I saw a couple of threads a few days ago—I didn’t see yesterdays—but I am warming to the guy. The most recent previous burglary had been on Oct. 28, during which the burglars took a bunch of guns (perhaps all), which may explain why he was left using very small caliber weapons for defense. He probably knew as well as the freepers that have been pointing it out that this was not a good situation. I’m not sure what gun laws are like in Minnesota, but this could even have been something that had been eating at him for a while.
He may have also thought that there was a good chance that the same blokes who had come through earlier were back to finish him off. If he is working in the basement when he hears the break in, he may very well effectively be trapped. There is a very good chance that there are multiple people involved in the break in, and he needs to take them all out using not very effective guns. Everyone coming down the stairs needs to be taken out both so that they cannot shoot him initially and so that they will not distract him as other people come down the stairs. If a third person shows up while he is still dealing with the second, he is not in good shape.
He does seem to have crossed a line, and is certainly doing himself no favours by talking, but I can picture a psychological state justifying it to the extent that I would not be too bothered having him as a neighbor.
His comments prove he is a moron. First thing you say to the cops when something like this happens is “I was in fear for my life” maybe burst into tears. Instead he talks about his “finishing shot”? Whack job idiot.
And this guy used to work for the state department? Oh my.