Know Your Target: Caregiver Shot After Being Mistaken For An Intruder

TODD MISSION, TX – A caregiver for an elderly woman lost his life when the woman he cared for mistook him for an intruder, and shot him.

The 76-year-old woman made the mistake of her life, and all because she failed to properly identify her target, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter.

Unfortunately, an elderly woman being cared for is every bit as susceptible to the consequences of gun safety failure as we are.

As KBTX reports:

According to investigators, an elderly person called 911 and said they shot an intruder that entered their home. When investigators arrived, they discovered the person shot was the elderly person’s caregiver.

The sheriff’s office said that Samuel Gene Wilson, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was sent to the Central Texas Autopsy Center in Lockhart.

The elderly caller is cooperating with investigators and not being identified. No charges have been filed.

Charged may not have been filed yet — the most recent update I could find as of the time of this writing was two days old — but the odds of something being filed in the aftermath of this tragedy are pretty high.

It’s a regrettable, but understandable mistake — how many people have been spooked because someone was in their home, a friend or family member, they weren’t expecting?

Add to that fact that this was this elderly woman’s caregiver for issues we don’t know enough bout, and the risk of an accident is compounded.

That is why, ladies and gentlemen, it continues to be vitally important to know your target, and what’s behind it. Always.

You can’t pull the trigger on a shadowy figure. You have to pull the trigger on an attacker or obvious threat. That’s not easy at night, but that’s when it matters.

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