Shoot or not shoot?

[Big Black Dog]

Here's the scenero. It's 11:30 pm. You are sleeping in your bed and hear somebody break into your house by forcing the front door. You have a pistol in your nightstand and you take it out of the drawer and make sure it is loaded. You get out of your bed, turn on your bedroom light and step out into the hallway. As you do, you notice a person climbing your stairway and the person has a knife in their hand. Would you shoot this person or not shoot this person?

I would shoot this person.

 

[Mr Natural]

Personally, I prefer a 12 guage.

But yes, I would shoot.

 

[Graybeard]

No question, I'd shoot em.

 

[007]

Absolutely, without hesitation. That's going to be one dead mother fucker. Got a .45 hollow point that's going to make a mess out of his skull.

And just to add, in the scenario put forth in the OP, it would be self defense.

 

[brewerboy]

I'd make them aware of the situation.

Lay down your belly! Dont move!

Have the significant other call the cops.

If said robber made so much as a twitch in my general direction, its lights out.

 

[PixieStix]

Tell them to drop the knife and then shoot them in the leg, if they come toward me after that, I would have no choice but to shoot to kill

 

[Oddball]

Shoot and huck a grenade.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

You shoot. To kill. Immediately.

IF there is NO question at all it's a knife.

But, to be fair I have heard this story, the dude in question shot his son.

 

[Douger]

I'd make them aware of the situation.

Lay down your belly! Dont move!

Have the significant other call the cops.

If said robber made so much as a twitch in my general direction, its lights out.

So the court can appoint a greedy little unemployable, beady eyed mommas boy, wanna be lawyer, and get him back on the streets in 90 days so he can knife your grandmother.
Go back to England.

 

[Big Black Dog]

You shoot. To kill. Immediately.

IF there is NO question at all it's a knife.

But, to be fair I have heard this story, the dude in question shot his son.

MM, probably out there somewhere is a story such as you say but in this scenero the person coming up the stairs is an "unknown" individual.

 

[PixieStix]

You shoot. To kill. Immediately.

IF there is NO question at all it's a knife.

But, to be fair I have heard this story, the dude in question shot his son.

I would of course make sure it was not my son, besides why would my son be busting down the front door with a knife in his hand? He would not

 

[Midnight Marauder]

You shoot. To kill. Immediately.

IF there is NO question at all it's a knife.

But, to be fair I have heard this story, the dude in question shot his son.

MM, probably out there somewhere is a story such as you say but in this scenero the person coming up the stairs is an "unknown" individual.

In my house, he would definitely be unknown and definitely be immediately shot. No question about it.

But if I had teenagers, roommates, friends staying over, I would command the knife wielder to stop and identify. If he failed to do so or if I didn't like the identity, blam.

But in NO scenario would I be calling the police until after the shooting. Not gonna hold someone there while I get to and fumble with a phone, only to have him bail out and come back later, or to invade someone else's home. The only good home invader is a dead one.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

You shoot. To kill. Immediately.

IF there is NO question at all it's a knife.

But, to be fair I have heard this story, the dude in question shot his son.

I would of course make sure it was not my son, besides why would my son be busting down the front door with a knife in his hand? He would not

In the tragic story, the son was an adult and had been away awhile, and he was holding the screwdriver he'd used to jimmy the door. And was blown away. The dad thought it was a knife.

 

[Care4all]

as others have said, I would shout out to drop his knife, the spouse should have already called 911 about the break in so cops are on their way...if he does not drop the knife and you have to hit him in the leg with your gun, then do such to stop him. If he is lunging at you to harm you, shoot to kill.

Care

 

[asaratis]

I would shoot this person...three, maybe four times...or until he/she stopped twitching and gurgling blood.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

as others have said, I would shout out to drop his knife, the spouse should have already called 911 about the break in so cops are on their way...if he does not drop the knife and you have to hit him in the leg with your gun, then do such to stop him. If he is lunging at you to harm you, shoot to kill.

Care

In firearms training they don't teach you to shoot at arms and legs. If you are going to shoot, shoot to kill. This ain't old-west Hollywood movies.

You're really going to aim for a leg, when the guy can throw the knife? Can jump you when you miss that leg? Can still walk for a time after the leg is hit? Would then also have time to pull out his own gun he might be concealing? In the dark, are you sure it's a knife not a gun? No. Shoot to kill or don't bother having a gun. Put four slugs in his torso, just like you're taught on the gun range. Then begin asking questions.

 

[Neser Boha]

Well, first I'd call police. Then I'd go after the person and want them to identify themselves and of course - drop the knife. If he/she did what I said, I'd have them sit with their hands up in the air until the police come and pick him/her up. If they made a threatening move towards me, I'd shoot in the shoulder or leg... depends on how fast it all happens.

No reason to immediately shoot. Most robbers will run for their lives and won't try any shit when they find out they've been found out.

 

[AllieBaba]

Unless I knew who it was I wouldn't shoot without saying something first. If I'd already watched them from the bedroom window and knew it was a stranger or my ex, I'd shoot them without saying anything. Otherwise I'd pull a bead on them, tell them to stop, and shoot them in the middle of their torso if they didn't.

If they turned and ran, I don't know if I'd still shoot. I'd keep the gun on them, though.

I'm pretty cold and thoughtful behind a gun. I'm a good shot and not a fearful twit.

Now if I woke up in my room and someone was at the foot of my bed, who knows. Or if I woke up to go the bathroom and saw anyone near my kids' room. But someone coming up the stairs with a knife or whatever, I'd have the advantage, I think I'd say something.

 

[AllieBaba]

Calling the police is a waste of time in that situation. The intruder can hear you, you give away your position, and it takes at least 10 for them to show up and by then you're dead or a hostage or whatever. PPL who think the cops can "save" them from an in-home intruder are living in lala land.

 

[Care4all]

an eye for an eye....if he did not try to kill me then he should not be killed....he is a thief, not a murderer....

no mention of this hypothetical person going up the stairs trying to kill you?

living with killing another human being who had not tried to kill you or others, is NOT as easily forgotten and as joyous as some may think...you live with it forever...it has been known to break good strong human beings, like our men in war, who have accidentally killed children and mom instead of who they thought were terrorists...collateral damage may be gvt's term for it, but i can assure you, it is not so simple in the human's soul that killed them...

When we lived in Italy, my parents killed a man, a drunk man driving a motorcycle/scooter that turned in to them....he did not die right away, my mom was Italian born so she was fluent in the language and a cop was at the intersection and witnessed what happened so dad was not jailed as he could have been...

anyway, my parents met the old drunk man's family and went to the hospital every day until he died to see him and his family and to pray with them...

My sister and i witnessed them mourn, still to this day, about being the ones that killed this man...they had a huge coronet 440 in italy that dad brought with us when transferred there....if they had not been driving their big car and had been driving the Fiat we also had then this man, might not have died...they went thru every scenario over and over again seeing if things could have been different....it wasn't their fault, but they still were bonkers over it, imho.