From the tale of your unfortunate cousin:
He tried to get in the front door with is key, but it didn't work. He knocked on the door and then probably realized that it was the wrong house. The homeowner then shot him on the back as my cousin was leaving and he died on the front lawn.
I hope you have enough of your wits about you, give the personal nature of this issue, to see the critical difference between your cousin's case and this one.
You don't shoot at what you can't see.