Georgia Man Shoots and Kills Man in His Backyard

[WildBill]

A very sad story.

Authorities in northwest Georgia say a man shot and killed a 72-year-old who he thought might be an intruder but turned out to be a wandering Alzheimer's patient.

Walker County police told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that Ronald Westbrook had walked about 3 miles in the sub-freezing temperatures before knocking on Joe Hendrix's door just before 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Hendrix's fiancee didn't answer, instead calling police. Sheriff Steve Wilson said before deputies arrived, Hendrix went into the backyard with his handgun, where he saw Westbrook in silhouette.

Wilson says the 34-year-old Hendrix recalled giving Westbrook several verbal commands, but the advanced Alzheimer's patient didn't respond. Hendrix then fired four shots.

Wilson says charges could be filed but says Hendrix didn't violate any laws by walking out into his own yard.

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[Middle Age Russ]

Tragic, sad situation.

[texanjoker]

Tragic, sad situation.

[rbwhatever1]

Very sad situation that could have been avoided by knowing ones target before engaging. I live in the middle of nowhere and will take a bullet before I shoot a person I cannot identify as friend, foe or family. A good flashlight would have stopped this. I use a black & decker spotlight to check my property when the LGD's go off....

Not a good shoot at all.

[jmra]

Very sad situation that could have been avoided by knowing ones target before engaging. I live in the middle of nowhere and will take a bullet before I shoot a person I cannot identify as friend, foe or family. A good flashlight would have stopped this. I use a black & decker spotlight to check my property when the LGD's go off....

Not a good shoot at all.

Someone can come in my back yard and knock on my door all they want. I'll call the police if I feel the need, but shots don't fly unless there ceases to be a barrier between the individual and my family.

[Middle Age Russ]

From the article I read, I did not pick up any specific indication of lighting or a solid feeling of distance. I don't know what the homeowner perceived or felt at the time, and won't personally jump to the conclusion that it is a bad shoot though it is equally unclear that it is a good shoot. I come back to it being a tragedy, and perhaps preventable. Lord willing, I'll never be in the position of either of the involved parties under similar circumstances.

Thanks, WildBill, for refreshing my memory (in the following post) since I posted this morning after initially reading the article last night. I appreciate the time of day and the one comment about the silhouette. If that is complete information regarding the lighting, then perhaps shooting was ill-considered. Still, there may be other factors that weighed into the decision to fire. Again, I don't think I know enough to be comfortable in labeling this a good or bad shoot with what has been reported.

[WildBill]

From the article I read, I did not pick up any specific indication of lighting or a solid feeling of distance. I don't know what the homeowner perceived or felt at the time, and won't personally jump to the conclusion that it is a bad shoot though it is equally unclear that it is a good shoot. I come back to it being a tragedy, and perhaps preventable. Lord willing, I'll never be in the position of either of the involved parties under similar circumstances.

The article said it was at 4 AM and that the shooter saw a silhouette of a person.

[Running Arrow Bill]

Know your target and what's behind it...
Don't fire unless YOU and YOURS are under direct THREAT for harm or death.
Nuff said...

[Moby]

From the article I read, I did not pick up any specific indication of lighting or a solid feeling of distance. I don't know what the homeowner perceived or felt at the time, and won't personally jump to the conclusion that it is a bad shoot though it is equally unclear that it is a good shoot. I come back to it being a tragedy, and perhaps preventable. Lord willing, I'll never be in the position of either of the involved parties under similar circumstances.

The article said it was at 4 AM and that the shooter saw a silhouette of a person.

I respectfully disagree WildBill. Not nearly enough said. 4 am, a man in my backyard, that refuses commands, and is approaching me. Direct threat???

Not enough information, we were not in the shooters shoes. I don't know if I would or wouldn't have shot.
Stand your ground laws are laws meant to protect homeowners defending their homes.
Hindsight saying a light would have solved the problem also seems a quick judgment. If I had a light and a mentally off man approached me after multiple
commands to stop.....would I retreat? Does stand my ground mean that?

This is a terrible incident. But I'll not be so quick to judge a man when I am not clear on what exactly happened.
Approach me at 4 am in my backyard ignoring my commands to stop....I'm not sure if I'd run in the house or fire.
I do not believe Texas law requires me to run. I do think I'll put a clip on the back fence to keep the gate from opening.

One thing I feel I am sure of is the homeowner must feel horrible. But I'll not be judge & jury without more than an article.
Humbly submitted.

[bizarrenormality]

A good flashlight would have stopped this.

How do we know he didn't have a flashlight or that a flashlight would have made any difference? The article says the homeowner saw the other man well enough to know the stranger wasn't responding to his oral commands.

It's a tragic outcome for sure and one the homeowner will have to live with, but I can't fault him legally. The stranger was, according to the article, quite plainly not in his right mind at the time of the shooting.

[WildBill]

From the article I read, I did not pick up any specific indication of lighting or a solid feeling of distance. I don't know what the homeowner perceived or felt at the time, and won't personally jump to the conclusion that it is a bad shoot though it is equally unclear that it is a good shoot. I come back to it being a tragedy, and perhaps preventable. Lord willing, I'll never be in the position of either of the involved parties under similar circumstances.

The article said it was at 4 AM and that the shooter saw a silhouette of a person.

I respectfully disagree WildBill. Not nearly enough said. 4 am, a man in my backyard, that refuses commands, and is approaching me. Direct threat???

Not enough information, we were not in the shooters shoes. I don't know if I would or wouldn't have shot.
Stand your ground laws are laws meant to protect homeowners defending their homes.
Hindsight saying a light would have solved the problem also seems a quick judgment. If I had a light and a mentally off man approached me after multiple
commands to stop.....would I retreat? Does stand my ground mean that?

This is a terrible incident. But I'll not be so quick to judge a man when I am not clear on what exactly happened.
Approach me at 4 am in my backyard ignoring my commands to stop....I'm not sure if I'd run in the house or fire.
I do not believe Texas law requires me to run. I do think I'll put a clip on the back fence to keep the gate from opening.

One thing I feel I am sure of is the homeowner must feel horrible. But I'll not be judge & jury without more than an article.
Humbly submitted.

Disagree with what? I have made no judgement about the shooting. I responded to Middle Age Russ and stated the time of the shooting [4 AM] reported in the article and the report that the shooter saw a silhouette of a man.

I do agree that the homeowner must feel horrible.

[Oldgringo]

We live across the road from a nursing home. There have been, over the years, several elderly patients who have gone on a 'walk-about' from that facility. Fortunately, I've never had to shoot any of them.

Come to think about it, I'm elderly. I'll be obliged if nobody shoots me before my time.

[jmra]

We live across the road from a nursing home. There have been, over the years, several elderly patients who have gone on a 'walk-about' from that facility. Fortunately, I've never had to shoot any of them.

Come to think about it, I'm elderly. I'll be obliged if nobody shoots me before my time.

If I'm far enough gone that I don't know who or where I am, feel free to fire away.

[RogueUSMC]

We live across the road from a nursing home. There have been, over the years, several elderly patients who have gone on a 'walk-about' from that facility. Fortunately, I've never had to shoot any of them.

Come to think about it, I'm elderly. I'll be obliged if nobody shoots me before my time.

If I'm far enough gone that I don't know who or where I am, feel free to fire away.

Provided you know how to shoot...don't leave me in a further vegistative state.

[rbwhatever1]

We live across the road from a nursing home. There have been, over the years, several elderly patients who have gone on a 'walk-about' from that facility. Fortunately, I've never had to shoot any of them.

Come to think about it, I'm elderly. I'll be obliged if nobody shoots me before my time.

If I'm far enough gone that I don't know who or where I am, feel free to fire away.

Provided you know how to shoot...don't leave me in a further vegistative state.

I agree! Fire away and with a clean shot please. Who wants those years anyway? I'll instruct my kids to strap my empty Bushmaster over my shoulder, put a black ski mask on me and drop me in a nice neighborhood...