A Fort Smith, Arkansas man entered his apartment on May 15, 2021 and purchased a loaded hunting rifle. He then shot the victim in front of his apartment building. As of this writing, the unnamed shooter will not face criminal charges. Why? Why? The first is when you have reasonable grounds to believe that others’ lives are in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury. In the above example, the armed citizen was able to legally kill the perpetrator. The shooter knew the danger was imminent and had gathered the facts. He was able to legally kill the perpetrator in the above example. You decide to shoot the person who was beating you. This is a legal act of force to protect another person’s life. If you were required to “stand in” the victim’s shoes, you could be convicted of murder. These circumstances will likely prevent you from receiving a self-defense jury instructions and being convicted of manslaughter. In this scenario, you would be able to step into the shoes of your significant other and have reasonable grounds for believing that they are in imminent, grave danger. This could also apply to your child. But what if the person or people you are defending aren’t known to you? If that is the case, you must have seen the entire situation to determine if deadly force is necessary. For example, if you go into a convenience store to stop a robbery, how can you tell if the clerk hasn’t pulled his gun or disarmed the suspect? Unless you know the clerk personally, you won’t be able to tell. It’s better to hide behind some cover or concealment and watch. Playing the odds is a good strategy. Most robberies end in peace. If the robbery turns on you, however, it’s your life at risk and you need to do a different analysis. Unless I have witnessed bloodshed, I am unlikely to get involved. These decisions should be made ahead of time. It’s not a good time to make decisions in the midst of a life-threatening situation. You have decided to arm yourself. However, this also means that you must know your rights. Download your Storm Tactical printable target pack62 Printable MOA targets with DOT drills – Rifle Range is in YARDS. This impressive target pack comes from Storm Tactical and contains 62 printable targets for rifle and handgun range usage. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. Get Free Targets
