Posted on 01/19/2012 7:42:06 AM PST by marktwain
Aside from a 9 mm pistol and 16 years of military experience, Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Waiters was on his own in the wee hours of Tuesday morning when an intruder shattered his window and tried to open the front door of his house.
But when Waiters opened fire and shot the would-be burglar in the groin, state law was also on his side, authorities determined after an investigation of the shooting.
“If I didn’t have my weapon, I could have been dead,” Waiters said several hours after the 2 a.m. encounter. “The police weren’t there and they wouldn’t have gotten there quick enough to stop anybody from harming me, even when I called 911.”
In the heat of the moment, Georgia’s defense of habitation statute seemed a less pressing consideration than guarding his Woodland Drive home and ensuring his safety. But when the smoke had cleared and authorities informed him he’d acted within his rights, Waiters seemed relieved at the latitude afforded to homeowners who are faced with such dangers.
The suspect in the case, Melvin J. Jones, 47, was believed to be unarmed. Still, Waiters’ reaction seemed to be a textbook example of a justified, self-defense shooting protected by statutes in Georgia and Alabama, according to law enforcement officials and attorneys.
(Excerpt) Read more at ledger-enquirer.com ...
On the anti-freedom ledgers, this would count as "shooting a neighbor".
Groin Shot…. Ouch!! Depending on the damage, death might have been more merciful.
“The suspect in the case, Melvin J. Jones, 47, was believed to be unarmed.”
Really?
Did he have a hammer? Screwdriver? Crowbar?
What did he break the window with? His fist?
Then he was ‘armed’. Unless he was an amputee.
Oh, I see. You mean he didn’t have a GUN!!
We just know no one now a days CHOKES or tries to BEAT someone to death. Especially an older guy /or gal, living alone. Just doesn’t happen..
That’s just ‘gun owner hype’.. right? /s
Groin shot.
On purpose?
If you thing there’s wisdom in simply scaring the intruder away.....
How do you react when your neighbor’s are killed by intruders, the following week?
Ouchie - a “head shot” !!
Snoot ;o)
Columbus, GA btw
There are two areas of the human body where a single shot even from a 22lr can bring the perp down immediately: the brain pan and the bladder and surrounding nerve-heavy area. One is a lot more painful than the other, but I’d rather a perp be writhing in agony screaming on the ground than still coming for me after the first shot to the center body mass..
“Groin shot. On purpose?”
It’s called “gun control.”
I was in a training session where I was told that the groin/pelvis area was an excellent target for stopping a knife-wielding assailant. It puts him down on the floor instantly (something a center-mass shot is not guaranteed to do, especially if the bad guy is drugged up) and is easier to hit than the head.
A few decades back in the Smokies, a guy killed a charging black bear by sending a .22lr rifle round through the brain stem when the bear reared up and opened its mouth to snarl. The bullet went through the back of the soft tissue throat and into the brain stem, dropping the bear instantly. Of course the shot was a lucky one because the guy was just aiming to try and hit the bear in the head and hope that discouraged the charge; the open mouth removed obstacles to the back of the throat and the brain stem.
A .22lr can be very effective, but at my current age, I've moved up to a 9x18 or a 40cal, for more impact and more ammo at hand.
When I was younger, at thirty feet or less I aimed for hit spots the size of the eye socket. At sixty-six I aim for the lower pelvis region first, with a few more foot-pounds of impact.
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