Homeowner Accidentally Shoots Girlfriend During Home Invasion

HOUSTON, TEXAS — Two men and a woman broke into an apartment in Houston around 8 p.m. During the break-in, three occupants were in the apartment. An exchange of gunfire broke out and during that exchange, the male occupant accidentally shot his girlfriend.

According to the Houston Chronicle, two of the intruders were also wounded during the fight. They, alongside the woman, were taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition. All of the intruders involved in this home invasion have been apprehended.

We idly take ‘the fog of war’ as just something said by soldiers and the like for describing unfortunate incidences that occur in the middle of a gunfight. The term came about because of the amount of confusion that exists in any fight. A person’s focus is directed on, unsurprisingly, his own survival.

I’m not playing down the significance of another occupant of the apartment getting hit by ‘friendly fire’, merely trying to put together the event for perspective. I’m also not excusing a person not knowing what’s around him when he’s shooting. In a household that had small children or, heck, this one had another occupant in another room, there’s real opportunity to do some damage to people.

The good news is that the woman will likely recover. And the really good news is that we can all be reminded of how much we need to train to approach these sorts of situations. Wildly firing at intruders while in an apartment complex is a recipe for disaster. We’re responsible for every round that leaves the barrel of our guns. This isn’t a war environment and we’re not under Rules of Engagement — we’re under domestic state law and federal law as it applies.

Check your targets, don’t shoot through walls and doors without clearly seeing your target. Definitely stay armed and most certainly fight for your own survival. These thugs were obviously not coming in to check on the welfare of these people. Fighting was the only reasonable option.