Military Vet Faces Charges For Firing Warning Shot At Suspect Trying To Break Into Home
MEDFORD, Ore. (CBS Seattle) — A military veteran is facing criminal charges after firing a warning shot at a suspect trying to break into his house.
KDRV-TV reports that 36-year-old Corey Thompson fired a warning shot from his AR-15 rifle at 40-year-old Jonathon Kinsella after he tried to break into Thompson’s house through the back door.
“When I’m dealt with a stressful situation, being a veteran from Iraq and the Afghanistan war, it’s natural. I just jump into combat mode. I told him I’m going to give you a warning shot,” Thompson told KDRV.
Medford authorities, who were already on the scene after receiving a disturbance call, arrested Kinsella after seeing him running out into the parking lot following the gunshot. Police, though, say Thompson was in the wrong for firing his weapon.
“There was nothing that the suspect was doing that was aggressive enough to justify the shooting,” Lt. Mike Budreau told KDRV. “In fact, the suspect was walking away.”
Thompson explains he was not shooting directly at the suspect, just at the ground.
“I can see where they’re coming from, with those kinds of ordinances and stuff. I understand, yes, I did discharge my weapon, but I was careful not to fire it at anybody’s residence,” Thompson said. “It was at the ground specifically.”
Thompson has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon and menacing and reckless endangering and had his rifle confiscated. He will get his rife back if a judge finds him not guilty of the charges.
No comments:
Post a Comment