Should he have shot her?

[ccgirl]

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?

Call me crazy...how about actually locking the door and calling 911 yourself before actually murdering someone. Don't think it was justified at all.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Actually, it's not. The Commandments are very clear on this: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Period. Even in self-defense, which is one of the reasons why Amish people don't go to war.

Having said that, I still stand by my assessment. If a crazy person comes after me or a family member with a knife and I have a gun, the crazy person is toast and I won't lose one minute of sleep over it.

Are only Christians moral?

 

[Liberty Belle]

In cases like this, take out the female equation and make her a male, is it still a question if it's okay or not? If this were a male threatening these men with a knife we would probably have no problem with them using force back to defend themselves.

It makes no difference to me what gender they are. If you can get away, do so. If not, take any action you need to.

 

[luvsJack]

Call me crazy...how about actually locking the door and calling 911 yourself before actually murdering someone. Don't think it was justified at all.

That what my thoughts exactly!! I mean unless she is a pretty good knife thrower, chances are they could get away from her. And the knife ain't coming through the door once its closed.

 

[rie'smom]

Not having info but living an hour from New Orleans, here's my 2 cents:

Why were they outside?
1. Maybe they were outside because they didn't want the woman in the house.
2. It was a gorgeous weekend.
3. They were looking at the damaged windshield.

The woman had left the house after breaking the windshield. It was not stated how long she was gone.

Why did he date someone with an obviously bad temper?
Maybe she didn't always have a bad temper. Example: My housekeeper's son was the most mild mannered person you ever want to meet. He moved to Fairfax, VA to be near a woman he met while on an extended trip. After they were dating for a while he thought she was cheating on him. He went to her apartment, shot the guy and stabbed his girlfriend. People can go crazy. When I heard I was absolutely stunned. This guy was the last person that I ever thought would do this.

If a person is a threat to me and mine, I'd shoot them. Once I was in a situation where an uncle had gone off his meds- paranoid schizophrenic. He had taken my brothers at knife point. My son and I had gotten away. After they left and I was able to call the police, I sat on the sofa with my dad's pistol. If he had come through the door, I would have shot him without giving it a second thought. Thank God, my brothers were able to talk him into releasing them.

Until you're in a very bad situation, you never know what you might do.

ETA: My incident was not in a ghetto. It took place in my parent's 6000 sq ft house on 200 acres.

 

[shortbun]

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

BIG "IF" I would guess they could have gotten away from her. I know that 911 responses in some areas are notoriusly slow but two men, it seems like they could have overpowered her. I think people who own guns are so anxious to use them. Just my opinion based on my friends and family who own weapons. Doesn't seem like owning a weapon is enough. Everyone has to talk tough about how they would blow the other guy away if they have the opportunity or sense the need. I don't have that dilemna.

 

[indimom]

Not enough information to decide.

 

[ols386]

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.

That's what I wondered. Why not go back in the house, lock the doors, and call the police.

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.

I'm not sure I agree with that. At that time, she may have been so crazed with anger and rage that she didn't even stop to think about that aspect of it.

 

[goofy4prez]

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.

I don't know all the details about this situation but I do know one thing. If it's 1:00am and you break into my home, once I call the authorities (if even possible) I'm not going to sit around and wait for them to come before I find out your intentions with my family; if I'm in danger you will find out what it's like to encounter a 9mm. Sorry, there is a time when someone should shoot someone, and this would be an example.

Actually, it's not. The Commandments are very clear on this: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Period. Even in self-defense, which is one of the reasons why Amish people don't go to war.

Having said that, I still stand by my assessment. If a crazy person comes after me or a family member with a knife and I have a gun, the crazy person is toast and I won't lose one minute of sleep over it.

Most scholars translate the English word that you are referring to "kill," as the Hebrew word "ratsach" which means murder.

 

[Hannathy]

but two men, it seems like they could have overpowered her.

Again have you ever faced a crazed person with a knife?

First she is swinging it wildly- so tonight go home and have someone take your butcher knife and start swinging it wildly and lunging at you and go ahead step in and over power them. And they aren't trying to hurt you. Let me know how you make out.

Second what if she were on drugs? some drugs give the people what seems like super powers there is no way 2 men are going to over power her and subdue her, and do it without getting hurt or worse.

She should not have threatened any one to start with and she wouldn't be dead.

 

[Goofyluver]

The entire incident sounds very GHETTO anyway, so I would not expect it to end much differently.

Yikes!

Not enough information to decide.

This.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Oh Lord, lead me not into temptation to post on these religious posts!

 

[luvmy3]

BIG "IF" I would guess they could have gotten away from her. I know that 911 responses in some areas are notoriusly slow but two men, it seems like they could have overpowered her. I think people who own guns are so anxious to use them. Just my opinion based on my friends and family who own weapons. Doesn't seem like owning a weapon is enough. Everyone has to talk tough about how they would blow the other guy away if they have the opportunity or sense the need. I don't have that dilemna.

In situations where your, (or someone else's with you) life is threatened there are many ways to react. Some people freeze up and don't know what to do, some people flee, and some people defend themselves with whatever means necessary. The latter, doesn't always mean that you just want to use their gun to blow somebody's head off, its just a reaction to the situation. And from my experience, you don't always think straight when someone has a weapon pointed at you and you think you are going to die. I have no idea what this brother was feeling at the time, which is why I said "if", and to me there is no big or little in that case, either someone's life is threatened or it isn't.

 

[DaParkers]

Oh Lord, lead me not into temptation to post on these religious posts!

Please don't! I don't know how you feel about the posts, but I don't smoke or drink, but I also don't comment on those that do. At long as you are not blowing smoke in my direction, it isn't my business. And please folks, leave God out of it. It's ok to post about morals without specifically mentioning something religious.

 

[rie'smom]

BIG "IF" I would guess they could have gotten away from her. I know that 911 responses in some areas are notoriusly slow but two men, it seems like they could have overpowered her. I think people who own guns are so anxious to use them. Just my opinion based on my friends and family who own weapons. Doesn't seem like owning a weapon is enough. Everyone has to talk tough about how they would blow the other guy away if they have the opportunity or sense the need. I don't have that dilemna.

My brothers were college aged and athletes. When someone comes at you with a very large knife you do not try to overpower them because likely one of you will get hurt or maybe killed. Hopefully you will never be in the position to have to decide.

 

[Carly_Roach]

She should not have threatened any one to start with and she wouldn't be dead.

Exactly. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

 

[luvsJack]

Personally, I don't think they should have even tried to overpower her. But, that doesn't mean they couldn't have gotten away from her.

 

[FredinFL]

I have to say, if I had a gun in my pocket and some crazy chick that just smashed a windshield came back and started waving a knife around threatening my sister and myself, I think I'd have shot her.

 

[3boymthr]

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.

Since we don't have all the details who's to say they didn't shoot her in the leg and caught the femoral artery. A shot to the leg can be just as deadly as a shot to the head or heart.

 

[hereyago]

Yes he should have shot her. I'm sorry but I don't care who it is coming at me with a knife, male or female, they apparently want to injure or kill, so I am going to do what I need to do in that moment to protect myself.