When should you use your firearm? Expert talks gun rights after 2 shot by homeowner in White Lake garage break-in
One teenager is dead, and another is injured after a homeowner shot at a group of seven people who allegedly broke into his garage Tuesday morning in White Lake Township, Michigan.
The shooting now raises questions as to whether the homeowner had the right to use his firearm in this situation.
Police say two people were taken into custody for breaking into the detached garage, but they are still looking for other suspects. One of the people, a 17-year-old, died from their injuries.
"The homeowner was alerted through his surveillance system, at which point the homeowner came out and confronted the individuals," said Police Lieutenant Matthew Ivory. "You obviously do have the right to protect your life, and I just hope that it doesn't come to that."
Thomas Guynes, a CPL instructor and deputy with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, says it's important for every gun owner to understand the laws about when you can and cannot legally use your firearm in the state.
"There's only four times in the state of Michigan in which you can legally shoot someone, and that's great bodily harm or death to self, and the defense of another trying to prevent great bodily harm or death to another, criminal sexual conduct, and kidnapping. That's it."
In Michigan, gun owners are allowed to use force to defend themselves or others if they feel threatened. Guynes says it creates a grey area for situations like the one in White Lake Township.
"In the state of Michigan, we have the Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine which basically means if I'm legally occupying whatever space that I'm in and for whatever reason comes to me that meets the metric that I just spoke of, then I'm legally able to defend myself from that threat."
This case will now be forwarded to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for review.
