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Warning Shots Precipitate Attacks
Gun Watch ^ | 5 August, 2017 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 08/06/2017 8:24:24 PM PDT by marktwain

Antonio Hickerson

Warning shots may galvanize an opponent into the action you are attempting to deter. They may attack you. That is what seems to have happened in situations in Indiana and South Carolina.  From wave3.com in Indiana:
“The victim was able to retrieve a handgun that he owned,” Mull said. “He was able to use that handgun to get Mr. Hickerson out of his residence.”

The situation didn't end there. The homeowner, who didn’t want to go on camera, told police he fired two warning shots after Hickerson refused to leave. That's when a struggle started as the suspect tried to grab the gun out of the homeowner's hands.

Neighbor Libby West described how another neighbor jumped in to help.

“He walked outside because he kind of saw and heard a commotion and he saw a gun waving in the air,” West said. “The two men were fighting over it.”

That neighbor grabbed his gun and ran over to assist his friend. Other neighbors jumped in as well.

Police got to the scene quickly and arrested Hickerson. The homeowner’s keys and cellphone were found in Hickerson's pocket.
In the case in Indiana, the shots attracted the attention of a neighbor, who appeared with a firearm and helped to subdue the suspect. The suspect,  Antonio Henderson, told police that he was under the influence of multiple opiates.

Update:

In South Carolina, in January, a woman fired warning shots, was attacked, then shot and killed her assailant. From foxcarolina.com:
Sheridan told investigators she heard a noise coming from her shed and fired two warning shots before Sanders came out from behind the shed. When he did, Sheridan said she fired a shot in his direction.
(snip)
Wagner said Sheridan retrieved her handgun after hearing a loud crash as she opened the door to her home. Sanders was dressed in dark clothing and had his face covered at the time of the incident, Wagner said.

"His behavior would startle anyone in a similar situation, and it is not unreasonable to think that to protect herself after feeling threatened Ms. Sheridan believed she had to fire a shot in the direction of the large male charging at her," Wagner and Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride said in a joint statement.

The problems with warning shots are several. The bullet has to go somewhere, and it may not land where you intend it. People have been killed and wounded by "warning shots". Prosecutors may ask why, if you faced a deadly threat, did you fire a warning shot? Warning shots use precious ammunition that may be needed to stop a threat.

In spite of these shortcomings, there is one overwhelming advantage of warning shots. You may stop an attack without having to shoot someone. The assumption is that some people will be deterred by warning shots that would not be deterred by the sight of a firearm pointed at them.

Florida has modified their law to make the use of warning shots less legally problematic. Prosecutors in other states have stated that warning shots show restraint.

Criminals may not act rationally. They may respond in ways that a rational, "civilized" person does not expect a person to act.

Do not depend on your version of how you expect a criminal to react.  A retired police officer told me to view an attacker as you would a large, dangerous, wild animal. Do not expect to reason with them or expect mercy from them.

Warning shots sometimes work with wild animals. Sometimes, they don't.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch


TOPICS: Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; in; sc; southcarolina; warningshots
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To: BinaryBoy

Tuco was a trip, wasn’t he?


21 posted on 08/06/2017 10:44:01 PM PDT by Mark17 (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning GOD....And the rest, as they say, is HIS-story)
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To: matthew fuller
My warning shot will be at the center of mass.

Where I was, the requirements to fire a warning shot, were the same as for firing for affect. We fired to stop the threat. If it took center mass to stop the thread, then we fired center mass.

22 posted on 08/06/2017 10:49:19 PM PDT by Mark17 (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning GOD....And the rest, as they say, is HIS-story)
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To: Mark17; BinaryBoy

Tuco’s best moment (But you knew that) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYtD7gSWsI


23 posted on 08/06/2017 11:04:13 PM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
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To: shibumi

If someone REALLY needs shooting, the only approved means of alerting them to your intentions are muzzle flash or (preferably) a sucking chest wound.

Then it’s game on. In the memorable words of Clint Smith, “Shoot it until it changes shape or catches fire.”


24 posted on 08/06/2017 11:52:12 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: marktwain

IF I have to fire, they are not going to be warning shots. They are going to be shots aimed/intended to hit the target.


25 posted on 08/07/2017 12:25:50 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Mark17

It was hard not to like him or laugh.


26 posted on 08/07/2017 12:49:01 AM PDT by ArcadeQuarters ("Immigration Reform" is ballot stuffing)
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To: Paal Gulli

“Shoot it until it changes shape or catches fire.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syyYCv8M3-E


27 posted on 08/07/2017 12:50:57 AM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

“Fire a warning shot INTO THE GROUND.”

Onto the concrete street and have it ricochet? In many places that is what the ground is in a suburban setting.

Issue a verbal warning and then take them down if it isn’t heeded. Use a hollow point to prevent a through shot.


28 posted on 08/07/2017 1:13:31 AM PDT by Fai Mao (I still want to see The PIAPS in prison)
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To: marktwain

An old shooting coach of mine (Russian, so his English was always awkward) used to say:
“Warning shot? Yes. Two warning shot in chest, one warning shot in head.”


29 posted on 08/07/2017 2:16:26 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: marktwain
In some locales you will be charged with a various list of infractions if you fire a “warning shot”. Some DA’s interpret that as you were not truly in fear of yours or others life.

Thanks for this OP it has been shared down my distribution line.

30 posted on 08/07/2017 2:33:02 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Not my circus. Not my monkeys.)
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To: marktwain
I shot a bullet into the air..., it fell to the ground through who knows what, where or who! (an obvious true adaption of Longfellow's poem.)
31 posted on 08/07/2017 3:31:08 AM PDT by ExSES (the "bottom-line")
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To: Pollster1
I just spit my yogurt on my computer screen, but he is right.
32 posted on 08/07/2017 3:37:04 AM PDT by coincheck (Time is Short, Salvation is for Today)
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To: marktwain
Warning shots may have utility, but they also have many potential problems.

Yep - situational awareness is key. If one wants to fire a warning shot, be far enough away to be able to get the gun in play "for real" if the perp opts to attack.

Sounds like this guy displayed a lack of resolve that the perp recognized - can't see any reason for two warning shots otherwise. One max to display the weapon is loaded and after that, shoot for effect --- of course shooting for effect may be the most reasonable first option in a great deal of cases.

33 posted on 08/07/2017 3:57:34 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

Two in the Deck!


34 posted on 08/07/2017 4:29:03 AM PDT by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: marktwain

Warning shots? There is no such thing! If you have the right under law, any shot you discharge, should be into the target!


35 posted on 08/07/2017 4:49:52 AM PDT by 48th SPS Crusader (I am an American. Not a Republican or a Democrat)
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To: matthew fuller

“My warning shot will be at the center of mass.”

His liver will never misbehave again.


36 posted on 08/07/2017 5:02:27 AM PDT by PLMerite ("Government should be done to cattle and not human beings." - John Milius)
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To: marktwain
In spite of these shortcomings, there is one overwhelming advantage of warning shots. You may stop an attack without having to shoot someone.

No. I disagree, vehemently. You don't brandish your weapon (that's actually illegal in many places). You only draw or bring a weapon (eg. rifle or shotgun) to bear if you believe your life or someone else's life is in imminent danger. Because by drawing/bringing to bear you are bringing deadly force into the mix - you had better be justified in doing so.

Therefore, if you believe lives are in danger, why the {expletive} would you hesitate or in any way screw around? You end that deadly threat in the most direct, sure way you can. In short, "...without having to shoot someone..." is fantasy. If you've drawn your weapon, you've already crossed the Rubicon, you are literally fighting for your life.

I will not ever fire a warning shot. I may accidentally miss, I'm human and it would be an incredibly stressful situation. But I will not fire a warning shot - if someone is threatening me or some other innocent with deadly force they've already made their decision, and I've made mine. If they are going to change their mind and surrender they have exactly as long as it takes me to draw and aim to make that decision and communicate it to me. I carry a Glock (ie. no manual safety) with one in the chamber - so that's not a lot of time.

37 posted on 08/07/2017 5:34:55 AM PDT by ThunderSleeps (Doing my part to help make America great again!)
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To: Big Red Badger

...or One in the Neck.


38 posted on 08/07/2017 6:29:50 AM PDT by Big Red Badger (UNSCANABLE in an IDIOCRACY!)
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To: ThunderSleeps

Yep.

Heed the first warning quickly or get shot until you no longer pose the threat.

Jail is temporary. The morgue is permanent.


39 posted on 08/07/2017 6:38:45 AM PDT by SirLurkedalot (10/10/51-7/7/16 RIP Dad, I'll be missing you until I cross over to Eternity)
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To: marktwain

The first thing my father said to me when he taught me to shoot is don’t point a gun at someone unless you plan to shoot them.


40 posted on 08/07/2017 7:35:31 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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