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According to a Fox News story the deceased used to live in the neighborhood. I policeman had stopped earlier in front of his old house to see if he was ok. He told the policeman he was getting his mail. When he was shot he had mail in his hand with his old address on it.

jmra wrote:

rbwhatever1 wrote:Very sad situation that could have been avoided by knowing ones target before engaging. I live in the middle of nowhere and will take a bullet before I shoot a person I cannot identify as friend, foe or family. A good flashlight would have stopped this. I use a black & decker spotlight to check my property when the LGD's go off....

Not a good shoot at all.

Someone can come in my back yard and knock on my door all they want. I'll call the police if I feel the need, but shots don't fly unless there ceases to be a barrier between the individual and my family.

Excellent decision . It also makes it tough on responding leo's to determine who is the threat.

Obituary for Ronald A. Westbrook, Lt. Col. USAF, (Ret.), 72.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/obituarie ... westbrook/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since the police had already been called, I don't see why the guy felt the need to go outside. Sure he had the "right" to, but for all he knew there could have been several "intruders" outside. Just did not seem like the smartest thing to do.

Tragic...

I have an alarm system in my home with sirens front and back
if I see someone in my back yard I will set off the alarm and call the police

Don't shoot unless under direct immediate threat

I can't imagine somebody not turning on the back yard light (assuming they have one). When we hear something around our house (we live in the country), the first thing we do is turn on the light on that side of the house to see what it is. I would NEVER just throw the door open and go running out there. And if I did, I would have a flashlight. I think this guy was a little too trigger-happy. Of course, as always, we don't know the details. Maybe the victim was in the shadows where the light couldn't reach him. But overall it doesn't look good.

Ruark wrote: {snip}
I think this guy was a little too trigger-happy.

Yep, he's going to be paying for it for a long, long time.

I have never had the desire or paranoia to blast a person who is simply in my yard. Maybe that is a good thing.

jmra wrote:

rbwhatever1 wrote:Very sad situation that could have been avoided by knowing ones target before engaging. I live in the middle of nowhere and will take a bullet before I shoot a person I cannot identify as friend, foe or family. A good flashlight would have stopped this. I use a black & decker spotlight to check my property when the LGD's go off....

Not a good shoot at all.

Someone can come in my back yard and knock on my door all they want. I'll call the police if I feel the need, but shots don't fly unless there ceases to be a barrier between the individual and my family.

Indeed. Absent other factors they are not a threat to life and limb. Besides, if they are in the back yard, that the killer attack wiener dogs are for.

03Lightningrocks wrote:I have never had the desire or paranoia to blast a person who is simply in my yard. Maybe that is a good thing.

That is a very good thing. With no direct threat, it is extremely difficult to justify. Not only that, but the psychological impact and potential financial ramifications are just not worth it without a threat to you or others.

gthaustex wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote:I have never had the desire or paranoia to blast a person who is simply in my yard. Maybe that is a good thing.

That is a very good thing. With no direct threat, it is extremely difficult to justify. Not only that, but the psychological impact and potential financial ramifications are just not worth it without a threat to you or others.

The financial issue alone are enough to make me stay inside the house. There ain't nothing in my yard worth my life. If anything means that much to me it is inside with me. I will let the cops do what I pay them to do.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

gthaustex wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote:I have never had the desire or paranoia to blast a person who is simply in my yard. Maybe that is a good thing.

That is a very good thing. With no direct threat, it is extremely difficult to justify. Not only that, but the psychological impact and potential financial ramifications are just not worth it without a threat to you or others.

The financial issue alone are enough to make me stay inside the house. There ain't nothing in my yard worth my life. If anything means that much to me it is inside with me. I will let the cops do what I pay them to do.

I think I've agreed with you on this in the past, but if not, I will say so now.

I guess I can imagine a circumstance where I had gone out in the back yard with a gun after turning on the light and was looking around. In this case, maybe he couldn't see where the guy was and went outside to see if anyone was still there. Suddenly there is a man in the shadow a few feet away and I am startled. I would turn to put the gun on the man. If startled enough, one might even shoot.

That is about the only way I can see myself doing that. As said above, he probably should have just stayed in the house. This is one case, where even if legal, it still wasn't the best option.

This is why my bedside gun has a Crimson Trace Lightguard.

MechAg94 wrote:I guess I can imagine a circumstance where I had gone out in the back yard with a gun after turning on the light and was looking around. In this case, maybe he couldn't see where the guy was and went outside to see if anyone was still there. Suddenly there is a man in the shadow a few feet away and I am startled. I would turn to put the gun on the man. If startled enough, one might even shoot.

That is about the only way I can see myself doing that. As said above, he probably should have just stayed in the house. This is one case, where even if legal, it still wasn't the best option.

This is why my bedside gun has a Crimson Trace Lightguard.

I don't see myself doing that at all if 911 has been called and police are on the way.