Johns Hopkins Undergrad Kills Burglar with a Samurai Sword

[dreamseeker]

i was under the impression that you couldn't use deadly force to defend your property.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by dreamseeker

i was under the impression that you couldn't use deadly force to defend your property.

I thought it depended on the state.

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

[DiamondAthena]

OMG, where r u Senusret? This sounds like something you would totally do to an intruder!

[PeppyGPhiB]

Hey, "rad" is back!

The burglar broke into the house. Doesn't the kid have a right to protect himself inside his home using deadly force if he feels the burglar (who lunged at him) is a threat to his life? I thought that was pretty universal?

[squirrely girl]

i don't think its completely odd - i have a samurai sword/katana that a military friend brought home from korea. i had it sharpened and i keep it on our living room wall. i would absolutely use it in a home break-in situation.

i'm just wondering if the kid was trained on the sword - might make a bit of a difference in whether charges get filed...

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by squirrely girl

i don't think its completely odd - i have a samurai sword/katana that a military friend brought home from korea. i had it sharpened and i keep it on our living room wall. i would absolutely use it in a home break-in situation.

i'm just wondering if the kid was trained on the sword - might make a bit of a difference in whether charges get filed...

See, I don't understand why. If it was a gun and he shot the guy three times until he had stopped/fallen to the ground, I don't think people would care whether he was trained or not. If a stranger breaks into my house, you bet I would assume he could harm me, and I'd defend myself with whatever I could find - baseball bat, gun, sword, Mag Light - and I don't think I'd stop until I thought the guy was no longer a danger to me (or until he ran off). Even if this guy's hand was practically chopped off, who's to say he didn't have a gun in his belt that he could shoot with the other hand?

I think home burglars have to be some of the stupidest people around, especially to do it at night when people are likely there.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

See, I don't understand why. If it was a gun and he shot the guy three times until he had stopped/fallen to the ground, I don't think people would care whether he was trained or not. If a stranger breaks into my house, you bet I would assume he could harm me, and I'd defend myself with whatever I could find - baseball bat, gun, sword, Mag Light - and I don't think I'd stop until I thought the guy was no longer a danger to me (or until he ran off). Even if this guy's hand was practically chopped off, who's to say he didn't have a gun in his belt that he could shoot with the other hand?

I think home burglars have to be some of the stupidest people around, especially to do it at night when people are likely there.

First off, I would like to say a Mag Light makes for a very good club. But to answer your point, he is going to be a little bit busy bleeding to death to be much of a danger.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

First off, I would like to say a Mag Light makes for a very good club. But to answer your point, he is going to be a little bit busy bleeding to death to be much of a danger.

That's why I listed it! I keep one in my bedside table drawer. And power outages is only one reason why.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

That's why I listed it! I keep one in my bedside table drawer. And power outages is only one reason why.

lol. I know somebody who accidentally took one to the chin. He was out light a light.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

See, I don't understand why. If it was a gun and he shot the guy three times until he had stopped/fallen to the ground, I don't think people would care whether he was trained or not. If a stranger breaks into my house, you bet I would assume he could harm me, and I'd defend myself with whatever I could find - baseball bat, gun, sword, Mag Light - and I don't think I'd stop until I thought the guy was no longer a danger to me (or until he ran off). Even if this guy's hand was practically chopped off, who's to say he didn't have a gun in his belt that he could shoot with the other hand?

I think home burglars have to be some of the stupidest people around, especially to do it at night when people are likely there.

This is entirely dependent upon the circumstances of the case and the law where you're at - hence why none of the lawyer contingent have (or will) chime in.

With that in mind . . . once he's cut the guy's hand off, further slices could well be construed as striking at an intruder who was already disabled or otherwise no longer a threat. This would be (nearly) akin to shooting an intruder in the back as he runs away, or shooting an intruder who is on his knees with his hands behind his head giving himself up, in some places that do not automatically allow deadly force - which we'd both agree should probably not be legal under all circumstances.

[littleowl33]

They released the name of the student. I won't post it here, but it turns out he's a senior who's a friend of a friend of mine. He's a pretty normal, white, middle-class kid. As of right now he's been released from custody and is home, free of any charges. His roommates were released earlier today. That's all I know.

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

With that in mind . . . once he's cut the guy's hand off, further slices could well be construed as striking at an intruder who was already disabled or otherwise no longer a threat. This would be (nearly) akin to shooting an intruder in the back as he runs away, or shooting an intruder who is on his knees with his hands behind his head giving himself up, in some places that do not automatically allow deadly force - which we'd both agree should probably not be legal under all circumstances.

Who says that the guys hand was cut off first? What if it was one of the final wounds? Even if the intruder were rendered hand-less early on in the altercation, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take him to the ground and incapacitate him. At that point, the intruder is fighting for his life, and I'm sure that he fought as hard as he could for as long as he could, despite a missing hand and lots of blood loss.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

Who says that the guys hand was cut off first? What if it was one of the final wounds? Even if the intruder were rendered hand-less early on in the altercation, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take him to the ground and incapacitate him. At that point, the intruder is fighting for his life, and I'm sure that he fought as hard as he could for as long as he could, despite a missing hand and lots of blood loss.

All of this is possible. It's a hypothetical. We don't know. I'm not even close to licensed in the state of MD. Take it easy - I'm merely pointing out there is a VERY legitimate pathway to legal action, even though I personally would find it distasteful.

[LAblondeGPhi]

Call me crazy, but I'd say the student can very reasonably argue that s/he was in fear for his/her life. If somebody lunges at me in the dark, and I have a sword in my hand, I'm going to have gallons of adrenaline running through my body and propelling that sword.

Unless, of course, if the student is a sociopath who was trained in Samurai sword fighting. I guess it depends on the credibility of the student.

[DaemonSeid]

A few problems with this:

1) he wasn't the owner of the property...that may be takeninto account.

2) The burglar wasn't in the house per se, he was in the garage.


The law may take that into account and state that he should have called the police rather than confront the perp.

This is what I also find a bit "disturbing" from one of the articles I read:

Kenny Eaton, 20, a junior political science major at Hopkins who lives nearby, said there was some tension between students and lower-income residents of nearby communities. The private Johns Hopkins is known for its health and science research and has about 4,600 undergraduates on its main campus.

"You take kids who are paying $50,000 a year (in tuition) and then put them out in a very dangerous city environment, it's almost like a clash of civilizations," he said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz0RDtG3hOX

Almost reflects on what I said earlier.

That area of town has seen massive change within the past 20 years...amazingly while JHU has grown quite a bit in that time, the areas around it has been allowed to go down thus creating this very atmosphere: gentrification.

I am so glad I left that area.