This is an interesting story. concerning the often tricky and murky issue of self-defense. Who do you think is in the right here? Who deserves the blame for this shooting? Was it just a tragic mistake with no one to blame? June 11, 2020 Lubbock, Texas (KCBD) One person was shot after what the victim believed was an attempted break-in Wednesday night in Central Lubbock. Police were called to the 3200 block of 35th Street around 11 p.m. The homeowner, 63-year-old Jimmy James, said he heard someone trying to kick in his door. The homeowner shot through the door and injured one person. James said he’s lived in Lubbock his whole life and since moving to the duplex in September 2019, last night’s invasion wasn’t the first time someone has tired to gain entry to his home. "I've had two so far," said James. "One of them (happened) the second day after I got here. Somebody tried to get in. A couple of days later somebody came in and tried to get in with a key. Then when they found out someone was here they said they had the wrong apartment." James is in hospice care and is legally blind. He said someone started kicking down his door last night. "And then, all of the sudden, BLAM and I said, 'what the hell?' And I ran and grabbed my gun and then just WHAM they hit it again. And the door flew open and I started shooting," said James. James told police that if he did not grab his gun there is no telling what the intruder could have done. The report says James did not see who kicked in his door, but due to his medical disability, he was in fear of his life. When police arrived, James said they told him, "that I did the right thing. Because I know if I hadn't of, they meant business. If you look at that door, they meant business. If I hadn’t have shot them, I’d be dead." Captain Ray Mendoza with Lubbock Police Department said the castle doctrine allows residents in Texas to defend their property, especially when you are in fear for your life. "In this case, it very well seems that that was the case. Somebody’s kicking down your door after 11 o'clock at night. You’re home alone, you feel that you need to defend yourself then in this case, it seems like it might have been a justified shooting," said Mendoza. James said he’s never experienced anything like this before in his life. "I never thought this would happen to me. Always happen to somebody else," said James. "I've never been so scared in my life." James said he spoke to his landlord who is relocating James for his own safety. Police say 21-year-old Madison Danielle Vanarsdale was intoxicated and kicked in the door. During the investigation, officers learned Vanarsdale was with two other people at Stars and Stripes Drive In together earlier in the evening. The three left went at Varnarsdale’s apartment complex. She said she was trying to get into her apartment, but did not have her keys. She left them at the drive-in theater. One person attempted to get Vanarsdale to leave, but she refused saying she wanted to get inside to get her dog and she had to work the next morning, so she just wanted to be home. She started to kick in the door, not realizing it was not her apartment. That is when the victim fired two shots through the door. The person who tried to get Varnarsdale to leave was shot. According to the report, the two others with her did not realize Vanarsdale was at the wrong apartment. When the two tried again to get her to leave, the police report says Varnarsdale started to yell that she was being raped. They got her inside a vehicle, and she did not know one of the people with her had been shot. Police were called out to the 3500 block of 25th street after Vanarsdale walked over there. When police arrived, they found Vanarsdale with blood shot eyes, slurred speech, and acting hysterical, according to the police report. She was placed under arrest. The report says that Vanarsdale collapsed her body weight making it difficult for officers to carry her. After she was placed in the back of the patrol car, police say Vanarsdale started to kick the window. Police opened the door to the car and Vanarsdale resisted arrest, kicking at officers trying to restrain her legs. Vanarsdale was taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center. The report says Vanarsdale was found in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that she placed herself and others in danger. Vanarsdale is facing charges of burglary, resisting arrest, and public intoxication. Mendoza said the whole incident was believed to be a case of a mistaken apartment or duplex, and the person shot was a "victim of circumstance" and say the intent to burglarize the home wasn't there. https://www.kcbd.com/2020/06/11/legally-blind-man-shoots-alleged-home-invaders/ In a lot of other places in the country, that man would probably lose his gun rights permanently.
I find this to be an interesting story, with the implied hard-to-answer question of who is to blame. Conservatives will of course lay the blame for the shooting on the impaired young woman who was under the influence of intoxicating substances, while gun haters will blame the blind man, the laws that exist in Texas, and guns. Many claiming legally blind people shouldn't be allowed to have a gun.
The physical capacities of the person claiming self-defense are relevant - the greater your disability, the lower the threshold for a reasonable claim of fear.
This is a case of a tragic accident. Fortunately in this case only one person was injured. Firearms cost hundreds of thousands of lives -- suicide, homicide, accidents. Each year firearms are used in about 200 to 300 justifiable homicides in USA. Sadly, far more people in general and disabled people in particular use guns for suicide.
Its a sad story, but also an odd one. It says he is in hospice care - which means he is terminally ill. That, of course, isn't related to the shooting - but it struck me as odd. Generally, those in 'hospice' are in facilities - not at home alone. As for the legally blind shooting guns - I don't think its a great idea. But they have the legal right.
Ultimately because they make the conscious decision to go about ending their own existence, because they no longer wish to go on living. They were not forced to end their own existence, rather they made the decision themselves of their own volition. Respect their decision and stop complaining.
I don't know why you think that's an odd thing. Lots of patients on hospice care prefer to stay in their homes, if it is possible. It's usually a lot cheaper. And many prefer to die in their own homes, in a familiar setting, rather than in a facility. I suppose you could potentially ask the question did he really need to be able to defend himself since he was not far away from death anyway.
Of course not. Anyone I know who has been in 'hospice care' has either been at a facility or had 24/7 home care.
We must agree to disagree. I can not accept the fact that some people are worth less due to their Disability. I was never suicidal -- I have only Moderate Depression. But I can not support dependents.
And yet it is how they feel. How does one go about convincing an individual of their own self worth, when they are incapable of seeing it for themselves? Then it is not possible for yourself to comprehend what those who are suicidal are going through, as it is a wholly alien concept that defies everything that is known on the part of yourself. Meaning it is a position of arrogance that is ultimately being spoken from in insisting that they have worth they cannot see for themselves. Irrelevant and off topic to the discussion.
Then I don't think you're going to like living under a National Health System. You obviously have very little inkling of how the one in the UK operates.
And between 200,000 to 2,000,000 times a year to prevent a violent crime, you know that to be true but fail to mention that anythine you want to spew your anti-gun narrative. Ever heard the term lying by omission?
False again, those numbers at least the higher one came from the CDC and yes most gun deaths are not self defense, they are from hood rats killing each other with guns they are prohibited to possess.
Should bling people have guns? Talk about a shot in the dark! Did you hear about the blind prostitute? You gotta hand it to her!
