Friday, November 4, 2011

Carrying and Using Concealed Weapon in Self Defense

Suppose I protect myself and shoot and kill an attacker? I assume the police will confiscate my firearm, and I'll be arrested. True?

After shooting, you would holster your weapon, call 911 and explain that there has been a shooting in which someone was attacking you and you were forced into a situation of self defense or be killed and you used your handgun to protect yourself; in the process of defending yourself, the attacker was shot and (injured/is believed to be dead/killed, depending on the situation).

In the situation in which you feel you did what you believed was right, if you can state the facts under the stress of the situation, then you would call 911.

The reality is that most people won't be able to state the facts of a very stressful situation after having shot and killed another person and not make statements or use wording that may get them charged with a crime. For example, if a person broke into a lawyers' home and the lawyer shot and killed the intruder, the lawyer would - without a doubt - call 911 and state the above information as it applied to the situation and then call his or her criminal defense attorney before answering any questions. Remember, EVERYTHING you say WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU IN A COURT OF LAW.

Whether the police will confiscate your weapon will depend upon the situation. You should be prepared to have your weapon confiscated, and you should if you plan to carry concealed have the name and number of a criminal defense lawyer with you for situations such as this.

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