I have just completed a concealed carry class, but don't have my permit yet. I am in a must-issue state. I am trying to get a better handle on when I can and cannot shoot. O.K., I can shoot whenever I want to as long as I am willing to face the consequences, but that is my point. In the following scenarios, would the use of deadly force be justified?
I am in a 7-11. I am in the back of the store near the back door. A gunman enters the store and pulls his gun on the cashier. I duck behind a display shelf. To the best of my knowledge, the gunman doesn't know that I'm there, and I can get out of the store undetected. Can I shoot to defend the cashier? If I don't defend the cashier, can I pull the gun just in case I'm spotted by the gunman? (Like who's going to know? And I doubt the gunman will call the police and tell them I was brandishing a gun in public!)
This one really happened to me last January. I am working on the fifth floor of an office building. From the fifth floor hallway it is possible to look down on the fourth floor hallway. On the fourth floor, in the hallway there is a mentally ill person randomly shooting a 9mm at nothing in particular and anything at all. Can I shoot? (Would it be prudent to shoot from that distance in an office building? I'm a terrible shot.)
On a hot summer night I have left several of my doors and windows open. (Or any time of year. I simply don't ever lock my doors.) A BG enters the house. I shoot. Will a jury convict me for shooting when I could have locked up the house and possibly prevented the BG from entering?
I'm not looking for legal advice, and I realize that the laws are different from state to state. I promise I won't drag any of you into court and say, "But he said I could shoot." I just want an honest opinion from someone more knowledgeable than myself.
I am in a 7-11. I am in the back of the store near the back door. A gunman enters the store and pulls his gun on the cashier. I duck behind a display shelf. To the best of my knowledge, the gunman doesn't know that I'm there, and I can get out of the store undetected. Can I shoot to defend the cashier? If I don't defend the cashier, can I pull the gun just in case I'm spotted by the gunman? (Like who's going to know? And I doubt the gunman will call the police and tell them I was brandishing a gun in public!)
This one really happened to me last January. I am working on the fifth floor of an office building. From the fifth floor hallway it is possible to look down on the fourth floor hallway. On the fourth floor, in the hallway there is a mentally ill person randomly shooting a 9mm at nothing in particular and anything at all. Can I shoot? (Would it be prudent to shoot from that distance in an office building? I'm a terrible shot.)
On a hot summer night I have left several of my doors and windows open. (Or any time of year. I simply don't ever lock my doors.) A BG enters the house. I shoot. Will a jury convict me for shooting when I could have locked up the house and possibly prevented the BG from entering?
I'm not looking for legal advice, and I realize that the laws are different from state to state. I promise I won't drag any of you into court and say, "But he said I could shoot." I just want an honest opinion from someone more knowledgeable than myself.