Shooting Through Doors

I was recently taken to task in this thread on The Firing Line for opposing shooting through doors. The fact is, I have met more than one man who made a fatal error by not identifying his target and shooting through a door. While the merits of shooting through doors can be debated endlessly, the necessity of identifying your target should not. I was reminded of this Firing Line argument when I read this article from Jackson Mississippi.

Burglary suspect killed on porch
By Kathleen Baydala
kbaydala@clarionledger.com

A Jackson man who shot through his front door at a suspected house burglar early Sunday morning never intended to kill him, a relative said. But Marcus Rawls, 23, of Jackson was found dead on the porch at 4:36 a.m. wearing a ski mask and gloves, officials said. Tory Willis said his brother, Cedric Marshall, was shaken up after learning he had fatally shot a man at 464 Willaman St. "He was trying to protect himself," said Willis, 23. "He wasn't trying to kill anybody."

Jackson Police Department Detective Brendon Bell said police had not charged the shooter as of Sunday night. Bell would neither identify nor confirm the shooter described as "an occupant of the house," but Willis identified his brother as the shooter. Marshall could not be reached. But during an interview at the home Sunday afternoon, Willis described what happened.

Willis said his brother told him two men he didn't know knocked on his door at 2 a.m. Sunday. And when Marshall didn't answer, the men tried to kick down his door, so he fired shots to scare the men off. Thinking he had done so, he went to bed, Willis said. A few hours later, Marshall's cousin drove by the house and called Marshall when he saw a man lying on the porch, Willis said.

Rawls died from a gunshot wound to the head, said Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart. "Right now the case has to be prepared and presented to the grand jury," Bell said. The grand jury will determine whether the shooting was justifiable. Bell could not confirm whether there was a second potential burglar.

Many of the surrounding neighbors on Willaman Street said the neighborhood is usually quiet except for a recent string of break-ins. Precinct 2 Commander Lee Vance said there has been criminal activity in that area in the recent past. "I would not say house burglaries are any more prevalant there than in other places," Vance said.

The homeowner stated he did not intend to kill. With those statements he may have destroyed a defense grounded on fear for his life. The threat was still on the homeowner's porch when he was shot. This one will be interesting. I hope this homeowner has some skin on his teeth, he might need it. Mississippi's justifiable homocide law can be found here.