Posted on 07/16/2002 10:40:38 AM PDT by Jagdgewehr
JEROME -- Sometimes, it might be best to just run and hide.
That could be the best course of action for somebody facing an intruder in the home, said Sgt. Jack Johnson of the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. "If you can safely get out, then get out of the house. Get in the car, drive down the road and be a good witness," he said.
A Jerome woman was shot and wounded in the leg early Saturday after she took a revolver and went to investigate an apparent intrusion into her home, according to police reports.
She later told investigators that she stumbled into an intruder who was wearing a ski mask, and a struggle over her gun ensued, said Jerome Police Detective Dan Chatterton.
It's evident that the woman shot herself with the .357 magnum -- which had been loaded with .38 Special caliber cartridges -- Chatterton said. But evidence in the home also indicates that somebody else was in the home and there had been a struggle, he said. So it was probably during the struggle that she accidentally wounded herself.
Police on Tuesday still hadn't made any arrests and were not releasing the woman's name, Chatterton said. She was in stable condition at an area hospital and was expected to make a complete recovery from her wounds, he said.
The best choice?
In light of what happened in Jerome, is it wise to use a gun for self-defense in the home? That depends, law officers said Tuesday.
Venturing about to look for an intruder is probably not the best course of action for a homeowner -- armed or not, Chatterton said. Instead a person should, if at all possible, call the police and then try to leave the house or find a place to hide.
And anybody who decides to get a gun for home defense should get the training to use it, Chatterton and other police said, because having a gun and not knowing how to use it can be far more dangerous than not being armed at all.
"You need to know what you're doing, and you need to use common sense," Chatterton said. "I recognize the right of people to defend themselves with a firearm, but it's sort of a double-edge sword," said Twin Falls police Capt. Jim Munn. "If they are properly trained in when and how to use it, that's one thing."
The Jerome woman had no formal firearms training, Chatterton said. Getting well-versed in when to use a gun is just as important as learning how to use it, said Staff Sgt. Bryan Krear of the Twin Falls Police Department.
"It's a personal right of people to own a gun. But get the training, get an understanding of the law," he said.
What the law allows
Generally speaking, Idaho law favors residents and homeowners, said Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs.
"You are allowed to defend yourself and your home against intruders. And if you feel somebody's a threat to you, then you can use force to defend yourself," he said. "I think when you are in your home and somebody comes in and is sneaking around, then that's usually a pretty good case."
Even so, the law is open to interpretation on a case-by-case basis, depending upon virtually endless factors, Loebs said. Among those might be just how clearly violent an intruder's intentions are, he said. It's not legal to shoot somebody who is clearly threatening only property, not other people's health or lives, Krear said.
The fact is that every situation will be different, Johnson said.
"There's a lot of 'what ifs.' A lot might depend on how many people live in your house," he said. "We would prefer to handle the situation. But there may be situations where that can't happen right away."
Times-News reporter Mark Heinz can be reached by e-mail at mheinz@magicvalley.com.
Offered for comment and discussion.
From what I can tell, the author knows so little about the case that they still don't know if there was an intruder. Where I see a glimmer of hope is that the author didn't contact the brady bunch for an opinion. Asking the brady bunch about guns is like asking the KKK about the NAACP, to quote from an early article.
Let them get into a shootout. You don't need the hassle.
EXACTLY.
part of the responsibility of owning a gun is knowing how to use it.
improper or no firearms/self defense training leads to death - just like proper training does - the difference is the 'winner'.
I know that these are the safest strategies. However, I have children sleeping in different sections of the house. Obviously, what concerns me more than my own safety, is my family's safety. I'm not going to allow an intruder the chance to abduct my 10 year old daughter, for instance. I know that such a scenario is unlikely, but must I not assume the worse?
If suspicious noises are heard in the night that cause concern, then a careful "sweep" of my home is the required action.
Absent the obvious indications, determining the intentions of an intruder is usually impossible. I'm not going to allow an intruder to have uncontested access to my family. An introduction to Carl Walther is what an intruder should expect upon the unwelcomed entrance to my home.
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Jessica Flag, spokeswoman for the 4% of a Million Mom March, Washington, DC, May, 2000, at the Gore for President Rally
Of course, there's ALSO the Jeff Foxworthy method: wearing boxer shorts, flashlight in one hand, baseball bat in the other(g). . . . . .
No sh*t? You think so, Barney?
"It's not legal to shoot somebody who is clearly threatening only property, not other people's health or lives, Krear said."
Then there's a law you Idahoans need to get changed, pdq!
Here's my take on the "it's only property" B.S.:
Like some others, I have to work for my money, give up a good part of my life for it, and when I trade that money for goods - my "property" - that makes my property something that I've traded my life for.
If someone is trying to take that from me, it's my life he's stealing - and that attempt is going to cost him his!
And I'll sleep like a baby afterwards.
Firearms and cell extractions are the limit to my training.
However, I do have several tactical advantages if and when "clearing and sweeping" must be employed in my home. My home is anti-intruder feng shui, you might say.
Some LEO's and DA's have been coming back on this in the last 10-12 years saying that we now have a duty to retreat from our homes? That one's home is no longer the last safe place to make your stand against hostile beings?
I was told that Texas had this clause on the books for about a five year period in the early seventies before common sense prevailed and one's home was back in place as one's castle.
I would never be practical nor make any sense to require a family in a muti-room to gather all the family members, place them at risk in order to evacuate a household.
I agree with others that a "plan" should be in place to insure the safety of the family in light of a home invasion or a break-in.
Bad guys should make note not to mess with my wife when she is armed. Be aware that all perforations will be centered in the bad guy's chest. There will not be any hesitation.
If you go outside with your gun, keep it holstered/concealed, and have some ID out or available. Also, as you've seen on the TV show 'Cops', it's a bad idea to be shirtless. A guy without a shirt almost always screams 'perp' to the cavalry when they arrive. If you stay inside the house, having a small LED light on your keychain makes it easy to toss a findable set of keys out for your backup to find entry and know what room you are in if you let the dispatcher know "hey I just tossed some lighted keys outside my bedroom where I'll be waiting with a sidearm". BTW, telling a cop you have a "weapon" always doesn't sound as well as "sidearm". Goofs carry weapons, professionals carry sidearms. The word conveys a subtle difference but subliminally it is way less likely to raise hackles. It's always a good idea to keep calm around cops and try to keep them calm.
Hehe, I love that. I going to use that the next time my pro-feng shui, anti-gun sister opens her gob.
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