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Stepfather kills Daughter, thinks she is a burglar

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In the wee hours of the morning in Colorado Springs, a 14 year old girl was shot dead by her father as she climbed through a window because he mistook her for an intruder. She died at the hospital from gunshot wounds.

5HWhen the news broke of this story, it brought the gun advocates and gun opponents out of the woodwork. Guns spelled backwards is snug; some people get too snug with their guns, as was the case of the girl’s father, who was not arrested according to the report.

In the right hands, guns can be an enjoyable part of target shooting. The purpose of a gun should be that of protection, but at the same time, the person who wants to protect himself also needs to add some mental stability and smart thinking to the equation. The man who killed his daughter wasn’t what you’d call unstable (in a corrupt, immoral sense), but he certainly wasn’t thinking clearly, either.

Guns have been proven to protect the good guys from the bad guys, especially those in high risk professions. But what’s frightening is that some gun owners just aren’t savvy or informed enough to properly handle a gun in the face of threat or perceived threat.

Too many family members are being shot to death by another family member in their own homes—not because of an argument gone bad, but because of mistaken identity. Would that girl have been shot had the house been equipped with an alarm system?

It’s all about common sense. In the hands of a person with common sense (and a regard for life), guns usually are not a problem.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

82 Year Old Man Shoots Burglars, Faces Charges

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Guns, guns, guns. Americans love their guns. Guns definitely are a layer of security. They can save your life and they can also be used against you and they can also get you in lots and lots of trouble.

An elderly man is now facing two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building for shooting 2 people outside of his home. He believed they were trying to get in, and his belief was affirmed when one of them tossed a boulder through one of his windows.

His attorney stated “This is the victim here, an 82-year-old man with no criminal record. He defended life and property.”

The Assistant District Attorney was quoted saying “We don’t live in a place where you can just fire from a window. It is fortunate no one died.”

True.

It definitely isn’t a good idea to shoot someone outside of your home even on your property. However in some states the laws side with homeowners when shooting trespassers.

I appeared on the Maury Povich show to discuss weaponry and self defense. The premise was the shows subjects were facing jail time or in jail because they killed their attackers, which almost happened in the above scenario.

Some of the subjects were victims of domestic violence where others were victims of home invasions or stalking.

So maybe the guy “jumped the gun”, maybe he was legitimately at risk.

The first layer of protection should always be locked secure doors and windows. A monitored home security alarm should run parallel to a secure perimeter. In the above situation with a proper alarm that included glass break sensors, law enforcement would have been alerted the moment the glass broke. The piecing alarm may have also made the burglars think twice.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Maury Povich. Disclosures