http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2018/07/1 ... tes-later/
... "The resident armed himself with a handgun and discovered the burglar had already broken into an enclosed mudroom and was attempting to break into the main house. The homeowner fired a shot through the door window and into the mudroom. The homeowner then called 911 and officers responded...."
No info on possible charges either way...
Good shoot?

Nope, not a threat yet. Can't prove imminent bodily harm. I would yelled that I have a gun, and dialed 911. If he still came through the 2nd door then double tap center mass. He should have gone out on the back porch and fired off his double barrel shotgun.

Not only that Chuck....what if there was a small fire and the intruder was a fire fighter/emt.


Basic handgun rule # 2,3,1,or 4?


Be sure of your target and whats behind it.

Grey area...

Window of mud room?
Not solid door?

Obviously the case can be made that it would be much clearer if the BG broke through the “second” door and then the homeowner shot in self defense.

But the BG has clearly entered the house. So visualize via a windowed door? Just not a solid door - shooting “blindly”?

Was the BG a threat? Yes he was breaking in.

Washington State has a somewhat “Castle Doctrine” or even better. Since he is in his own home he has no duty to flee and has every right to defend himself, his family and home.



So too early to say. All depends on a few other factors not mentioned. Police on scene, BG, video? And who the DA is and what is presented to them.

Agreed, or drunk neighbor, or his kid coming in late, or, or. No reason to shoot at the point in time that he did.

ETA: It does say through a door window, but he was still not a threat yet.

Much to consider:
Shooter did not know, but bg had two accomplices outside
Bg was committing a felony (burglary)
Even if shooter had a wml, with glare on indoor window may have not had good target/threat id.
Kids in the house? Or was shooter alone?
Most investigate noise in the house before calling 911 to report suspicious circs, mistake? If 911 was on the open line he'd have a recording of what he/bg said before the shoot. Might help his case ( "drop the weapon!" )
I keep a charged burner phone next to my weapon+wml in the safe at night. Any phone, even without a SIM, will dial 911...

RCW 9A.16.050 — Homicide—By other person—When justifiable.

Homicide is also justifiable when committed either:

(1) In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his or her presence or company, *when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony* or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or

(2) In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his or her presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he or she is.

RCW 9A.52.025 — Residential burglary.

(1) A person is guilty of residential burglary if, with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein, the person enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling other than a vehicle.

(2) Residential burglary is a class B felony. In establishing sentencing guidelines and disposition standards, residential burglary is to be considered a more serious offense than second degree burglary.

Sounds like a good shoot to me.
Mudroom sounds like 'inside', but would like to see what part of the house it was.
When we had a house in Ballard we had a back porch enclosed with windows with a door and a lock.
Guess I would consider that to be inside the house.

From the sounds of it, the 'mud room' may have been an enclosed 'porch' with a windowed door.... pretty much the same as a closed attached garage....
Raises the question too..... whether an attached garage is considered 'inside the house' --- whether the door are opened or closed, isn't still considered 'your dwelling'?

Lots of grey area there....

We need laws like Texas, where you can shoot people for fucking with your car.

I'll have to get back with you all after my CCP class to see if we can do that here.

I have no issue with this.

Being in the mudroom (i.e., already inside the house) is no different than being outside the bedroom door trying to get in. And if you're trying to push through my bedroom door . . . well . . . all bets are off.

Few people have an "exterior-strength" lock on the door to the garage. This is a big tactical mistake *if you leave the garage-door opener in your car*...

If his first words to arriving law enforcement were "i feared for my life", it goes a long way toward tipping the scale toward good shoot.

Yep.

In my head..... you force your way into my mudroom, and then start trying to force your way through the next door...

Yer already in the house, and the next thing yer going to be, is dead.