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Break in - can you shoot ?

Good catch. So Burglary "is" by definition a forcible felony,
even when there's no force involved-- not against a door lock or window,
and no force directed against a person either.




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Good catch. So Burglary "is" by definition a forcible felony,
even when there's no force involved-- not against a door lock or window,
and no force directed against a person either.




View attachment 3362764

Well, burglary does have an "intent for commit a theft or felony" caveat to it, so I am guessing thats where they get that from, You do have that fine line between burglary/crimminal trespass where theoretically you could have an instance where someone could break the door to a building and enter, and proving they had no other intent other than to break the door and enter. None of that would hold water with an occupied home though. This would come into play with something like an abandoned warehouse or something similar.
 
So. Yes, you definitely have the right to shoot. But for the sake of civil cases and general law, DO NOT say it was to defend your dog. That's just going to sound really bad when it inevitably goes to court. But it is valid to say you though he was going to harm you.
 
I’m not sure what is worse. The initial question and lack of knowledge about basic self defense or the comments by all the internet tough guys. Two words a lot of people who are commenting all the “ he’s in my house so he’s mine” crap need to remember, premeditated murder. This is just scary to know some of these people are carrying in public.
 
This is a question for an attorney. I don't believe you can legally shoot someone for being in your home. There is "violent and tumultuous" thing that sticks out in my mind, but the dog complicates matters.

That allows you to assume a deadly threat even if you don't see a weapon right away while someone is breaking into your home in a violent manner.

In the OP's case it sounds like you missed that 'opportunity' and are dealing with the situation after the entry. If someone kicked down your door and then proceeded to pass out on the floor by the time you made it there, you definitely would be facing time behind bars if you simply shot them.

BUT, the OP's original hypothetical indicated that the burglar wasn't a threat at that moment. The dog was handling him for you. It's only if the burglar beats the dog that the burglar will then become a threat to you.

That scenario would technically be a big problem to invoking self-defense laws for deadly force out on the street, but since we're talking about a home, we have a more flexible set of rules.

I'd disagree. The burglar has a lethal weapon and as the Tueller Drill shows us it takes less than two seconds (1.5s typically) for a the average person to close that 20-something foot distance. That is an imminent and immediate threat even if the dog seems to have the attacker pinned down.

One thrust of the knife could end that struggle in a heartbeat, leaving you two seconds or less to stop the attack. Unless you have perfect placement and get a brain-stem shot in, he's still probably going to stick you a few times before losing enough blood to quit if you give him that much time.

Your dog is buying you time to get some shots in and stop the attack right there. This isn't some tag-team WWE match where you have to wait for the dog to invite you into the ring. This guy is attacking both of you and both of you can legally respond as needed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill
 
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