TX - Man shoots, kills burglars despite orders from 911 operator, 14 Nov 2007

bnhall

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I saw this on the news this morning and thought it might make for a good discussion.

http://www.ksn.com/news/also/11483151.html

The Pasadena man made the call when he saw two men climb out a window of his neighbor's home on Wednesday.
The 911 operator warned the man several times to stay in his home, but the man took matters into his own hands and confronted the burglars.

Operator: You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with the gun."
Caller: "You wanna make a bet? I'm going to kill them."
Moments later a shotgun was heard firing at least twice.
Both suspects died at the scene. Their names have not been released.
Police found a pillowcase stuffed with hundreds of dollars.
 
Geez, these were his neighbor's burglars! I think people are just tired of being robbed.

People are doing the same here-taking back the streets.
 
Despite the fact they were robbing his neighbor's house, it could have been his house next. I think we all should have the right to shoot/take out burglers. This kind of neighborhood watch/vigilante would certainly make robbers think twice about breaking in or committing worse crimes. The only problem with that would be people shooting trigger happy so there would have to be some guidelines..
 
Good for him. I think the only thing he should get for this is....a medal.
 
The first thing that ran through my mind was what use to happen in our subdivision years ago. All the kids had curfews and parents thought they were being responsible. And this story makes me think how it could have been my son or friends and neighbors sons that were shot. In our neighborhood we have an individual who is a cop wannabe who pulled guns all of the time - threatened kids at Halloween for throwing corn for example. Kids, usually boys, would be home on time, go to their rooms - and later leave by their bedroom window. Yes, they should not have done this, yes they were doing something wrong - but not doing something to be shot over. My kids are grown and this was something that I learned years later when they were telling stories on themselves - I have told them if I didn't already know about it, don't tell me now!

The man called 911 and was told LE was on the way - he wanted to shoot and kill someone, something even a good trained cop only does if necessary. I am not against people protecting themselves or others when lives are in danger. There is nothing in my house outside of family and pets that a burglar can steal worth taking a life - IMO.
 
In most of Texas, they are now calling Joe Horn a good neighbor.

and they are also saying he wasted a perfectly good bullet

(it took him 3 shots to kill the two burglars)
 
He is a good neighbor. If someone were breaking into my house, i would rather my neighbors shoot them also. It's a personal violation for intruders to enter the home.
 
I must say that I am slightly shocked by the cavalier attitude that this person displayed toward human LIVES. Families don't grieve for lifetimes over "a pillowcase stuffed with hundreds of dollars". I wonder what the premium on these 2 men's lives were - 5, 6, 7 hundred dollars?
 
this is why in fl the robber has to be in your house. He should not have gone after them it could have been a teenager sneaking out of his house, the owner going to have an affair what ever, I think he was wrong. IMO
 
I don't have a problem with people shooting intruders into their homes to protect themselves and their families. But shooting burglars leaving a neighbor's house? How could that be legal? How would that be different than finding out someone was a burglar and just murdering him?
 
Well, you can defend your residence and legally shoot an intruder but I don't think you can legally do so to protect someone else's property. Someone else's life, yes, but not someone else's property.

If this were deemed ok, all kinds of tragedies would occur.

Eve
 
Well, you can defend your residence and legally shoot an intruder but I don't think you can legally do so to protect someone else's property. Someone else's life, yes, but not someone else's property.

If this were deemed ok, all kinds of tragedies would occur.

Eve

The law in Texas says you can, according to the attorneys on Abrams last night.
 
The law in Texas says you can, according to the attorneys on Abrams last night.

Dan also hinted that he must have gone back in and read a law book saying they came on his property, that's why he shot... His voice was actually shocking in that he seemed to get off being able to kill someone. Brrrr
 
There was a case recently in Racine, WI where a man shot and killed a man that broke into his car or maybe it was his girlfriend's car. I can't remember the details, but I believe he got life in prison. Let me see if I can find a story on it.
 
SNIP

How would that be different than finding out someone was a burglar and just murdering him?

If you did it as suggested above, they wouldn't have your self-incriminating testimony on the recorded 911 call, so you would have a much better chance of getting away with it.
 
I've been following this story in the Houston newspapers and I don't agree with what this man did at all. They were not threatening his life and if you read the 911 transcripts it appears (IMO) that he was just itching to shoot someone. There is a difference between protecting your life/property or putting yourself in a situation (with a gun) that could become deadly. He purposefully put himself in this situation by walking out of his home with a shotgun in his hand. He called 911 and alerted the authorities and should have just left it at that.

I'm not at all saying that these burglars shouldn't have been stopped. I just think it should have been a job for police, not a neighbor who was safely inside his home.
 
When my sister, who lives in Houston told me about this my first reaction was that it was wrong to kill someone over 'stuff' & not even your stuff, but your neighbors stuff. I know I would not have done what this man did. That being said - Houston is a totally different place than it used to be. Crime is HORRIBLE there since Katrina. It wasn't the safest place to live before Katrina, IMO. However, now it is much worse & people are SICK & TIRED of putting up with it. It is getting worse & worse & the authorities don't seem to do a damn thing but offer lip service.
When someone breaks into a home - they have already committed a violent crime. What happens if your children where there with their Grandma? Or if you were a SAHM with no car, & they broke in when you & the kids were home alone? These guys had obviously done this before, they were in & out within minutes. The potential of them to turn into violent felons was there, had someone simply been in that house.
I know if you live in Indiana, or Upstate NY, or Utah, it may seem strange to think of killing someone who is burglarizing a home - but in TX - where people are killed during home invasions all the time, it is not that out of the realm to think about that. Maybe one of these pieces of GARBAGE will think twice about breaking into a home... I only have to think about the poor Dr & his family in CT. What if this guy (or someone like him) lived next door to them? Maybe, just maybe they would have survived....
 
Texas conducted a statewide poll, to see how people felt, about the Joe Horn shooting of the two burglars robbing his neighbor's home.

Only 13% of Texans consider Joe Horn a good neighbor.

The other 87% considered Joe Horn a good neighbor, but a bad shot.
 

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