DALLAS, TEXAS — James Michael Meyer told police that he heard a noise around 5 am that was coming from outside. He grabbed his gun and found a person with an ax trying to break into his shed.
He yelled at the person to stop and told him now to come in his direction, or else he’d shoot.
Meyer told investigators the person took several steps toward him, so he fired and the burglar dropped his pickax and ran toward a nearby park.
Meyer said he fired an additional shot “into the night” in the direction of the park, even though “from the suspect’s accounts, the threat of serious bodily injury against him was over when the complainant dropped the pickax and ran off,” the affidavit said.
via wsvn.com
After the incident, Meyers went back to bed, not knowing if he had actually shot anyone.
In the morning, he walked outside towards the park to what he thought was a black bag. As he got closer, he realized that it was the suspect’s body.
Meyers’ wife called an attorney prior to her husband calling police to report the incident. If I had to guess, the attorney told them to immediately call police and report the incident.
This is a rare case, and a silly move by this gun owner. But wait, there’s more:
James Michael Meyer was charged with murder in Thursday’s shooting, with bond set at $150,000, The Dallas Morning News reported. Online jail records had no information about an attorney to speak for Meyer, who was no longer in custody Sunday.
If you EVER discharge your firearm in self-defense, as soon as it’s safe to do so, you should be on the phone with police so that they can come out and do their job. As a responsibly armed citizen, it’s your duty to report these incidents, or trouble will no doubt fall upon you.
