An Albuquerque, New Mexico store owner who resorted to sleeping in his small business shot and killed an intruder trying to enter with force. The shooting victim was attempting to “tunnel” through a wall with a hammer a chisel, and would-be weapons the store owner said caused him to “fear for his life” when they were waved erratically upon being identified.
Fox News picked up the story, writing:
The owner said he was woken by a strange sound and found that the burglar had tunneled through the wall and began waving a large hammer and a chisel causing the owner to fear for his life, the outlet said.
According to the owner, he warned the burglar to leave the premises, or he would shoot, but he claimed the burglar walked toward him swinging causing him to open fire.
The suspected burglar was declared dead when police arrived at the scene.
The break-in and shooting occurred at the Smokers R Us smokeshop.
According to reports, the owner allegedly warned the would-be thief to vacate the premises prior to unloading on him. The verbal warning was not heeded; rather, the robber chose to walk toward him while swinging his objects in a threatening manner. It was only then that he was shot.
The top comment on the Fox article applauded the store owner for following the proper protocol but ultimately accepted that the right to protect life and property warranted the shooting.
“Well done. One down and a million more to go. Cameras are great, but not a deterrent. Break ins can turn ugly in a heart beat. The guy was right to protect his property. Even if the guy didn’t threatened him. He had a right to use force,” the comment said.
Another lamented the shooting, obviously, was not an ideal outcome, and warned against outright vigilantism. At the same time, what happened in New Mexico has happened before and will likely become much more common as the bulwarks against lawlessness vis-a-vis a functioning criminal justice system vanish in the name of equity.
“When men sets up a government, they give up some control for instance, like they cannot take the law into their own hands but must seek justice through the court system unlike it was in their natural state in nature. But if the government they set up no long provides security and justice, then they have no need of that government, so they must shed it and either revert back to their natural state or set up a new government,” the commenter wrote.
Similarly, many more comments were in the vein of doing what had to be done in the face of rising, unpunished crime.
“Outstanding. I’m beginning to see more and more of these stories and it’s fabulous. It is always more just when a criminal dies during the commission of their felonies, especially now when the established system is so reluctant to punish unacceptable behavior,” they said.
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Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video.
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