Let’s start off by noting that yes, warning shots are stupid. I don’t feel like getting into why, generally speaking, in this piece, because it’s not about that. It’s about a California man facing charges for firing warning shots.
It started with the nightmare scenario for many people: the proverbial bump in the night. Someone was inside of the home in the dark of night who shouldn’t have been there.
So a man who works as a security guard decided he needed to do something, but he apparently didn’t want to hurt anyone.
A security guard was in custody Tuesday after firing warning shots to scare off burglars during a home invasion in Hacienda Heights.
Several suspects allegedly broke into a home to commit a burglary around 9:20 p.m. Monday in the 15400 block of Skyline Drive, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said.
An armed security guard at the residence, which is located within the gated Skyline Estates community, fired warning shots in the air to scare off the burglars, the sheriff’s department said.
Several suspects fled the location in a dark-colored sedan while others remained inside following the shots, according to the sheriff’s department.
…
Deputies detained the security guard who informed them that he fired the warning shots in the air. It is illegal to discharge a firearm without threat of the loss of life, the sheriff’s department said.
Now, some items were stolen and were recovered nearby, so there is evidence of a burglary.
Further, because the guard was home at the time, it means it was a “hot” burglary. Those are considered fair game in most states, especially those without an explicit duty-to-retreat law. California does not actually have one of those. Believe it or not.
So while firing a warning shot into the air was colossally stupid, and the man should most likely be charged if that round hits anything or anyone, that’s not what he’s charged with, and that is the problem here. If he technically shot straight up into the air, terminal velocity limits what the round will do when it returns to the Earth, but the issue is that few people will hold a gun perfectly straight, and thus the problem.
A burglar in the home with you is a threat to your life. That’s established doctrine in most states, and the reason for that is the high number of “hot” burglaries that turn into violent encounters, including homicides.
Of course, this is Los Angeles, where they value the lives of criminals over ordinary citizens. Why, those burglars might have been illegal aliens who should be welcomed to take all of our crap because we live on stolen land or something!
Charges should fit the crime, but the only “crime” here is the stupidity of that warning shot, especially up into the air. Especially as that block seems to have everyone packed in like sardines.
Still, it’s Los Angeles. Is anyone really surprised that they’re going to be hell on someone defending themselves during a home invasion? Seriously? That doesn’t make it right, though. Not in the least.
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