ID: Homeowner runs out of Ammo using "Warning Shots"

Gun Watch ^ | 30 December, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Bart Bryson, a homeowner in Idaho, discovered a burglar in his unoccupied home.   The burglar "bumped" into him and he fired two shots into the floor.  From ktvb.com:

"A voice yelled at me 'please don't shoot me' and came running at me, and I grabbed my pistol," Bryson said.

The man bumped into him, knocking him back, he said. That's when Bryson fired two shots into the floor.

"I thought, I'll kill him if I have to, because I'm not going to get killed, and I'm not going to get knocked out either," he said. "But the gunshot scared him enough, apparently it scared him enough that he fell down thinking maybe I shot him. I thought I had hit him, the way he hit the ground, but he was just playing possum."

 
Unfortunately, Bart had left his cell phone at home.  Bryson works as a security officer. He had handcuffs in is his car.  He decided to cuff the suspect and take him to police headquarters.  The suspect asked him: would you shoot someone over a burglary? 

But as he was searching for the cuffs under the seat, however, the man bolted, Bryson said. Bryson began shooting again, firing several shots into the ground. He says he did not want to kill anyone over a burglary.

Bart was right in not shooting at the suspect, clearly, as he ran off, the suspect was not a threat.   Sometimes, "warning shots" stop a fleeing suspect, but sometimes, they just run faster.  The gun shots alerted the neighbors to call the police, so they had some positive effect.

The interesting thing is that with all the "warning shots", Bart ran out of ammo!   While everything worked out without anyone getting killed or injured, this reinforces the axiom that you can never have too much ammunition; and that warning shots use a potentially precious resource.  In addition to spare ammunition, Bart will likely be more careful to bring his cell phone with him in the future.  The military has a saying: you have to be able to move, shoot, and communicate.  By the end of this encounter, Bart only had one of those necessities.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[BobL]

That is REALLY SCARY...and I’m not sure my wife would do any better in that circumstance - that’s why you have think these things our and talk out the plans BEFORE anything happens. I’m sure glad she was able to reach you on the phone, though.

[muir_redwoods]

Always fire warning shots AFTER you’ve dropped the perp. That way you’ll be sure you have adequate ammo.

[Huaynero]

“You never shoot to kill, you shoot to neutralize the threat.”

...and offer the responding LEO no more explanation than “I was in fear of my life”. And never waver in that story. Bottom line, whose family do you want grieving, your’s or the perp’s?

[Pollster1]

The suspect asked him: would you shoot someone over a burglary?

Regardless of the letter of the law, it would take a whole lot for me to vote for conviction as a juror. Burglars take the victim's sense of security along with property that represents money - time - part of the victim's life. My life is worth a whole lot more than some petty thug's life, and I would give the victim of a burglary the same consideration.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Ammo is too scarce and expensive to play around.

[driftdiver]

The only reason she didn’t shoot was because he wasn’t actually trying to open a window. Still, seems pretty stupid on his part.

The prior day someone kicked in the door and stole a bunch of stuff and broke things. Despite the alarm we had.

[BobL]

“Still, seems pretty stupid on his part.”

Insanely stupid...but THANK GOD it all worked out, in the end.

[Captainpaintball]

Stupid ass. Shoot to kill first, then shoot two more times afterwards. Those would be "the warning shots" you originally fired.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

"A voice yelled at me 'please don't shoot me' and came running at me,

You may yell, "please don't shoot me" and if you stand still I might not.

If you run toward me while yelling that I am going to follow my training and shoot you until you stop.

[RWB Patriot]

As far as I’m concerned, anyone who needs a warning not to violate the rights of others got it long ago and decided to ignore it.

[FreedomPoster]

To heck with those puny zip ties. Get a few flex duct straps.