Local shooting
In Knoxville, a man shot a burglar with an extensive criminal record as he was fleeing. Seems the burglar kicked in the door while a 13 year-old was at home.
Officers haven’t filed any charges against Harry Smith, 58. Smith, who has a gun permit, shot Coffey once in the head with a revolver as Coffey ran from the house at 103 Copeland Road, Dooley said.
Shooting someone as they are fleeing is, generally, a no-no despite whatever public service it may have been. Also, in Tennessee we don’t have gun permits, which seem to imply a permit for ownership. We do have handgun carry permits, which is likely what they meant.
Update: In comments, MarkF points out that the burglar was ‘fleeing’ toward a grandmother. If by ‘fleeing’, they mean running towards, then that changes the scenario substantially.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:17 am
…shot a burglar with an extensive criminal as he was fleeing…
Ooh! Can I get an extensive criminal to shoot a burglar with?
December 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
oops
December 17th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Burglar was ‘fleeing’ towards grandma, who had just stepped out of her car.
That introduces enough reasonable doubt for me (and one would hope, any jury) that the shot was justified.
I see a lot of these cases second-guessed on the ‘net, based on news stories rather that first hand accounts.
C’mon folks, as long as liberal editors and reporters are publishing these, the criminal will always be ‘fleeing’, or ‘confused’, the real victim will have ‘taken the law into his own hands’ – the story will be slanted somehow to soften the fact that a non-cop good guy (or girl) successfully used a gun in a confrontation with a known bad actor.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
My comments at the Sentinel, which have offended some people here:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.asp…
“Authorities say Smith and his wife drove to the home and confronted Coffey. Smith told detectives Coffey started running toward his wife and refused to stop, so he pulled a gun and fired.”
http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=7…
“According to deputies, Harry Smith, 58, warned Coffey that he would shoot if Coffey came any closer to Smith’s wife.”
Knoxville News Sentinel:
“Officers haven’t filed any charges against Harry Smith, 58. Smith, who has a gun permit, shot Coffey once in the head with a revolver as Coffey ran from the house at 103 Copeland Road, Dooley said. Coffey ran out just as the boy’s grandmother stepped out of her car, Dooley said. “Smith told the man to stop or he’d shoot,” Dooley said. She said she didn’t know how far away Coffey was when Smith fired.”
Why the difference in the reporting? Something isn’t right here. The KNS painted Mr. Smith as trigger happy UNTIL other media outlets reported that Tilvis Coffey was approaching Mr. Smith’s wife.
Is this sloppy reporting or is it evidence of an agenda against self defense? The KNS has defended Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and his decision to be a member of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayor’s Against Guns.
Why is there not an update notice on this column? The original Internet version of the KNS column was even more accusatory against Mr. Smith.
Again Mr. McElroy, this is why people have difficulty trusting the Knoxville News Sentinel.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
They did? To my knowledge, no local media outlet has reported it.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
“a man shot a burglar with an extensive criminal record”,,,,,,,he should have used a gun.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
They did? To my knowledge, no local media outlet has reported it.
It was a McElroy editorial. It is difficult to be a newspaper critic of a newspaper no one reads.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Got a link? A quick google shows nothing.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
there is a big difference between fleeing the scene and moving to get a better strategic advantage… and if the line between the two is blurred, the homeowner is usually justified… just because someone has turned their back does not mean they are no longer a threat
December 17th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
oh, plus where i come from, thats not a burglary… thats a home invasion… burglary is usually the unlawful entry of an unoccupied dwelling…
December 17th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
chris Says:
December 17th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
oh, plus where i come from, thats not a burglary… thats a home invasion… burglary is usually the unlawful entry of an unoccupied dwelling…
That’s my interpretation too.