Man accidentally shoots neighbor

[BlackRyder]

Just heard this story on the radio. Apparently, in an attempt to thwart a car thief, he fired 16 rounds and only succeeded in killing his neighbor with a stray bullet that hit her in the head while she slept. Idiot.
Woman dies after stray bullet hits her in Bonney Lake shooting

Read More

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Damn!
Thoughts and prayers out to the neighbors family.
Note to news reporters : Not all gun owners are like this.
Andy

 

[sigboi]

Bonney Lake woman dies after being hit by stray bullet

Woman hit by stray bullet fired by victim of car theft

 

[Koda]

no, its not every gun owners worst nightmare... those that have taken a class on the lawful use of force anyways, would know that shooting at a fleeing criminal is the same as murder, and reckless to others, and just plain stupid. Unfortunately the "kill them all let God sort them out" attitude perpetuated throughout the gun community puts a wall up on the education part.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

dang. died over a car theft. i dont think i would shoot someone over stealing my car.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

As I said in a different post about this: My thoughts and prayers go out to the neighbors family.
My jeep is not worth the risk of my neighbors or the criminals life ... Nor is it worth jail time or legal hassles for me.
That is why I have insurance.
Would I be angry if someone stole my jeep , you bet.
But my Jeep isn't worth killing over,
Andy

 

[boogerhook]

Violated the use of force doctrine and cardinal rules of gun safety. Attempted murder (shooting at the thief while running away), criminal negligence with wanton disregard for human life (neighbor). Throw the book at him. Thoughts and prayers for the neighbor & family.

 

[Ura-Ki]

This is just Sad all round! Thoughts and prayers to the families. Some one wants to take my Jeep, fine, it's insured and it wont get far the way it goes through the gas, not worth taking a life over, and worse accidentally killing an innocent! People think owning a gun gives then cart blanch to act when in fact, you take on more responsibility! As seen here, the shooter has NO IDEA the responsibilities using a gun entails or the moral responsibility that goes hand in hand!!! So Sad

 

[Velzey]

Good grief, standing on the porch shooting towards the Jeep as it's leaving. Kills a lady in bed sleeping..

 

[Cigarlvr313]

I agree Tim........if he cared at all about being a gun owner he would have never done that. I learned not to do that with my first BB Gun. Unfortunately we will all pay for the actions of this hot headed imbecile.


Be Sure Of Your Target And What's Beyond It

​

No one can call a shot back. Once a gun fires, you have given up all control over where the shot will go or what it will strike. Don't shoot unless you know exactly what your shot is going to strike. Be sure that your bullet will not injure anyone or anything beyond your target. Firing at a movement or a noise without being absolutely certain of what you are shooting at constitutes disregard for the safety of others. No target is so important that you cannot take the time before you pull the trigger to be absolutely certain of your target and where your shot will stop.

Be aware that even a 22 short bullet can travel over 11/4 miles and a high velocity cartridge, such as a 30-06, can send its bullet more than 3 miles. Shotgun pellets can travel 500 yards, and shotgun slugs have a range of over half a mile.

You should keep in mind how far a bullet will travel if it misses your intended target or ricochets in another direction

 

[nammac]

Tragic... My heart goes out to the woman's family, as do my prayers...

The fool with the gun, play stupid games, win stupid prizes... Dude, don't you have insurance????

 

[Cigarlvr313]

Tragic... My heart goes out to the woman's family, as do my prayers...

The fool with the gun, play stupid games, win stupid prizes... Dude, don't you have insurance????

I hope her family takes everything he's got and that won't even be the tip of the iceberg of what he owes.

 

[NCW_Robert]

Shot a few rounds off up in the air once when I caught a stereo thief in action in my drive way at 4 AM. Ran out front door, yelled I was going to shoot him, he ran down the street, I ran into the street and yelled your dead bubblegum and lite up the sky, dude screamed and bubblegum himself while he was running down the side walk. I do really think he thought I was shooting "at him" from the way he started screaming when I started shooting.

OK that was a really long time ago as in 25 yrs. Not that dumb any more, as in, no I would not do that again.

I understand wanting to stop some one and protect your stuff, thing is, bad things can happen if your not careful and this incident proves just that. I agree with everyone here who says, the car was not worth the consequences of firing a weapon in such a manor.

That is why I would not do such a thing but if you find out some one is in the process of stealing, your stereo or your truck, what you gonna do, flash the porch light at him?

If you do go out there armed, you got to accept you might have to shoot some one. Meth heads don't operate out of logic. Point a gun at one and he is just as likely to run at you screaming obscenities as run away. If that does happen, just do your best to be accurate so you off one meth head, not the ol lady across the street asleep.

...

 

[Alexx1401]

That is why I would not do such a thing but if you find out some one is in the process of stealing, your stereo or your truck, what you gonna do, flash the porch light at him?

If you do go out there armed, you got to accept you might have to shoot some one. Meth heads don't operate out of logic. Point a gun at one and he is just as likely to run at you screaming obscenities as run away. If that does happen, just do your best to be accurate so you off one meth head, not the ol lady across the street asleep.

...

If you go out with a gun to protect what's your's you need to be prepared. If they come after you with a weapon, yes, shoot them. If they are driving off in your car you need to have enough brains to not start sending rounds off in some general direction. Yes it sucks to have some dope head stealing from you. Sucks a lot more to be this idiot right now.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Bless that poor lady and her family!

As for that nit wit that killed her.....Words just fail me.

BTW, just add, it's not a nightmare at all, to me. I'm not firing over effn property.

 

[The Heretic]

This is why, despite being on 20 forested acres, I rarely shoot on my own property. There just isn't much of a place to shoot without shooting in the direction of one of my neighbor's houses/shops/etc., and the few places I can shoot the distance to the safe backstop is short - ten yards at best.

As for protecting property, if you can get between the property and the thief, and it is safe to shoot, if they come at you, then that could possibly be considered self-defense. Otherwise, yes, not defensible in court, even though LEOs seem to increasingly shoot unarmed fleeing felons and get away with it (when I was a LEO, the doctrine was no shooting an unarmed fleeing felon unless there was reasonable cause to think they were going to harm someone).

 

[The Courier]

It's my understanding of Oregon law that if someone is breaking into your vehicle you are NOT covered under law to use lethal force unless they have a visible weapon. I'm all for protecting what you've earned but if some inebriated person mistakes your car for their own it shouldn't be the end for them. Sad story for those involved, you have a moment to make decision and a lifetime to live with it.

 

[The Heretic]

Protecting ANY property in most US states is NOT considered justification for use of lethal force.

Use of lethal force is generally justified to protect an innocent person from serious bodily harm (it often doesn't have to be life endangering). It varies by state, but that is the gist of it.

Apparently LEO policy and case law is different though.

But as I said, getting between the thief and your property might allow you to use lethal force if the thief continued to persist in trying to take your property, but that puts you at risk of harm - which is not desirable, but might keep you out of prison if you use lethal force. OTOH, it may not protect you from a civil suit.

 

[Oregon Rob]

To add to what has already been said. what are the chances you're actually going to stop someone fleeing in a vehicle by shooting at the vehicle as it's driving away? pretty slim imho.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

dang. died over a car theft. i dont think i would shoot someone over stealing my car.

I agree. I don't think I would either, unless it was a carjacking with me in the car. In that case I'm going to take appropriate measures.