Should he have shot her?

[DaParkers]

An argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend turned deadly when the boyfriend's brother allegedly shot and killed the girlfriend late Sunday in eastern New Orleans, police said.

Officers*responding to a call of a shooting about 10:30 p.m. found the 33-year-old woman's body on the lawn of a house in the 1300 block of Maple Wood Drive. Paramedics pronounced the woman dead on the scene. Her identity has not been released, pending notification of family.
Gunfire broke out when the woman, after leaving the house a short time earlier, came back with a knife and confronted her boyfriend and his brother, said officer Hilal Williams, a New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman.
Earlier in the night the woman shattered her boyfriend's car's windshield during an argument and then left, Williams said.
When the woman returned with the knife, the boyfriend's 19-year-old brother had a gun and shot the woman once, Williams said.
Police early Monday were interviewing the brother. His identity has not been released.


So, it's a simple question. Did the brother act accordingly? Or should he and his brother have handled the situation differently?

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

A threat is a threat, maybe this woman suffered from some type of mental illness. Sounds like they were protecting themselves. Wonder why they didn't just shot her in the leg though.

 

[HM]

No, no one should ever shoot someone else. They should have left/run from where they were rather than taking on the confrontation. It was time to call in the authorities.

 

[luvmy3]

If he was defending his brother's life at the time of the shooting, then yes.

 

[Carly_Roach]

A threat is a threat, maybe this woman suffered from some type of mental illness. Sounds like they were protecting themselves. Wonder why they didn't just shot her in the leg though.

I'm inclined to agree with this. As for why she wasn't 'winged', in the heat of the moment when adrenaline is running high and a crazy woman's coming after you or your brother with a knife, it's hard to aim straight.

Self defense. Open and shut as far as I'm concerned.

 

[FireDancer]

Without witnessing it I can't really say for certain whether or not the brother was in imminent danger or not but if anyone was going after one of my brothers with a knife and I had a gun and felt his life was in danger you bet I'd shoot to center body mass because it is the largest target. I wouldn't aim for arm or legs because it isn't as big of a target.

 

[GinnyEmma]

I'm inclined to agree with this. As for why she wasn't 'winged', in the heat of the moment when adrenaline is running high and a crazy woman's coming after you or your brother with a knife, it's hard to aim straight.

Self defense. Open and shut as far as I'm concerned.

If it was a pistol, aiming and hitting a target is much easier on tv than real life.

 

[Heidict]

If he really felt that his brothers life was in imminent danger, then yes, he was right in shooting her.

 

[happygirl]

If she was on the lawn, I believe NO she shouldn't have been shot. The brothers could have went inside and locked the doors and called the cops. If she was kicking in the door and try to stab them inside the house, Then that to me is self-protection.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Why are they out on the lawn with a crazy woman? How about stay in the house and call the police.

Oh, I see PP thought the same thing I did.

 

[DawnM]

The entire incident sounds very GHETTO anyway, so I would not expect it to end much differently. SHOULD he have shot her? I don't know.....should anyone be dating someone like that? No.....and if you are, you are probably like she is.

Dawn

 

[JessicaR]

I don't know. I have to wonder why they were out on the lawn with her in the first place. If it could have been avoided the brother should not have shot her. I would need more details to answer the question.

 

[chuckml]

What's that old saying.... Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

While he might have acted within the bounds of the law, that doesn't mean, in my opinion, it was morally right to shoot her.

They should have called the police and either ran from the property of barricaded themselves somewhere.

 

[Swalphin]

Sounds to me like this woman was impaired possibly alcohol/drugs were involved. If he indeed felt his life was being threatened and he was in imminent danger he had every right to shoot. If you are going to shoot a gun be prepared to take a life. Maybe he was a really bad shot and was aiming for a shoulder and missed.

 

[DaParkers]

The entire incident sounds very GHETTO anyway, so I would not expect it to end much differently. SHOULD he have shot her? I don't know.....should anyone be dating someone like that? No.....and if you are, you are probably like she is.

Dawn

Unfortunately, it is very ghetto. Just another day in New Orleans. She was just 1 of 5 people shot and 1 of 3 murdered this weekend. But, I asked the question because it's a different scenario and because people tend to view violence against women differently than violence against other men. I assume that she thought that they wouldn't do her anything based on her gender.

 

[luvmy3]

Why are they out on the lawn with a crazy woman? How about stay in the house and call the police.

Oh, I see PP thought the same thing I did.

In the OP it says she broke a car window, left and returned with a knife. I was assuming that the men were already outside and she came up to them with the knife.

What's that old saying.... Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?

I know its wrong to laugh at this but I can't help it

 

[PrincessKsMom]

The entire incident sounds very GHETTO anyway, so I would not expect it to end much differently. SHOULD he have shot her? I don't know.....should anyone be dating someone like that? No.....and if you are, you are probably like she is.

Dawn

Just curious. If this incident had occurred in Beverly Hills or Westchester County, NY would you still think it was "GHETTO" or is that just because it was New Orleans?

 

[Liberty Belle]

It's hard to say given the information, but I'll go with no, he shouldn't have. If both men were able to get away from her, they should have and called the police, rather than shooting her. If, however, she was within inches of the man and he could not get away, then I think it was reasonable for the brother to shoot.

 

[moburg]

When the woman returned with the knife...

Yep, sounds justified to me.