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Burglars fatally shot a homeowner in Shelby County, Tennessee, after he confronted them on his driveway.
The homeowner, 48-year-old Fernando Jones, yelled at the burglars from his front door.
According to WREG, the burglars attempted to steal a car from the driveway in the middle of the night. Jones confronted the burglars at about 3 a.m.
Homeowner Fatally Shot
The burglars shot at Jones several times, hitting him through the door, Fox 13 said.
Neighbors heard the shots and called the police. The officials found Jones in critical condition and took him to the nearby St Francis Hospital. He died there from the gunshot wounds.
The Shelby County Police are still looking for the suspects, and they have not identified them yet. The sheriff’s office posted a picture of a car in a BOLO, or “Be On the Look Out.”
The SCSO thinks the suspects escaped in a white Honda Accord. They encourage those with information to call in and assist with the investigation.
The suspects did not manage to steal the victim’s car.
The Neighbors Heard It All
Neighbors worried for their safety and spoke to the news without identifying themselves.
One neighbor said she heard the shots. “It sounded like a cannon almost, it went ‘boom boom,’ back to back,” she told Action 5 News.
Another neighbor heard the shots and five minutes later heard police sirens pass her home.
All of the neighbors described hearing a string of gunfire.
Was The Homeowner Armed?
The police currently have no eyewitnesses to the incident, and with Jones deceased, the details remain unclear.
What is known is that the homeowner did not fire at the burglars.
It remains uncertain whether the homeowner was armed and ready to defend himself or unprepared and caught off guard.
Conclusion
The odds are that someone in your life will be a victim of a crime. The odds of being fatally shot are surely lower, but do you want to risk that?
READ MORE: Wow! Small Town Sheriff Sentenced for Selling Machine Guns!
It is as simple as carrying a gun when people knock at your door. If someone is out there stealing a car, bringing a gun with you should be an easy choice.
Be prepared to defend yourself and the people you care about.
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It’s human nature to see what’s going on outside your house. Armed or not, he was risking his life. The wise thing to do is be sure you have the advantage before going outside, I’m not too sure I’m that wise.
Studying this I’d say get armed real fast, turn on all the outside lights. That would probably stop the thief. Then try to get the license tag and car description as he drives off. But Monday morning quarterbacking is real easy huh.
I don’t know Tennessee’s law on this but you have to have that mental toughness to stop yourself from reacting dangerously to situations like this. Most of us will want to intervene and stop the thieves but you have to teach yourself to make better decisions. I guarantee that if you could ask that poor man if trying to stop the thieves from stealing his car was worth his life, he’d say ‘no’. If you live in a state where protecting your property outside is legal and you want to go that route at least invest in body armor and some training so you have a chance. Sounds like this unfortunate man had neither. May those thieves rot.
Who in their right mind would go out and try to stop somebody from stealing their car in the middle of the night without a gun always armed when I go out at night
I thought it happened in Tennessee when it really happened in Memphis.
Um … Barry – are you just trying to be facetious?
my glock is worth more than all the police out on patrol! if you don’t have a gun then just let it go; you have a gun then just be ready to use it!
disclaimer: I’m not bad mouthing LE’s it’s just the nature of the beast that they can’t respond until after the crime has been committed.
Not all states look approvingly on attempting to protect personal property (cars and the like) with firearms. Some states still enforce a duty to retreat, which the story suggests the homeowner tried to do but was shot through the door anyway. Yes, in all states he would have been privileged to shoot back once fired upon, but in this case it would seem that he had no opportunity to do so, even if he’d been armed. Finally, more and more it would seem that car thieves in your driveway at 0-dark hundred will be armed and will shoot if interrupted. So unless you want to take the risk of being shot, you might want to call the police, who probably will show up long after your car is gone if they show up at all. Defunding the police has many unfortunate consequences.