Marfa Lights
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- May 4, 2014
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He said his (overall) intention was to get the intruder out.
However he described his intentions about shooting I see the firing when he thought he heard the door opening as taking precedence. Maybe until that point he did not want to fire, who would, but it was clear on his version that this was what actually caused him to fire and it was to save his own life.
I know you want to think his fear of an intruder in the toilet (an assumption he had yet to confirm) somehow entitled him to use deadly force even though this person was not yet attacking him and had not even verbally or physically threatened him... but it's just not sufficient cause.
And even if you are sympathetic with his state of fearfulness, he is still obliged to act lawfully within the bounds of self-defense, putative or actual. And so what if he thought the door might be about to open and someone might be coming out to attack him... instead of waiting safely behind the wall to identify his target and assess the threat, he shot four rounds before the door could even open. Definitely NOT a proportionate response.
It's beyond being negligent, it's even beyond irresponsible-- it's reckless disregard for the life of someone who had clearly not attacked or threatened him. It's not enough to say you thought someone presented a potential threat to you and so you go ahead and kill them just in case.