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Mother (18) kills intruder breaking into her home while on phone with 911

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I'm not ready to believe she is a "hero" just yet. The shooting is probably justified no matter what, but there are a lot of more likely reasons for men to be breaking into a house then rape and murder. Were these associates or her late husband? Did he have something of theirs? You see where I'm going?

Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I can remember similar scenarios where the intruders were looking to collect drugs/drug money that someone owed them, forced their way in, and got blasted.

Ok...still justified from her end. What the hell does she owe these guys if this is in fact the case? Oh yeah, you here to settle billy-joe's coke debt? Come right on in! Nice Knife by the way!
 
They said McKinley's use of force was justified.

o god i was so happy when i read this.

worst nightmare is being in a situation where i think im justified to use force but scared that im not. and then getting prosecuted because i wasnt.
 
Where did you get that from? I was making the point that comparing gun ownership to car ownership is silly (as others were comparing the two earlier in the page).
Cars can kill, but they are not weapons designed to kill. They have a definite purpose of transport. A firearm on the other hand, is specifically built to kill things.

You seem to have confused my point with those made by others in the thread.

A firearm can also be used for target shooting and competitive shooting, it doesn't have to be used for killing things. Hell, weapons are made for match competition only and not for use as a self-defense weapon.

What about martial arts weapons?
 
In my environment, I'm unlikely to be broken into by someone bearing weapons. It just doesn't factor into my consideration. I would also be more concerned about the possibility of someone breaking in and wresting control of a firearm from me than someone having one in the first place (again, an environmental factor).

I see. Maybe in your situation a knife would be more effective. Well no, that takes even more skill than firearms. I wouldn't want to have to deal with close-quarters combat issues, as I have no martial arts training.

But really, if you just took a basic gun safety class, you won't find yourself in a position to have something wrestled away.
 
A firearm can also be used for target shooting and competitive shooting, it doesn't have to be used for killing things. Hell, weapons are made for match competition only and not for use as a self-defense weapon.

What about martial arts weapons?

If you read what I posted earlier, I said firearms can be legitimately used for hunting, as farming tools, for sports shooting etc. At this point you are just re-iterating what I said. As for martial arts weapons, I have some. Nothing wrong with them, so long as the people who have them are registered/affiliated with a martial arts organisation.
 
I see. Maybe in your situation a knife would be more effective. Well no, that takes even more skill than firearms. I wouldn't want to have to deal with close-quarters combat issues, as I have no martial arts training.

But really, if you just took a basic gun safety class, you won't find yourself in a position to have something wrestled away.

Or even just a hostler with good retention...or not putting it in an elastic waistband at the club. lol
 
I was thinking about that just the other day. If Plaxico had owned an xD instead of a basic revolver, he wouldn't have shot himself. The double-saftey on those guns just make me want to smile.

Yeah, it's why I stayed the hell away from a Glock. I recall hearing when NYPD first switched to them there where a lot of ND's ending with cops shooting themselves in the thighs or asses, hence the phrase Glock Leg. Beretta and the 1911 handle safety nicely. XD9 was good too, I just don't like the subcompact feel in my hand.
 
It's sad when anybody dies, but it's hard to not say that he had it coming. Breaking and entering, and then lunged at her with a knife. Presumably he saw the gun being pointed at him, too, and still tried to kill her. That part kind of squashed any iota of pity I had for the guy. The stereotypical struggling father resorting to breaking and entering to feed his starving children would have ran the hell away when he had a gun pointed at him.
 
Let's not go overboard. Statistically, they'd probably just robbed the everloving shit out of that place while the mother was tied up in the basement.


What I find a bit troubling: the guys had knives, no firearms. An arrow...err shotgun shell to the knee would've been enough.
I have kinda mixed feelings about shooting an intruder without a firearm, without any prior warning, tbh.

I'm not ready to believe she is a "hero" just yet. The shooting is probably justified no matter what, but there are a lot of more likely reasons for men to be breaking into a house then rape and murder. Were these associates or her late husband? Did he have something of theirs? You see where I'm going?

Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I can remember similar scenarios where the intruders were looking to collect drugs/drug money that someone owed them, forced their way in, and got blasted.

His family, for example, may not see things that way.

Just to be clear, I don't blame the mother at all. The guy was taking risks, and that was one of the possible outcomes. But the way they turned that incident into a "all's well that ends well" feel-good story, complete with funny Dirty Harry reference and the like, makes me quite uneasy.



It was his fault, but that doesn't make the punishment adequate.


I agree about that.

Shot him as soon as he stepped in the room? I am not ok with this and the fact that this is reported as good news is even worse. Shooting him in the leg or arm would have be a much better option than killing him by miles.

I just read that, well then that was justified. i had a picture of her standing and waiting for them to break in through the front door then Bam.

How about we improve our society so that home invasion, among other crimes, takes a serious statistical nosedive.

Oh wait, that would require effort and money, and wouldn't be nearly as ruggedly individualistic.

Lots of Criminal Defense Force in this thread! Fuck that woman, these two men with no regards to the law or rights of an 18 year old widowed mother deserved their own RIGHTS.

I swear, it's like you guys live in fucking Candyland.
 
America. Where someone being killed is a feel good story.

Yeah, he had a knife, she has a baby. I'm sure he was coming over for a friendly chat.


Moron. I hope nobody is currently depending on you for any kind of support.

Shot him as soon as he stepped in the room? I am not ok with this and the fact that this is reported as good news is even worse. Shooting him in the leg or arm would have be a much better option than killing him by miles.

No, she should have shot him AFTER he had poked the baby with the knife a few times. Silly girl.


Criminal Defense GAF blows my mind, every time.
 
Criminal Defense GAF blows my mind, every time.

Please, PLEASE don't do this. People being idealists about self-defense does not mean they are literally defending criminals. To be honest, I would not be upset if the guy was down for the count, but happened to survive and wound up going to jail. Maybe he could have turned things around and made something decent of himself after getting out of prison, who knows? None of that means that I'm oh-so-concerned about the lives of violent criminals in hostile situations.
 
Please, PLEASE don't do this. People being idealists about self-defense does not mean they are literally defending criminals. To be honest, I would not be upset if the guy was down for the count, but happened to survive and wound up going to jail. Maybe he could have turned things around and made something decent of himself after getting out of prison, who knows? None of that means that I'm oh-so-concerned about the lives of violent criminals in hostile situations.

What's the point of being an idealist if all of that goes out the window the instant something actually happens? Is there anyone on GAF who, if put in an identical situation, would NOT have shot the guy as he entered the house? And don't give me that "Bu-bu- I would have shot him in the leg / arm / pinky toe instead" excuse. You probably are not a marksman; center mass is the only reliable target. And there are major arteries in the arms and legs too, people die from gunshot wounds there. This isn't Call of Duty.

Do people actually expect an 18 year old to be thinking "Hm, maybe I should shoot to injure, or better yet, NOT use the guns I have at my disposal while these guys break into my house with knives"?

She was in her own house, protecting herself and her child. If the men had left, she would not have chased them with the gun. All the people posting hypotheticals (She could have done this or that differently) should take it back another step and simply say the men could have chosen not to attempt a break in. For all the good spewing hypotheticals does.
 
just to reiterate, there is no shooting to wound. period. end of story. you get shot and survive or die. that's it.

+1

People need to stop acting like the mom has Fallout 3 style slow mo limb shooting abilities. I highly doubt the 18 year old single mom moonlights as a professional marksman.

Also, human circulatory system. Look it up.
 
JUST AIM FOR THE ARM
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GAF's crazy as usual. Only place on the planet where someone would prefer an 18 year old mother potentially raped or killed, perhaps even both. And who knows what to her son, but hey. At least the guy who committed the heinous crime would still be alive! Clearly that would be a more just solution to the issue.

When it comes to self preservation, all bets are off. Probably not something you'd like to think about, and of course while sitting safely on your computer, you wont. But put into that situation, all of us wouldn't have acted much differently.
 
+1

People need to stop acting like the mom has Fallout 3 style slow mo limb shooting abilities. I highly doubt the 18 year old single mom moonlights as a professional marksman.

Also, human circulatory system. Look it up.

Also, she used the shotgun. Not exactly a precision weapon.
 
GAF's crazy as usual. Only place on the planet where someone would prefer an 18 year old mother potentially raped or killed, perhaps even both.

No, I think several countries in the middle east would argue this as well, and we've had lots of neogaf threads about them already.
 
+1

People need to stop acting like the mom has Fallout 3 style slow mo limb shooting abilities. I highly doubt the 18 year old single mom moonlights as a professional marksman.

Also, human circulatory system. Look it up.

even if mom was a pro marksman, she'd know you don't shoot to wound.

2 to the chest, thank you and goodnight.
 
She was on the phone with the police for 21 minutes.............but the police couldn't get to her house in 21 minutes?
 
She was on the phone with the police for 21 minutes.............but the police couldn't get to her house in 21 minutes?

This is the first thing that occured to me. Where the hell does she live? In the fallout wasteland? If so she could have easily shot him in the leg with VATS and crippled the limb. Let him try catch her with a gimpy leg...

Anyway, I'm glad she is safe.Maybe the exposure will help her and her baby get a safer abode.

The perp got what he deserved, it was his own actions that kill him. I don't see what other choices she had. Fair play to her.
 
Just because she is listed as living in a rural town doesn't mean she is close enough for the police to arrive within 20 minutes.
 
Maybe they are... nah, you're right, I was just pointing out they are not without a PD.

That's a fair point, and I didn't mean to imply they didn't have a PD, though some rural areas are not incorporated and need to rely upon neighboring townships/counties for dedicated First Responders who are not volunteers.
 
As someone who was raised by a single mother and also has a few friends who are single mothers, I can relate. You do not want to feel the wrath of a single mother. And if it were me, I'd go after the second guy too just to prove a point.

Reading about the article made me happy for her. I'm very proud that she had to make that difficult decision. During the whole ordeal she must've been truly terrified.
 
I would have done the same.

Give two warnings is my rule. And yes, I have come dangerously close to shooting an intruder.
 
Yeah, it's why I stayed the hell away from a Glock. I recall hearing when NYPD first switched to them there where a lot of ND's ending with cops shooting themselves in the thighs or asses, hence the phrase Glock Leg. Beretta and the 1911 handle safety nicely. XD9 was good too, I just don't like the subcompact feel in my hand.

Were the cops using SERPA's?
Those are bad for glocks especially, your finger is pushing down near where the trigger ends up, and with no safety net, ND

My CCW class instructor told us to stay away from em



Like others have said, giving a warning to men coming for YOU is a bad idea. It's one thing to go downstairs and shoot a guy rustling in your kitchen, it's another to barricade yourself in your room, only to have it burst down by two men with knives

You tell them you have a gun, maybe they'll split up, take a window, distract you, get you to fire a shell and then rush while your pumping the next shell, etc

"I broke down your front door, found your room, and broke down your room door while holding a hunting knife with my armed accomplice while you were home alone with your child, but if you had just given me a stern warning, I would have just left!
It's not like I was coming after you or anything!"




People keep talking about the shotgun, like it has no accuracy
It's not like in COD guys. An Open choke standard length barrel (Probably what she had) can have around one INCH of spread per YARD
If she was 9 feet away from the door, that's THREE INCHES OF SPREAD

Not three feet, three INCHES

You have to aim within that margin to hit ANYTHING, you dont hipfire in the general direction like in your vidyagamez. If she was off his body by 3 inches at 9 feet, she wouldn't be hitting anything.
 
I don't own a gun and never would, but if I did and someone broke into my house, I would shout "I have a gun and if you don't fuck off right now, I'm going to shoot you". If someone broke into my house with a knife and wouldn't take the warning that they could be shot and they came at me, I'd have to shoot them.

In America, it's common for people to have guns in their homes and criminals would know that. They also know that there are laws that allow people to protect themselves with deadly force if necessary. I don't like hearing about someone losing their life, even if it is some scumbag who was breaking into someone's home armed, but I can't feel much sympathy for them. Their own choices got them killed. You can say "what if" and imagine scenarios where the cops roll up to save the day or whatever, but then you can also "what if" scenarios where things turn out much worse for the girl too, had she not pulled the trigger.
 
didnt read all the comments in this thread because most are probably stupid and probably defending the criminals but this just popped in my head when I read this story


won't that baby have some serious ear damage from a shotgun going off right next to its head without any ear protection. Shes holding two guns and a baby so i'm assuming she couldn't earmuff it.

Never fired a shotgun before so i'm not sure how loud they are but was wondering if this could have did some major damage to the baby's eardrum. I understand she had to do it, was just wondering.
 
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