just cause

Why do I carry a firearm whenever I am out in public, and why do I keep a well-armed home? Because gos-se like this just keeps happening:

A 15-year-old prowler was shot Friday night in a face-off with a South Knox County homeowner, authorities said.

The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. at 837 Lester Road, Knox County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Martha Dooley said. The homeowner, Jonathan Stevens, 20, told deputies he and his wife were watching television and heard their dogs barking.

When Stevens, pistol in hand, walked outside into the driveway with his wife, the teen confronted them with a shotgun, Dooley said.

“He shot twice at the couple,” Dooley said. “He never got in the house. The homeowner shot twice at the suspect.”

Both bullets hit the teen in the chest. The couple weren’t hurt.

The boy ran. Deputies found him lying in the road, Dooley said.

The teen was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he remained Saturday, Dooley said. His name and condition weren’t immediately available.

No charges have been filed against Stevens, Dooley said. She said she didn’t know whether he holds a carry permit.

Three other teenagers lurking outside the home ran, KCSO spokeswoman Ashley Haynes said. Deputies have questioned at least one of them but filed no charges so far, she said.

1. It does not matter whether or not the victim (the homeowner, since some people seem to get confused on the concept of victimhood) has a handgun carry permit or not – if he actually owned the house where this event took place, he was on his own property, and we Tennesseeans do not need handgun carry permits to carry handguns on our own property. Furthermore, given that the victim is 20, if he has a permit, the state screwed something up (the minimum age requirement is 21 here). Also, note how there was no asking as to whether or not the criminal in this situation had a permit…
2. Why, exactly, are charges even being considered for the victim? An individual tresspassed on the victim’s property, the individual then shot at the victim with a shotgun, and the victim defended himself. Where is the problem?
3. Shotguns do need to be aimed – they are not simply the “spray-and-pray” weapons we see in movies and video games. Granted, the pellets in a shotgun shell do spread over distance, but not enough that you can just wave it around and crank off rounds. The criminal in this situation thankfully failed to take that into account, but those of us who plan on using shotguns for home-defense situations must remember not to make the same mistake.
4. Good on the homeowner for scoring two center-of-mass hits while under fire… Certainly not everyone could do that, and he definitely deserves credit for it.
5. Given that the criminal did take two COM hits and survived (and, in fact, ran a distance before collapsing), this event just goes to show how ineffective handgun rounds, in general, can be. This is not to say that handguns are useless (obviously, they are not), but when it comes to property-defense, other alternatives may be more suitable… or, if nothing else, using as large a caliber as you can accurately/comfortably control is always adviseable. Additionally, practicing follow-up shots is very important… ammunition is cheap, but your life tends to be valuable.
6. I understand that it is the time of year for gang initiations here in the Knoxville region, and that such activities will be continuing through until the end of October… I have no evidence that this particular incident was gang-related (and some news reports seem to indicate that the criminal and victim knew each other), but things like this may be picking up for the time. Be advised that while Tennessee does have a “castle doctrine” law, you must still be in fear of grievous personal damage or death in order to use deadly force – a person simply being on your property is not sufficient (IANAL, etc.).