how I would react if I were in his situation, with my rifle pointed at the car:

But what was he going to do if he DIDN'T get out of the car? Shoot him through the glass? No, I would not shoot. But the probability that the BG would listen to my commands is increased if he's looking down the barrel of my rifle / pistol. If he decided to drive off, then I'm in the same situation as if I had not challenged him. At least I took a chance at stopping him.

Then he told him to "get down." What was he going to do if he DIDN'T get down? Blow his head off point blank? The guy apparently wasn't even armed. If the BG simply walked away, then so be it. I'm not shooting. But if he chooses to lie on the ground and wait for the cops to arrive because of my gentle persuasion, all the better. If he chose to rush me, then it doesn't matter whether he's armed or not - he would likely be greeted a rapidly decelerating hunk of steel. Tueller drill anyone?

And if he got out of the car, he hadn't actually stolen anything, so there was no stolen property to recover. He's just standing there. See my comment above. If he walks away, OK. If he willingly submits and waits for cops, OK. If he gets aggressive, so be it.

[Bitter Clinger]

Looks good, but again, there's a potential for disaster here. Your actions in a situation like this have a lot of implied meaning. For example, he knocked on the window of the car with his AR and told the would-be thief to "get out of the car." OK. But what was he going to do if he DIDN'T get out of the car? Shoot him through the glass? Then he told him to "get down." What was he going to do if he DIDN'T get down? Blow his head off point blank? The guy apparently wasn't even armed. And if he got out of the car, he hadn't actually stolen anything, so there was no stolen property to recover. He's just standing there.

On the surface, this looks like a good action by a responsible citizen. When you start thinking it through, though, some very serious questions come to mind.

Seriously? Tresspassing / burglary? The actions by the perp dictate the response. Tell me you are assuming that this was an innocent case of someone who was simply lost with nothing but the best of intentions far from home and wandered into the wrong vehicle? REALLY? If the thief does not comply or threatens the property owner, then the "disaster" would be well earned.

Edited to correct the mis-statement about the time of day.

[Lynyrd]

Here's another article that says he used a handgun, NOT an AR-15 to detain the BG.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local ... 00734.html

And here's an incident report by the Weatherford PD that also says it was a handgun.

http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/incident/776569

My point? News reporters often get some of the so called facts wrong. It's hard to make judgments if you were not there.

[Flightmare]

Here's another article that says he used a handgun, NOT an AR-15 to detain the BG.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local ... 00734.html

And here's an incident report by the Weatherford PD that also says it was a handgun.

http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/incident/776569

My point? News reporters often get some of the so called facts wrong. It's hard to make judgments if you were not there.

[bblhd672]

"I’m just a dude that didn’t want somebody to take my stuff, and I want my neighborhood to be safe," Smith said.

Regardless of what type of firearm he used, I salute the man for being the type of neighbor I want - one who takes action, not one who comes over to my house after the police finish taking their report and apologize for not doing anything to prevent the theft of my property.

[locke_n_load]

Luckily he is in a good area where the cops and assuming the DA support the armed citizen. Had this happened anywhere else, I think he may have faced some charges. 8 am isn't exactly night time at this time of year either.
I fully support his actions though.

[rtschl]

I saw this as it aired on the news. He re-enacted it with his AR-15 for the media. I think he did a fine with the situation but I'm not a fan of re-enacting for the cameras.

[Bitter Clinger]

Luckily he is in a good area where the cops and assuming the DA support the armed citizen. Had this happened anywhere else, I think he may have faced some charges. 8 am isn't exactly night time at this time of year either.
I fully support his actions though.

I stand corrected on the time. It apprently was during daylight! The perp had a history of being arrested for burglary.

[MeMelYup]

I like in this article that they specify AR-15 instead of assault weapon.