Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire So, if an honest citizen steps up and

Here's a question that's been bugging me, thought I would throw it out on the table for discussion.

If a clean, honest citizen, say his name was...Sam, was at the concert and the shooter in the hotel starts shooting at the masses...if Sam finds, comes upon, or goes back to his vehicle and gets a standard deer hunting rifle and takes aim at the illegal shooter up in the tower of the hotel and shoots him, from the area where all the other concert attendees are standing around, and shoots the sniper either dead or wounds him enough to incapacitate him.

Now, upon those actions would Sam be liable for any legal infringement, broken laws, illegal shooting, shooting someone, or would the justice/legal/court system find Sam to be free and clear of any illegal actions?

The question: did Sam (who is basically any American 100% legal citizen that had a deer rifle in his vehicle and he retrieved it and shot the sniper in the hotel) break any laws or is Sam now a national hero. (legally speaking, not just in opinion.)


This is a serious question and one that I think merits discussion.

Shooter would sue him

If it were my state's DNR, they'd ticket him for hunting at night.

I guess it depends on where Sam lives.

He stopped someone committing a felony, which in many places allows the use of deadly force.

Out here in AZ, he would be hailed as a hero. If Sam did that in MA, maybe not.

Sam will get killed by the backup before he ever gets up there to shoot the corpse. That or the team itself will shoot him. Get real. These guys are well trained.

He's good if he has one of those Terrorist Hunting Permits on the back window of his F250.

ah...but if it's expired, then what?

Legal question, and a good answer would come from a real attorney.

FWIW, as I read Utah law, returning fire to save lives would be a protected act. Sam would also be protected if one of his shots accidentally hit an innocent bystander. No idea about Nevada law.

I am assuming that by going to his car...Sam was no longer in imminent danger. But his actions saved lives and stopped a mass shooting. In criminal court, and depending on the State the event took place, I think the court would side with Sam.

If it then became a civil suit, I still think Sam would win, however, it would probably cost him his life savings and then some to fight it.

I can’t see any laws broken. Certainly none that aren’t excused under the doctrine of necessity. This very thing occurred during the famous clock tower sniper situation. Folks pulled scoped deer rifles out of their trunks and pinned him down, limiting his ability to shoot back. It likely saved many lives.

Yep...

Providing that Sam wasn't mistakenly killed by the police or some other citizen, I doubt a prosecutor in America would charge him. He would be a hero on Fox and you wouldn't hear a thing about him on CNN or MSNBC.


Times have changed. When Charles Whitman opened up from the tower in Austin several people soon began returning fire from personal rifles carried in their rigs. There are videos showing the bullet strikes from that return fire. And instead of waiting for SWAT teams since there weren't any back then, a civilian and three police officers went up there to get him, although only two of the officers actually shot him.

In 1966 at the University of Texas a guy was shooting people from the tower. People on the ground returned fire and kept the shooter ducking. If my memory serves me correctly a group made their way up the tower and eventually killed the shooter. I think there was one that wasn't a Law Enforcement Officer. The news videos of the time showed people that had rifles in their vehicles returning fire. The people were seen as doing what needed to be done and the police weren't equipped any better to deal with a shooter in that position.

Jim you beat me!

The question boils down to a DA and a jury. Would a DA seek charges, and would a jury convict? This legal system is still a "We, the People" system, even though the government likes to pretend otherwise.

He'd definitely be breaking some laws but if he stopped Paddock mid-rampage I don't believe any jury would convict him.

LOL, "get real." Thanks for the laugh.

Depends on Los Vegas laws.

And I beat you and Jim both.

Yep. I missed your post completely.

My wife asked me if anyone had shot back at the guy in Vegas and if they had could they have hit him. I told her about the Tower shooter and how many lives were possibly saved by him having to take cover, even when the possibility of him getting hit was low. Lives could have likely been saved in the Vegas shooting too, had someone been able to return fire.

Curt Russel was in the movie I think.