TOPOCK, AZ — In one of the strangest self-defense shootings ever seen, police are investigating a man who jumped off a train, naked, broke water pipes, caused a power outage, and was eventually shot by a man in his eighties with a .22 caliber revolver.
The Daily Courier reports that 25-year-old Joshua Daniel Reza was wounded in the face after approaching an elderly woman stark naked and ignoring warnings to get off her property.
As The Daily Courier reports:
Sheriff’s officials say a 72-year-old woman saw a naked man walking up to her home after her electricity went out and her boyfriend was down the road checking an electrical box. She screamed at him to leave.
The woman told deputies she didn’t recognize the naked man and that he never spoke while approaching her. She said the man then stopped to stare at her and ignored her continued commands to get off the property.”
Then,according to the report, the woman’s 86-year-old boyfriend returned with a gun, fired a couple of warning shots off into the air, and then shot Reza, who was continuing to approach them.
Whatever this guy was on, I bet that sobered him up real quick.
Reza was taken to the hospital, and is believed to be in fair condition.
A note on warning shots, it’s generally a Bad Defensive Gun Use to fire them, as it’s frowned upon in many places. Plus if you’re firing your gun in a self-defense situation, it should be to stop the threat. I know that no one ever wants to shoot someone, but warning shots can be dangerous in their own right as they land, or hit an unintended target.
Amusingly (to me at least), this story gives us a wonderful chance to re-hash the “Is .22 a viable tactical option?” debate.
First off, this old man shot the threat directly in the face, and he survived. That’s weird, and a huge detractor to the argument that claims that .22 is a viable tactical caliber.
However, it’s important to remember — at the end of the day, when this .22 was fired, it did stop the bad guy. It did work to neutralize the threat.
That can’t be forgotten.
So, once again, it would seem as though we have the same answer as we always do in the great .22 debate — it’s not the top choice, but it’s most certainly better than nothing.