Armed Citizen Opens Fire On Home Depot Shoplifter; You’re Doing It Wrong

AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN — A woman with a concealed carry permit in Michigan opened fire on a shoplifter as he was running out of the store and to a waiting vehicle in the parking lot.

The shooting happened in the store’s parking lot at around 2 p.m., when Home Depot security was chasing a shoplifter in his 40s who jumped into a waiting dark SUV, said Lt. Jill McDonnell, an Auburn Hills police spokeswoman.

But when the SUV began to pull away, a 48-year-old woman suddenly began firing shots at the fleeing vehicle. The vehicle escaped – but possibly has a flat tire, McDonnell said.

Based on the information provided, this is in no way a self-defense situation. It is, however, worthy of the tag Irresponsible Gun Owner.

If the bad guy is fleeing, it’s difficult to prove self-defense if he has a bullet in his back. We all don’t like criminals and thieves, but to fire at them if they pose no threat to us? That’s irresponsible, dangerous, and worthy of a hard look at that armed citizen’s decision making process.

What would you have done in this case? I’ll tell you what I would have done; I would have stayed wherever I was until they took off, and I would get as much detail on the suspects and vehicle as I could to give to police.

But pull out my gun and fire at them? Hell no.