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Burglar calls 911 to save himself from gun-wielding homeowner

DocWalker

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/burglar-calls-911-himself-163618126.html

Got to Love it....

A suspected burglar called 911 after the owner of the home he broke into caught and held him at gunpoint.

The suspect, Christopher Moore, placed the emergency call in Springtown, Texas, during the botched burglary attempt early Tuesday after James Gerow, the homeowner, and Gerow's son pointed guns at him as he sat in his pickup truck parked in the driveway.

"I'm out in the country somewhere," Moore told the 911 operator during the 10-minute call. "Some guy's got a gun on me."

Gerow's wife, Lindy, placed a concurrent call to 911 that confirmed Moore's account.

"You better come quick," she said, "or my husband's going to shoot him."

"If he gets out of the truck, shoot him in the legs," James Gerow told his son, according to the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog. "You ain't gotta kill him—just shoot him in the legs."

When police arrived, both Moore and Lindy Gerow were still talking to 911 dispatchers.

According to CBS' Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate, Moore was arrested and charged with burglary. He's currently being held on a $35,000 bond.
 

eye95

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Only problem I have with this is the advice to shoot him in the legs. Too little chance that will stop him. Center mass. Not necessarily to kill him, though likely it will, but it has the best chance of stopping the threat.

I will happily hold my gun on a BG while he pleads for the police to come and save him from his own stupidity.


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MSG Laigaie

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Philipsburg, Montana
I did not see a reference about the weapon carried y the son. It could have been a shotgun (my house back up to the pistol) in his hands. That would have made a round to the legs a completely different situation.
 

MAC702

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Talking is tactics.

There is nothing wrong with bluffing and telling a perp you are going to shoot him, even if you have no legal authority to actually do so. He may not know the law, or he might not be willing to gamble that you do or that you might disregard it.

Telling your "team" such instructions during the encounter lends credibility to the bluff. Such instructions for a wounding shot do even more so, even though we know they would be actually better served with COM for threat-stopping. BTW, just hearing the phrase 'shoot him in the legs' brought the mental picture of a son with a shotgun, not a pistol.

I don't know what the plan or personality in this situation, but I applaud the words and the outcome. I've had it in mind to use such tactics when appropriate, also.
 
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davidmcbeth

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earth's crust
I did not see a reference about the weapon carried y the son. It could have been a shotgun (my house back up to the pistol) in his hands.

Perhaps a thermonuclear device .... a shot in the leg? From even a .380 it would be enough ... unless he wants more !

What you WANT more? ALRIGHT, I like your style ....
 

david.ross

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Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Only problem I have with this is the advice to shoot him in the legs. Too little chance that will stop him. Center mass. Not necessarily to kill him, though likely it will, but it has the best chance of stopping the threat.

I will happily hold my gun on a BG while he pleads for the police to come and save him from his own stupidity.

People don't want others to have the emotional baggage of killing another human being. As humans, we have a conscience to not kill. If you've ever hunted or had to kill animals, then you understand.
 

OC for ME

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People don't want others to have the emotional baggage of killing another human being. As humans, we have a conscience to not kill. If you've ever hunted or had to kill animals, then you understand.
Speak for yourself regarding the hunting of animals.

In principle I agree with your assessment regarding the loss of human life as a result of the employment of lethal force during the course of lawful self-defense.

I would certainly attempt to avoid that outcome at all reasonable cost. But, if I were forced, as a last resort, to defend myself with a firearm and the result precipitated the loss of human life, I would not lose one minutes sleep as a result of that event. But, that is just me.
 

eye95

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Fairborn, Ohio, USA
People don't want others to have the emotional baggage of killing another human being. As humans, we have a conscience to not kill. If you've ever hunted or had to kill animals, then you understand.

If you are going to use a firearm to defend yourself (or others), you'd better be prepared emotionally to kill someone. Not saying that you should be trying to kill anyone, just that the proper use of a firearm in defense will often result in the death of the perp. If one cannot handle that particular emotional baggage, he shouldn't carry in the first place. Shooting to wound could result in the death of the shooter.

I don't know how many times this needs to be said on this site, but shoot to stop. Although your intent is not to kill, it is the same shot as a shot to kill: center mass.


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