Business Owner Shoots Two Men Trespassing On His Property In The Middle Of The Night

WASHINGTON PARK, ILLINOIS — A business owner didn’t wait to ask questions when he encountered two suspects on his property. An early morning encounter left two suspects shot; one succumbing to fatal wounds.

“Sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., two men hopped the fence of a salvage yard in the 1800 block of Kingshighway,” Bonds said. “The owner was at the business and started shooting when the men hopped over his fence. He struck both of them, but didn’t know he did.

“Both suspects ran and hopped over the fence to get out. One ran one way and the other fell the other way,” Bonds said.

One of the suspects fell from a bullet wound and died. The other suspect was shot in the leg. He went to a hospital for treatment and returned to the scene to look for his friend, Bonds said.

Bonds said the owner of the business called police at the time of the burglary.

Via BND

The Breakdown:

The owner of the salvage yard was at his business in the early hours of the morning (late at night). The article doesn’t explain why, perhaps he lives on the premise? In any case, the man spotted two men jump his fence into the salvage yard. The business owner went out into the yard and began shooting at the two men.

Being early in the morning, and still dark, the shooter was unsure if he hit his intended targets. The two men, however, did turn around and make a run for the perimeter fence. Both men, were in fact shot by time they had reached the fence. Both also managed to make it over, but one fell dead once they had reached the other side. The other suspect took off and ran.

The article states that the business owner did call the police at the time of the burglary attempt. However, we don’t know if that was before or after the shooting occurred.

The Bad:

Let’s talk about the actions of the business owner. I think there is a discussion that can be had about shooting someone on your property versus in your home. Legally, it sounds as though the business owner won’t face any charges. But is there a different threat level of someone just being on your property versus inside your home or business?

If this were a homeowner, and he spotted two guys jump his backyard fence, would it be OK for him to go outside guns blazing? Or should he be expected to call the police, and wait to see if they attempt to enter his home?

As mentioned, the article doesn’t state if the business owner called the police before or after the encounter. If he called them before, could he have waited for them to arrive? Do the two suspects put his life in danger just by being on the premises? Was it in his best interest to go on the attack immediately? What do you think?

The Good:

We love to see business owners take the initiative to defend their business, employees, and customers. Although it was after business hours and only the business owner was on premises, he was still prepared to defend what was his.

We don’t know if the business owner was carrying, or if he kept a firearm at work. In either case, he had a firearm available to him to protect himself. Furthermore, we see that the business owner did not pursue or continue to shoot at the suspects once they exited his property.

The police were called and the business owner fully cooperated with the investigation. Legally speaking, the business owner did everything correctly, and currently this fatal shooting is being determined as a self defense shooting.