Some people who protest shooting guns might tell you that you should fire a warning
shot before a kill shot when you draw your gun.
That way, according to these misguided folks, no one would have to die.
Sigh.
And according to The Right to Bear, a North Carolina man found out the tragic reason that responsible gun owners don’t fire warning shots:
Around 2:30 a.m., officers with the Raleigh Police Department located a gunshot victim, Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas, in the 3500 block of Single Leaf Lane in Raleigh.
Thomas was transported to WakeMed, where he died as a result of his injuries.
Authorities later arrested 39-year-old Chad Cameron Copley, who owns the home.
According to officials, Copley fired a shotgun from inside his garage, striking Thomas. Thomas was outside Copley’s garage when he was shot, authorities say.
“We have a lot of people outside our house yelling and shouting profanities,” said an unspecified 911 caller. “They were showing a firearm, so I fired a warning shot, and somebody got hit.”
Mr. Copley was probably a well-meaning individual, but the lesson he learned the hard way still holds true:
Don’t draw your gun in the first place unless you intend to focus on and shoot at the target. Unless you are ready to deal the kill shot, don’t draw the weapon at all.
what goes up must come down , that’s why they don’t want you shooting guns into the air at new years and the forth of july, it’s only common sense , witch most people are lacking today
When a firearm is discharged vertically, how fast do you imagine the projectile falls back to earth? Faster than terminal velocity? I don’t recommend discharging a weapon vertically unless you are hunting birds, but the ideal that falling bullets are deadly is ludricus.
@victor hauk: have someone drop a 12 gauge shotgun slug onto a football helmet from 300 feet above it. then go back to your comment with your apology–but only if you have the sense to NOT have your head inside the helmet–in which case someone will be having a party with your life insurance $$ !!
How many deaths have been reported of a person being killed by a shotgun shell with a football helmet on?
I don’t think there is enough information in this story to prove any point. This guy fired a shotgun which probably some smaller shot as opposed to a slug. The odds of hitting someone can’t be really determined because the story didn’t say straight up in the air or just in the air or what.
According to the article: According to officials, Copley fired a shotgun from inside his garage, striking Thomas. Thomas was outside Copley’s garage when he was shot, authorities say.
“We have a lot of people outside our house yelling and shouting profanities,” said an unspecified 911 caller. “They were showing a firearm, so I fired a warning shot, and somebody got hit.”
Sounds like he did not shoot up in the air since he was in his garage. It almost sounds that he just shot at a crowd and one of the crowd got hit.
As for falling bullets being deadly, it is ludicrous to think that a bullet can not fall back to the earth, hit someone, and kill them. (I’m not talking about shotgun pellets.) A bullet will not hit terminal velocity because of the friction of a smaller object falling back to earth. However, a small 90 grain bullet dropping 100 feet per second is enough to go through a human skull.
Well, a perfectly vertical shot, in a no-wind condition, would make a believer out of the shooter, with out killing him. Terminal velocity probably wouldn’t let it. But, a lower trajectory in a ballistic flight path might hit somebody, at higher than terminal velocity, and THAT could kill.
Rule #1 All guns are always loaded.
Rule #2 Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy!
Rule #3 Keep your finger off the trigger until you are on the target!
Rule #4 Be sure of your target, what is in front or can potentially be in front, and what is behind it!
If you came in and found that one shot killed the intruder and one shot was in the ceiling, can you tell me which was fired first? As the intruder is dead mine is the only version of what happened.
Warning shots are very foolish and frequently illegal.
1. Many states would arrest anyone making a warning shot the grounds of endangerment.
2. Many states would arrest anyone by even drawing your gun without firing it on the grounds of brandishment.
3. Many juries would find you guilty of starting the fight by firing the first shot.
So shot to kill if justified, not to warn!
My master sergeant told me at basic training on December in 1942 “if you are second fastest you are dead”.
He also said never forget what I said.
Mean while the group of people outside his house shouting and yelling profanity and one even banished a firearm. And the person inside fearing for his life discharged his weapon near the crowd. Now the point is, these rioters can carry firearms, make threatening comments and the person in the garage HAS TO TAKE IT. Lets stop this so called Rioting that is now considered free speech , and terrorist threats against the house owner. And put the RIOTERS AND PROTESTORS IN PRISON WHERE THEY BELONG. And not when the democrats call rioting freedom of expression.
I was taught to shoot by my father and one of his basic rules was never pick up your gun unless you were prepared to use it and no random shots aim at what you need too and don’t hesitate to pull the trigger if you hesitate the gun can be taken away from you and used on you
You never ever pull a fire arm or aim a fire arm at anyone unless you are ready to kill the person due to fear of the safety of your life. Just walk away if you have to and can do this without harm to yourself.
You do not fire a weapon at anyone that is not in your residence with the intent to do bodily harm you can’t just shoot people that are not a threat, you hold them until the police arrive, do it right, because if you shoot at all you will end up in court.
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