BOB WHITE, WEST VIRGINIA — A homeowner was alerted by a neighbor as to the possible presence of someone on his property. He took his handgun to investigate and found an unknown man exiting one of his out-buildings with a knife in his hand. The homeowner shot the intruder.
According to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Jack “Anthony” Webb, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Boone County Sheriffs Office when they came out to investigate. Because the shooting occurred on the man’s property and the intruder was in the process of committing a felony, the Boone County sheriff said he will not be pressing charges against the homeowner.
“There will be no charges filed against the home owner at this time,” Sheriff Randall White said in the release. “He was armed with a handgun on his property and was confronted by an armed individual committing a felony.”
In the rural country side, land owners don’t always have the luxury of fast response times of law enforcement. Because anything can happen, a homeowner has to be ready to protect himself and potentially engage a hostile intruder. In this case, a man exiting his out building had a knife in his hand at the time. If he had simply wandered out there with a flashlight, he would have been completely at the mercy of that criminal.
We can’t take those types of chances. Depending on the mercy of those who already don’t respect you, your property, or your safety is a bad bet.
That’s why we advocate for the responsible carrying of firearms. Defending your life and that of your family may come down to you or them. We think you should choose you. And, in West Virginia, authorities seem more than candid in their assessment that if you expect to knock off a couple of country folk on their own property, you might have another thing coming.
That only works if you’re prepared, train regularly with your firearms, and always carry when you’re going to protect your property.
