React After Shooting a Home Intruder

If you're legitimately at risk of being harmed or killed, you have a right to defend yourself. If you are armed and hear an intruder in your home, or breaking in, do not give away your tactical advantage and position by yelling or firing a warning shot. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire. Only fire on a target if you can positively confirm they are not a family member, police officer, etc... and that they are a threat. Do not fire if there is a chance of anyone being struck behind the target. If an armed assailant attempts to flee, let them go and try to get as much information on them as possible. The use of deadly force is always a last resort.

Steps

  1. Ensure that the area is clear from other intruders or threats. When it is safe to do so, then:
  2. Contact emergency services which is usually 911 and ask for the police. Explain to them that you've shot at an intruder out of fear for your life. Tell them that you have a gun.
    • If it is safe to do so, check the condition of the intruder and report this all to the operator. How badly is he wounded? Where was he hit? Is he dead or just wounded?
  3. Only when you're sure you are alone and safe unload the weapon and put the gun away in a secure place. Do not clean, wipe down or service the weapon. The officers that respond to your call may want to retrieve the weapon for evidence. The worst thing you can do is approach the police holding a gun. When the police arrive, follow their exact instructions. They will first try to determine if there is still a threat and they will attempt to neutralize it. They may ask you to surrender, lay on the ground or handcuff you as a precaution. Just follow their directions and do what they say. Tell them you you fired your gun out of fear for your life. Do NOT provide any additional details, just say "I shot out of fear for my life." Once you calm down and tell the story to your attorney, then and ONLY then do you want to give the police details.
  4. If requested to do so by the police, avoid the areas of the house that may contain evidence to allow the police to get a clear picture of what happened and how the intruder got into your house. (disturbing them may destroy/contaminate the evidence)
  5. You may be arrested as a precaution. Do not be alarmed or surprised if you are. Speak to an attorney before speaking to the police.

Tips

  • Always make sure that you, and your family, are safe.
  • Never say that you were shooting "only to injure" the person. The laws are that you are only allowed to shoot out of fear for your life, and if you really felt your life was in danger, you would not simply "shoot to injure" - you would shoot to stop the threat. Your attorney will be able to further explain this to you.
  • Shotguns are good home defense weapons; they are powerful (when used with 12 gauge buckshot or slugs) and relatively cheap (compared to other firearms).
  • Unlocked guns can be found by kids, and any firearm is considered to 'always be loaded' even if you think it's not, so lock them up in a safe. On the other hand, any gun in a safe takes longer to get to in desperate situations. Whether you lock it up or not depends on if you have kids around.
  • If you are unarmed and you believe the assailant is armed, follow the active shooter protocol: Run, Hide, Fight...
  • Immediately after an incident, do your best to recall and record details, such as the time, description of the intruder, type of weapon(s), license numbers, faces, clothes, voices. Write these details down as soon as you are safely able to do so.

Warnings

  • You still can get in trouble, even if you were defending yourself, if the intruder was killed outside of the house. Once he leaves then according to law, he is no longer harming anyone, and it is then you who are responsible for his death (if he dies).
  • Some states have passed "Castle Doctrine Laws" that allow you to protect your home and family with deadly force. In this doctrine, some states have a “duty-to-retreat”, which imposes an obligation upon the home’s occupants to retreat as far as possible and verbally announce their intent to use deadly force, before they can be legally justified in doing so to defend themselves. Other states have a “stand-your-ground” provision, which relieves the home’s occupants of any duty to retreat or announce their intent to use deadly force before they can be legally justified in doing so to defend themselves. In states where Castle Law is included as a part of a larger personal-self-defense law, there may be a duty to retreat if the altercation happens in a place outside the home, even though there is no duty to retreat if the altercation happens at the home. Currently, states having weak or no "Castle Law" are Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Virginia, Vermont, and The District of Columbia. However, the laws vary from state to state so make sure you know the laws that apply to you.

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