One afternoon, a group of friends were boating in a canal in Charlotte County, Florida.
As they were traveling in the canal, they passed the home of 82-year-old Dennis F., who yelled at them.
As the boaters got closer to Dennis, they saw he had a gun in his hand, and repeatedly yelled the canal was a no-wake zone.
Then, Dennis told the boaters he would show them what the gun could do, and he fired in the direction of the boat.
Deputies responded to the area after a neighbor called 911. The neighbor said that they watched Dennis chamber a round in his pistol and then heard a gunshot.
The shooter appeared to be intoxicated and was stumbling around.
Dennis admitted to deputies that he fired his gun. He said it was a warning shot to scare the boaters into slowing down in the canal.
He also admitted that he had been drinking.
Dennis was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and using a firearm while intoxicated.
I don’t believe you should ever fire a warning shot.
Hollywood might portray warning shots as an effective tool to stop someone in their tracks, but don’t ever take gun advice from Hollywood.
Here are a few reasons why warning shots are a terrible idea:
Legal issues:
If you discharge a firearm in a confrontation, it constitutes deadly force.
Which means, if you are not justified in using deadly force then you should not fire the gun.
If the situation doesn’t justify shooting and eliminating a threat, it won’t justify shooting a warning shot.
If you pull the trigger, the intent should be to stop a threat.
You don’t want to have to testify you fired the gun to scare the person, because in many places that could be considered reckless endangerment or another crime.
Hurt an innocent person:
Another danger with warning shots is that you never know who or what you could hit.
Even if you shoot into the air, your round will eventually come down and could strike an innocent person.
You can’t say with 100% certainty that no one will get hurt.
Wasting ammo:
In a life-or-death situation, every bullet counts.
A lot of folks don’t carry extra mags. So, in a self-defense shooting, ammo is a big deal.
The last thing you want to do is fire two warning shots and then have to engage the threat directly.
That means two bullets were wasted that could have saved your life. If it’s a five-shot revolver, you are left with three bullets.
Weakness:
Anyone who owns a gun should be prepared to use it. If you are not prepared to use a gun against another person in self-defense there is no reason to carry it.
If you fire warning shots as the criminal is threatening you, it shows you likely aren’t prepared to shoot the threat and it can empower the criminal.
In a self-defense situation, reluctance to defend yourself can put you in even more danger.
That truth is, from putting others in danger to making an attacker bolder, there is nothing good that can come from warning shots.
