SCRATCH TWO FRAKEN GREMLINS … THREE CHEERS FOR JOE HORN.
Of course nobody on family side asking, what were our kin doing in someone else’s house?
“It’s horrible,” she said. “He was so eager, so eager to shoot.”
Yeah ... and your kin were doin’ what. Jerk! Bet those wetbacks would have been eager to do anyone else in were someone in that house.
I’m glad he shot the bastards and I hope it hurt. A Lot!
on 11/30/2007 at 10:08 AM
I’m not sure ‘hero’ is the correct word, but he did what was called for and needed; that makes him a man. It’s clear from the 911 recording he called for the violators to surrender prior to any shots being fired; the local authorities seem to agree this was not an act of premeditated malice.
This whole nonsense argument of ‘Is property worth a human life?’ really boils down to the question, “Is my right to keep my property - that I worked to obtain - more important than the villain’s right to steal it?” Liberal theology says the right of the villain to steal outweighs my right to keep my own property.
As to the ‘family’ claims of “...so eager to shoot” they seem to ignore the fact the villains set up the circumstance and made all the choices about the event. Had they worked lawfully, this whole incident would have never happened. End of discussion.
It’s going to be a good case. If a state has a castle doctrine, does that doctrine have a penumbra that lets you protect the peasants? In other words, how far does a persons right to stop crime or use deadly force extend from their home, car, or person? All the way to your property line? To the neighbors? Somewhere down the street, or all the way to the state line? Maybe to the effective range of your weapon and your ability to use it?
Interestingly, this guy didn’t take any physical action until the thugs were on his property, so that may be moot. He was on the phone with 911 the whole time. As a side point, the 911 dispatcher is just some guy; he has no real authority so his “orders” are meaningless.
While I wouldn’t say the homeowner “was so eager to shoot” he was witnessing a crime from beginning to end, and was upset about it. Especially when he kept asking for the cops and they didn’t show up (no cop can arrive instantly). When the criminals then came onto his yard he had a good expectation that his house was next. Burgulars often sweep a whole neighborhood in one go. So he went out to stop them, and now its a “he said” situation; no other witnesses to support or deny his allegation that these gorillas lunged at him with a deadly weapon. Should he have just sat in his house and waited for them to break in? I think not.
A prosecuting attorney with his ducks lined up is going to paint this guy as a cold blooded killer just looking for someone to kill. From listening to the audio, he wasn’t in any danger and willingly interjected himself into the equation beyond the 911 call, after being told not to do so. Within seconds of him shooting it was evident police were on the scene so his defense of stopping the criminals from escaping won’t hold water.
Castle Doctrine is what allows you to stand your ground on your own property when attacked or invaded. If you call out a criminal, and that’s what this guy did, the Castle Doctrine might not hold up. Also, the gun control crowd is going to love this guy.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this thing plays out in the courts. Fortunately for Mr. Horn he’s in Texas. If this were in a Northeast state, he would be looking at hard prison time for sure.
I think BobF is right, this one is tricky. I still think he did the right thing but the lawyers will have a field day with it. Thank the lord for Texas though! The BBC’S take on this was of course their default handwringing liberal response. They interviewed the “partner” of one of the deceased. Boo hoo hoo. How terrible etc. However as far as I am aware no one forced the burglars to enter that property and attempt to steal. Good enough for them.
Personally, I am not comfortable with his decision to interject himself into the situation and thereby forcing himself to open fire. However, not all the details have been released. I did hear on one report that the bag of loot was several thousand dollars in cash and that his neighbor did ask him to watch the house.
If it were my house those two intruders would have been ripped to shreds by two large German Shepard’s. They don’t bark, they wait around the corner for you to crawl all the way in and then simply attack!
After hearing the tape over and over, I could swear the 911 operator did not seem all that aggressive in trying to stop him from going outside. Sounded more like he said what he had to say to cover his own ass because the call was being recorded. It almost sounded sarcastic, “Wait, don’t go outside” in a weak disconnected sort of way.
Posted by MJS
12/03/2007 at 07:56 PM
Better late than never, here’s a bit of an update. The Nation of Islam tried to hold a big demonstration outside this guy’s house, cuz the two dead perps was black, therefore it’s racism, right? A few hundred neighbors and several biker groups showed up and shouted them down. Visit Blogs of War for details; they’re all over this one with some great photos and videos.
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