Can I shoot a perpetrator to stop a mass murder?

[Crash]

Is it legal, in Texas, for a CHL holder to shoot a perpetrator who is in the act of committing mass murder? And, if it is legal, would it be legal to go so far as to shoot him or her in the back to stop the murders?

Crash

[JP171]

I think yes, but you had better be sure cause you Are gonna take a ride

[ScottDLS]

No. You are required by law to offer the shooter the opportunity to to complete his attack. Only then you may call the police who are the only ones who should have guns anyway. Why are you walking around with a loaded weapon? You WILL take the ride.

[ELB]

Texas Penal Code, Chapter 9, Justification Excluding Criminal Responsibility, Section 9.33, Defense of Third Person:

Sec. 9.33. DEFENSE OF THIRD PERSON. A person is justified in using force or deadly force against another to protect a third person if:

(1) under the circumstances as the actor reasonably believes them to be, the actor would be justified under Section 9.31 or 9.32 in using force or deadly force to protect himself against the unlawful force or unlawful deadly force he reasonably believes to be threatening the third person he seeks to protect; and

(2) the actor reasonably believes that his intervention is immediately necessary to protect the third person.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... 9.htm#9.33

[Crash]

ScottDLS,

You are being facetious, right, when you say, "No. You are required by law to offer the shooter the opportunity to to complete his attack. Only then you may call the police who are the only ones who should have guns anyway. Why are you walking around with a loaded weapon? You WILL take the ride."? Do you really think that I am required by law to "offer the shooter the opportunity to complete his attack." And, as I thought I had made clear in my original posting, the question applied to a CHL-holder who certainly has the legal right to "walk around with a loaded gun."

Please tell me that you were not serious....

Crash

[ScottDLS]

ScottDLS,

You are being facetious, right, when you say, "No. You are required by law to offer the shooter the opportunity to to complete his attack. Only then you may call the police who are the only ones who should have guns anyway. Why are you walking around with a loaded weapon? You WILL take the ride."? Do you really think that I am required by law to "offer the shooter the opportunity to complete his attack." And, as I thought I had made clear in my original posting, the question applied to a CHL-holder who certainly has the legal right to "walk around with a loaded gun."

Please tell me that you were not serious....

Crash

Stopping mass murder is pretty much the reason that CHL was passed (see Killeen Luby's Masscre). There's a clear justification in the law for use of deadly force to prevent murder. It should be covered in CHL class. I was reacting to contention that you would "take the ride". Of course you would be interviewed by the police if you stopped a mass murder with a handgun, but any prosecutor that would pursued it would probably be lynched. At least in Texas. Maybe in New York they'd indict you for violating the terrorists civil rights.

[TVegas]

ScottDLS,

You are being facetious, right, when you say, "No. You are required by law to offer the shooter the opportunity to to complete his attack. Only then you may call the police who are the only ones who should have guns anyway. Why are you walking around with a loaded weapon? You WILL take the ride."? Do you really think that I am required by law to "offer the shooter the opportunity to complete his attack." And, as I thought I had made clear in my original posting, the question applied to a CHL-holder who certainly has the legal right to "walk around with a loaded gun."

Please tell me that you were not serious....

Crash

Sarcasm...

[mojo84]

Yes, you can use your gun to stop a mass murderer in the act or fleeing.

I also do not believe it's a forgone conclusion you'll "take a ride".

[ScottDLS]

Someone in the process of committing mass-murder? You shoot him in the back of the head, no warning; it's not a game.

What, no warning shot? Couldn't you try to shoot them in the leg or use a taser or something non-lethal? I carry OC spray for just such a situation.

[baldeagle]

Someone in the process of committing mass-murder? You shoot him in the back of the head, no warning, and you put him/them down; it's not a game.

[MeMelYup]

Someone in the process of committing mass-murder? You shoot him in the back of the head, no warning, and you put him/them down; it's not a game.

Like

[The Wall]

Yes!

[jason812]

If you have the legal right to use deadly force, it does not matter if the person is facing you or not. It's a myth perpetrated by watching too many westerns.

[n5wd]

Someone in the process of committing mass-murder? You shoot him in the back of the head, no warning, and you put him/them down; it's not a game.

Back of the head or spine - sometimes going for center mass is good if you aren't up close and personal.