Shooting a burglar caught "in-the-act". What do you think?

Question

About 1 year ago I came home and caught a burglar inside. At first I was just going to go back to my car, get my gun, and shoot the SOB. Instead I called 911 on my cell phone. Sheriffs were there before the guy exited. But I thought- what if the guy leaves? Should I shoot him?
Still don't know. Would it be legal (in Florida)? Would I have to shoot him INSIDE, or OUTSIDE?
Nobody seems to know this answer. Do YOU?
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Answer 1

"Stand Your Ground" laws, sometimes called shoot-first laws by critics, are statutes that allow the use of deadly force to defend against forcible unlawful entry or attack. These bills significantly expand the boundaries of legal self-defense by eliminating a person's duty to retreat from an invader or assailant in certain cases before resorting to the use of "defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another."

The state of Florida in the United States became the first to enact such a law on October 1, 2005. The Florida statute allows the use of deadly force when a person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent the commission of a "forcible felony." Under the statute, forcible felonies include "treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual."

The Florida law authorizes the use of defensive force by anyone "who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be." Furthermore, under the law, such a person "has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." The statute also grants civil and criminal immunity to anyone found to have had such a reasonable belief.

Since the enactment of the Florida legislation, Alabama, South Dakota, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Indiana have adopted similar statutes, and other states (Alaska, Arizona, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming) are currently considering "Stand Your Ground" laws of their own.

One must check the laws of their own state before consideration of deadly force.

Answer 2

The answer is so very simple........ you have to show that you believed that your life was in danger and you had no other recourse but to shoot him. Going to the car, getting a gun and shoting him would not be justifiable. Especially outside as you could have ran.

Even inside. If you have someone cornered you would have to show that they had a weapon or came at you. This is why they say that if you shoot someone in your house you had better kill them..... then its only your word. Regardless you should always be shooting for "center of mass" ie the chest as the police and military do. This provides the best insurance that you will disable your target regardless of the situation.

There has been tons of cases where an unarmed burgular has been wounded and the criminal has successfully sued the homeowner, even after he was charged. There have been cases where the criminal was killed and his family sued the homeowner in civil court.

So you did the right thing........ and if you wounded him outside there would have been no doubt that you would have gone to jail.

Personally on another note...... if I woke up in the middle of the night and someone was in my house..... well the heck with the legal consequences....... family is first.

Answer 3

Deadly force is only ok to use if your life is in immediate danger, or a reasonable person would feel they were in immediate danger. You can not shoot a fleeing suspect. And you can not put yourself in danger to justify the shooting. You called 911, if you then entered the house, YOU put yourself in danger. And it would be proven because you had already called the cops. If you had entered the house unaware there was a problem, then you MAY have been justified, but not if the guy tried to flee. It would not have mattered if you shot him inside or out, if he was attacking you, you were justified, if he was not attacking you, you would be wrong!

Oklahoma(famous for "Make My Day") has very good self-defense laws, but the fact still remains that you can not shoot someone over property, only to protect yourself or another person.

Answer 4

no, please don't shoot!

unless it is for self-defense. and now that has a whole new dimension to it because 1. is he capable of inflicting deadly harm to you? 2. is he armed and threatening you?

he could be just a trespasser who needed assistance but finding your home empty, he had to break in to call for help. who knows? he might be needing help for his family and needed a phone fast? it could happen you know.
i am trained to shoot with different types of deadly weapons & even to fight unarmed. but i still teach people never to shoot first and ask questions later. it might cost you years behind bars if the defense can prove the 'burglar' you shot was innocent.

the best you could do is get out of the house and wait for help to arrive. the stuff of movies is to confront the 'burglar' and try to make the arrest themselves.

what kind of gun? rifle? never 'assault' close quarters with a hunting rifle. you will be greatly disadvantaged. even if he is armed only with a knife. unless you have the upper hand where you have him in your sights and he is backed to the wall.

for the sake of family, leave the arrest to the cops.

if he got away, tough. all you can do is check for missing items. at least you are alive to face a new tomorrow. still a free man. because self defense as an argument in court will require lots of study.

be safe than sorry!

by the way, the thinking of most that "If necessary take an unregistered firearm (or other weapon) and place it in the hands of the corpse." is an OLD trick that law enforcement looks at that angle early in the game!

Answer 5

If you shoot him you will be in more trouble than he will. If he does not have a gun, he can sue you.

Laws protect criminals here. Just call 911 and hope for the best. Also, carrying a gun in your car might not be legal either.

Answer 6

Florida law allows you to shoot only if your life is threatened and you can not get away from the felon. For example you are inside your house and they break in and you shoot saying you thought your life or the lives of your family were in jeopardy.

You can't shoot to prevent someone from escaping.

Answer 7

I found an article and this is what it said:
In October 2005, Florida enacted new a type of "stand your ground" law. Now, Florida residents can use deadly force in their homes even if they don’t fear physical injury. They can fire on anyone who unlawfully, forcibly enters their home. And the definition of "home" now includes vehicles, so a Florida resident can use deadly force against anyone who forcibly, unlawfully intrudes in their car or on their boat.

But still in my opinion I may have shot him to injure him but not shoot to kill. At least he got caught.

Answer 8

I don't know the gun laws in Florida but if you were to shoot him, you must kill him so he doesn't sue you for it and it must be done inside your home but that's only if he has a weapon (gun, knife or anything that can kill), then it can be considered a justifiable homicide.

Things are so much easier in Georgia and especially in Acworth GA where if you own property you have to own a gun, it's the law.

Answer 9

I live in California and have been told repeatedly by friends who are police officers that if you confront a burgler in the house, shoot to kill.

If necessary take an unregistered firearm (or other weapon) and place it in the hands of the corpse.

That way you can claim that your life was in immediate danger and that you killed the burgler in self-defense.

However, it is my understanding that Florida laws are much more liberal in this regard and that self-defense justification may not be necessary.

Answer 10

You did the right thing.

You can only use deadly force if your life is in imminent danger. If he's leaving, the danger has passed.

One thing that goes through my mind is "What if he has a gun too .....and he's a better shot than I am?"

Glad to see you're still alive.