In the article it states he shot over their heads. Hopefully the ballistics report will tell the truth.
George Alan Kelly, 75, is facing a first-degree murder charge for a man found on Jan. 30 shot dead on his ranch near Kino Springs.
www.azcentral.com
Kelly walked onto his porch and saw the leader of the group point an AK-47 at him, the motion read. Kelly subsequently fired several warning shots above the heads of the armed men before they scattered into the desert surrounding his property, according to the motion.
Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies arrived at Kelly’s property and searched for the group but did not find anyone. Authorities documented the incident and left.
Questions that arise from the quotes in the link below…Why did Kelly feel the need to confront these men? If they were moving through the trees on his property, why didn’t he stay quiet inside and away from windows as he told his wife to do? He could have discreetly kept an eye on them. There was no need to go on his porch with a gun and take the risk of confronting these men who had AK-47s was there? Especially if they had fired a shot? Yes, his horse was spooked, but he didn’t check on the horse until sunset, after several hours and after border patrol had searched the property. So why was his horse being spooked an urgent reason to confront these men with his gun?
Look, I get it that having strangers with guns traversing his property was scary. But if they are just passing through, why greet them with a gun and risk escalating the situation? It’s not like he is going to solve the problem of illegal immigrants or even drug runners entering the country by confronting them. Call Border Patrol from the safety of his house and let them handle it.
FWIW, I do speak from experience as a woman who was home alone and did not to own a gun by choice, yet dealing peacefully (and successfully) with an unstable neighbor driving into my very rural front yard with a gun and with a beef against my husband and me (our call to the sheriff days earlier had sent him to jail). Although I was frightened for good reason, I chose to greet him kindly and peacefully from my front porch clearly unarmed before he could exit his truck with his gun. I felt that was less dangerous than hiding in my house, risking him breaking in. My peaceful, unarmed greeting defused the situation. So my questions are not based on unfounded idealism, but reality and pragmatism. JMO
George Alan Kelly, 75, is facing a first-degree murder charge for a man found on Jan. 30 shot dead on his ranch near Kino Springs.
www.azcentral.com
“On Jan. 30, Kelly was eating lunch with his wife when he heard a single gunshot and saw his horse get spooked and run away at full speed, according to court documents. Kelly saw a group of men, armed with AK-47s, moving through the trees on his property.
The men donned khakis and camouflage clothing and carried large backpacks, according to the 13-page motion Larkin filed on Feb. 9. Kelly’s home is roughly a mile and a half north of the U.S.-Mexico border and about 8 miles east of Nogales.
Kelly called the U.S. Border Patrol’s ranch liaison, who is responsible for helping ranchers on the borderlands, and told his wife to stay silent, inside and away from the windows so as not to draw the attention of the men.
Kelly walked onto his porch and saw the leader of the group point an AK-47 at him, the motion read. Kelly subsequently fired several warning shots above the heads of the armed men before they scattered into the desert surrounding his property, according to the motion.
<snip>
As the sun was setting that day, Kelly went to his pastures to check on his horse as he worried it may have been injured during the incident. After seeing to his horse, Kelly noticed that his dogs were focused on something on the ground near a mesquite tree.”
