Free Republic

A Clark County man was entitled to argue self-defense when he intentionally shot toward a person, and was not required to show he intended to kill or harm the man who threatened him, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.A divided Supreme Court vacated the felonious assault conviction of Tyler Wilson for his altercation at a Springfield gas station in 2021. At trial, Wilson was acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of felonious assault after he fired a shot at Billy Reffett. The shot struck the window frame of Reffett’s truck, near his head. The trial judge refused to instruct...

The Central District Attorney's Office decided Monday to close the investigation against two residents of Samaria who shot and killed Palestinian Authority resident Mahmoud Odeh during an attempted lynching of a group of Jewish children last year. The State Attorney's Office stated that the decision to close the case on the grounds of lack of guilt was made after examination of the evidence and the relevant circumstances in the case. Odeh, a resident of the village of Qusra, was part of an Arab mob which attacked a group of 25 schoolchildren who were on a Bar Mitzvah hike on November...

Russia says one of its warships fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision. A Russian defence ministry statement said the Turkish vessel approached to 600m (1,800ft) before turning away in response to Russian small arms fire.

He said when the burglar started to come toward the owner, he fired a single shot into the ground to stop his advance. The suspect then ran west, got into a pick up with another suspect and took off. Police later found the get-away vehicle in the Hi-Crest neighborhood. After a short pursuit and foot chase, two men were taken in for questioning and one of whom, Marks, was detained. All stolen items were returned to the victim. The TPD said they are still investigating.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Marissa Alexander, a woman whose case helped bring national attention to Florida's stand your ground and minimum sentencing laws, was allowed to leave jail late Tuesday afternoon to spend the rest of her sentence on house arrest. Applause broke out in the courtroom when Judge James Daniel announced he would reject the prosecutors' request for an additional two-year sentence and was releasing Alexander to community control. As she left the courthouse, Alexander read a prepared statement: "Today, after the sentence given by Judge Daniel, my family and I will be able to move on with our lives....

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...

I may have to start a new category: Warning shots that work.  I have routinely advised students against "warning shots" with the usual caveats; the bullet has to go somewhere, innocents may be hit, and  a round  is wasted that you might need.   Many, especially on the Internet have claimed that a warning shot may be considered as evidence that you were not serious.  I think that is unlikely.  There is at least one prosecutor who thinks that it shows restraint. Gunfire has been used as a means of signaling and communications as long as there have been...

Warning shots are always controversial.   I generally caution against them, but I keep finding instances where they are used to good effect.  Here is one that was related on the opencarry.org North Carolina forum by tiggy1190.  It occurred in Buncombe County, NC: Forced to pull, and discharge outside of Asheville. I wont go into all the details, but long story short. Drunk, and drugged up moron threatens me with a knife, then a gun, and advances towards me. I never saw the weapon, but his hands were behind his back the whole time. I knew I was just in...

Many posters on the Internets have stated that "warning shots" would be taken as evidence that the shooter did not consider the threat to be deadly, or they would have shot center mass instead of firing the warning shot or shots.  In this case from Maryland, the prosecutor came to the opposite conclusion.From cecildaily.com: “He did everything he could have done. Maryland law says the person must first retreat if possible. He retreated as far as he could. He was backed up into a corner of his deck. He had nowhere else to go,” Rollins said. The rival kept...

Devon Woltring I am not a fan of warning shots.   The bullet has to go somewhere;  in densely populated areas, there is a chance that an innocent person could be injured.   Still, I run across stories where warning shots seem to have "worked".  That is, the warning shot seems to have accomplished some good purpose, whether to defuse the situation without anyone being killed or wounded, or, as in this case, to bring help. The suspect above is accused of stealing money from a resident, then returning to attack a resident of the home involved.  From kgw.com: "The resident...

Florida passed a reform of its gun law this year to prevent situations such as what has happened to Lee Wollard.   Wollard says that he fired a shot to stop an assault and force a young man out of his house;  the prosecutor charged him with firing into a building, aggravated assault and child endangerment.   The young man was dating his daughter and was 17. No one was hurt, but the bullet penetrated the walls of the house and struck the house next door. Under the old Florida law, the prosecutor could offer this dilemma: plead guilty, be convicted...

On April 3rd, the Florida senate passed warning shot legislation by a vote of 32-7. The state house had already passed the measure, so it now goes to Gov. Rick Scott (R) for his signature. If signed, this legislation will make it legal to fire a warning shot as a last step before shooting an attacker who has launched an assault.

Even a small gun can deter an attack  A friend said that they had to fire their mini-revolver to convince an attacker that it was a real gun. Florida is moving toward a "Defensive Display" law that includes the possibility of a warning shot or shots being acceptable as a part of self defense, if no innocents are injured.   Arizona passed a similar law several years ago after the aggressors in self defense situations were using the criminal justice system to have the defenders arrested on aggravated assault charges. In the case that I know of, the aggressors were...

A bill filed last week by a Polk County lawmaker is intended to address what he called "the negative, unintended consequences" of Florida’s 10-20-Life sentencing law by granting immunity to people who fire warning shots to protect themselves and others.

An Oregon man has had rifle confiscated and is facing criminal charges after he attempted to stop a wanted felon from breaking into his home by firing a warning shot. Police in Medford, Ore., say the incident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Officers responded to an apartment complex in the area after receiving a disturbance call. During their investigation, cops heard a gun shot and a man running away toward the complex’s parking lot. Authorities say 40-year-old Jonathon Kinsella, a wanted felon, was attempting to flee the scene when he was arrested on outstanding warrants, including for burglary...

THE police are investigating an attempted break-in where the homeowner discharged his weapon. Police have confirmed a 12-gauge shotgun was used to scare the two masked men away after they tried to break into a house at Lobau settlement in Nausori early yesterday morning. However, director operations Senior Superintendent Rusiate Tudravu said he could not confirm at this stage whether or not shots fired hit one of the intruders because they had yet to receive a report to this effect. "The home owner has been interviewed by the officers at Nausori Police Station and the gun has been taken in...

It all happened last Wednesday. Prosecutors say Johnson, who was already on probation for aggravated assault, robbed two men in West Reading and was attempting to rob a third along a bike path in Cumru Township in Berks County. But the would-be victim was carrying a licensed firearm, and shot two of his attackers. Johnson was killed. A friend is now in the hospital. Johnson's mother, Idella Hopkins George, said, "Do I believe he was justified in shooting my son? I would say no." The family acknowledges Johnson's actions were wrong, but they question why a warning shot couldn't have...

N. Korean naval boats violate western sea border SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- Two North Korean patrol boats separately crossed into South Korean waters on Saturday night but retreated after the South Korean Navy fired warning shots, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said Sunday. According to JSC officials, a North Korean naval boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea at 10:13 p.m. Saturday and came about 2.2 kilometers into South Korean waters. The North Korean boat sailed back to the North 30 minutes later after receiving a warning communication from the South Korean Navy, they...

CRATER LAKE, Ore. (AP) - A camper brandished a club and threatened to kill two park rangers, then was shot dead by one of them, a park spokesman said Thursday. The man encountered the rangers as they answered a call about a domestic disturbance at a campground at Crater Lake National Park after dark Wednesday, said park spokesman Mac Brock. When the rangers tried to talk to the man, he became increasingly hostile and wandered around the campsite despite orders to stay still, Brock said. "Still brandishing the club, still ignoring warnings to stop, he directly approached the rangers and...

Posted on Drudge and Smoking Gun: The California recall campaign is officially getting dirty...