Woman Kills Shower Attacker

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

BarryLee

New member
A woman in suburban Atlanta was attacked in her home as she took a shower she ended up shooting and killing her assailant. I thought there were a few important lessons here and maybe others I missed.

First, the woman fought back using whatever she could for a weapon in this case the shower curtain rod. She did not give up during what I am sure was a very scary situation.

Secondly, she had made the decision to arm herself and regardless of how bad the situation was she did not forget that gun. When she was able she got to the gun and utilized it ending the attack.

Thirdly, she utilized a .22 revolver. I have no way of knowing why she selected that caliber, but she obviously felt comfortable with it and it was effective.

http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/woman-kills-attacker-in-942224.html
 
It's a shame she had to do it,,,
But I am glad she was prepared,,,
And that she had the guts to defend herself.

Hopefully she will be able to get past any guilt,,,
She did the proper thing under the circumstance she faced.

I will beam her as much good Karma as I am able to.

Like her neighbor said,,,
"Good for her."

Aarond
 
It's a shame she had to do it,,,
But I am glad she was prepared,,,
And that she had the guts to defend herself.

Hopefully she will be able to get past any guilt,,,
She did the proper thing under the circumstance she faced
Click to expand...

Why would she feel any guilt? She oughta feel the exhilaration of righteous victory.
 
I bet she feels glad she wasnt hurt too bad.

A .22? :) works in many situations. Good for her on having it and using it, arm your women, never know when they may need it. This was at 6:30 am
 
"Minor injuries" obviously doesn't include the mental trauma she will endure for some time to come. A lot of sleepless nights ahead for this woman.

A pox on all such criminals who do such things to people.

--Wag--
 
Why would she feel any guilt?
Click to expand...

Maybe because most people find killing another human being, no matter how justified the killing is, to be a traumatic event.

Not saying she shouldn't have waxed the creep, but dismissing the entirely human reaction to having ended a human life does not help.
 
This woman did well. I'd be curious to know what, if any, self-defense training she had, what with trying to fight off her assailant with a shower curtain rod, of all things... That shows some presence of mind, I think, even if it wasn't too effective.

And she kept fighting. I'm sorta proud of her. ;)

In this case, the .22 was enough to stop the attack, but the story does say that the attacker left after being shot, was picked up by police, and died in the hospital... that's an acceptable outcome (I won't call any outcome that involves a death a "good" one), but I think I'm going to stick with something a bit larger for home defense.

It does seem to me that in this particular situation -- an attacker forcing someone into her bedroom, presumably at very close quarters -- an accessible pistol of some kind would be more useful than a shotgun or carbine -- something to ponder, tactically speaking...
 
Quote:
Why would she feel any guilt?

Maybe because most people find killing another human being, no matter how justified the killing is, to be a traumatic event.

Not saying she shouldn't have waxed the creep, but dismissing the entirely human reaction to having ended a human life does not help.
Click to expand...

First of all, none of us know what her reaction is/was/will be. She may feel traumatized or she may feel euphoric (I'm pulling for option B). Noted defensive handgun authority Jeff Cooper devoted a chapter to this in To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak The Truth. He believed that the proper response was satisfaction in a job well done. I've always thought this was a proper attitude.

Many people believe that killing another human being in a justified situation is a cause for celebration. I'll buy the first round.
 
Sigh, Jeff Cooper is not an expert on human psychological behavior.

After killing another person, many people have some negative emotional consequences. Check our other many threads on the issue.

That's the truth - so posturing that it doesn't happen or shouldn't happen or won't happen to you because you are so whatever - is useless commentary.

Given that much expertise as gone way past Cooper's on this - please don't start another BS posturing set of posts.
 
First of all, none of us know what her reaction is/was/will be. She may feel traumatized or she may feel euphoric (I'm pulling for option B). Noted defensive handgun authority Jeff Cooper devoted a chapter to this in To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak The Truth. He believed that the proper response was satisfaction in a job well done. I've always thought this was a proper attitude.

Many people believe that killing another human being in a justified situation is a cause for celebration. I'll buy the first round.
Click to expand...

I have to wonder how many people you've killed? How many people do you know personally who've killed others?

One may think something is the "proper attitude" but that has very little to do with the way people actually respond. People's emotions and what they think "ought" to be often have little to do with each other.

From everything I've seen including accounts written by folk who have killed others in self defense, first hand accounts I've managed to tease out of others, and actual studies on the subject, guilt/remorse/stress is the most common reaction to killing. Maybe it shouldn't be in some abstract sense, but that "shouldn't be" doesn't matter much when it comes to how people and their emotions actually react.

Whether the victim in this case has that particular most common reaction or is one of the minority who don't react that way is an open question. However, you asked why she should feel guilty and received an answer as to why she very well might.
 
She probably channeled her Celtic nekkid warrior ancestors :). Well...if she had any Celt in her that is. Sure as hell she had the whole "nekkid warrior" thing down pat.

:)
 
Sigh, Jeff Cooper is not an expert on human psychological behavior.
[\Quote]

He was an expert on shooting people.


After killing another person, many people have some negative emotional consequences. Check our other many threads on the issue.
Click to expand...

Agreed and acknowledged. But many do not. Including some posters on the many TFL threads on the issue.

That's the truth - so posturing that it doesn't happen or shouldn't happen or won't happen to you because you are so whatever - is useless commentary.
Click to expand...

I know that I did no such thing. I pointed out that a knee jerk emotional response is not the only way of reacting to this incident. That is not useless. Read the posts again.

Given that much expertise as gone way past Cooper's on this - please don't start another BS posturing set of posts.
Click to expand...

See previous comments.

One may think something is the "proper attitude" but that has very little to do with the way people actually respond. People's emotions and what they think "ought" to be often have little to do with each other.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, but this doesn't stop one from aspiring to an ideal.

From everything I've seen including accounts written by folk who have killed others in self defense, first hand accounts I've managed to tease out of others, and actual studies on the subject, guilt/remorse/stress is the most common reaction to killing. Maybe it shouldn't be in some abstract sense, but that "shouldn't be" doesn't matter much when it comes to how people and their emotions actually react.
Click to expand...

I too think it is the most common response. But not the only one. And I'd argue that in someone who is either trained to use deadly force as a duty (LEO, Soldier) or in someone who has made the decision to provide themselves with the tools for deadly force thinking about the scenario of taking a life is as much a part of training as any other part of shooting. Reflection on past events leads me to believe that a great deal of the training I underwent in the USMC was aimed at this goal. I never had to use the training so we don't know yet how successful they were in my case. I like to think it took.

Whether the victim in this case has that particular most common reaction or is one of the minority who don't react that way is an open question. However, you asked why she should feel guilty and received an answer as to why she very well might.
Click to expand...

For sure. But she might not. I still consider the desireable response in this particular situation is no remorse. Hell, I might, you might. You are entirely right to state that an emotional response is possible. My question was intended to spark exactly this debate. Seems to have worked. Again.

And for the record I've never fired a gun at anyone. I do know people who have and their response is varied, with the emotional reaction most common.
Click to expand...
 
My wife and I were having a discussion last evening about the need to carry. She expressed concerns about carrying a gun, and her willingness to use it.

I showed her the article that is the subject of this thread. That remedied her of any concerns she had.
 
So glad she got away with only minor injuries. So glad she had a gun and was able to get to it. Now for that home alarm. Not an end all but a good deterant nonetheless.

I can't help but wonder how many other women in that neighborhood are thinking to themselves "Self, maybe getting a gun and some training would be a good idea after all!"
 
lawnboy said:
He believed that the proper response was satisfaction in a job well done. I've always thought this was a proper attitude.
Click to expand...
Whether or not one believes it's the "proper" attitude, as Dr. Meyer points out, it's not in fact the general one.

...thinking about the scenario of taking a life is as much a part of training as any other part of shooting. Reflection on past events leads me to believe that a great deal of the training I underwent in the USMC was aimed at this goal. I never had to use the training so we don't know yet how successful they were in my case.
Click to expand...

You're correct that this is a major focus of military training, and it doesn't always "take." A bit of reading on the history of military training is a good way to convince oneself of this -- overcoming the reluctance to take a human life has, historically, been the most difficult problem to solve.

Whether it's hardwired or learned, that reluctance is deeply ingrained in most people. And most people do feel remorse, guilt, shame -- take your pick -- when they violate major taboos.

Many people believe that killing another human being in a justified situation is a cause for celebration. I'll buy the first round.
Click to expand...

I won't be drinking with you. If I'm ever in that situation, and I hope I never will be, I expect I'll be happy to be alive, but I will never "celebrate" the killing of a fellow human.
 
I believe the main point of the current argument about how someone might ‘feel’ after taking another life is that we, as responsible people who choose to consider a violent solution to a pending threat, need to be aware that we may face some unintended emotional consequences.

Who will feel those consequences, what those consequences are, and how severe those consequences may feel are all variables that are dependent upon the unique individual involved.

Any attempt to quantify the above variables and to decide what "most people" would do remains, at best, a wild-a$$ed guess.

Anyone who purports to be able to adequately predict how any individual will react is, IMO, badly mistaken.

This is what is sometimes miscalled an “empirical question” (meaning that the answer to the question might be found through careful application of proven scientific procedures).

Ain’t going to happen.

So, it remains for us to expect the best outcome and to prepare to deal with the worst.

Best,

Will
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top