Twilight Backyard Invasion Leads to Shots Fired; Did The Homeowner Go Too Far?

DALLAS, TX — When a Dallas resident found his backyard being violated by a would-be thief in the early morning hours, he took advantage of the fact that he is an armed citizen and opened fire.

Fortunately for the criminal he was able to survive the incident, although he was both shot and apprehended by authorities.

Ouch.

As Dallas News reports:

An intruder was shot in the leg after breaking into the backyard of a southeast Oak Cliff home, police said. The resident of a house shot the intruder who was trying to steal property in the backyard in the 1200 block of Whispering Trail.

Officers were called around 4:40 a.m. Saturday to the house near University Hills Boulevard. Police released few details but said the suspect was taken to a hospital in stable condition. The intruder’s name was not released. It’s unclear whether there will be criminal charges in the shooting.

Now, this may seem like the right or logical path for confronting a thug outside your house, but far and away this is not the way to go — opening fire outside of a home or vehicle without a threat to life is a legally precarious move.

However, in this particular instance the details are so sketchy that we are unable to fairly determine whether or not the correct level of force was employed — we can only hope for the best.

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