Posted on 09/07/2010 8:01:18 PM PDT by Coleus
A homeowner who grabbed a rifle from his house and fired warning shots in a confrontation with a group of men on his lawn faces criminal charges, but his family said he was defending his home from a threatening mass of strangers.
George Grier, 30, fired rounds into the ground and air from an assault-style rifle after arguing with a large group of men gathered outside his Long Island home Sunday evening, Nassau County police said Monday. No one was hurt.
His sister, Caprice Rines, said Grier feared for the safety of his wife and two small children when about 20 men converged on his Uniondale lawn after two of them began quarreling. He didn't know the men, who ignored his requests to leave and kept approaching the house, she said.
If that were me, I probably would have just called the police department first and let them handle it. If they were illegal aliens, they probably would have run away when the cops showed up. And, he probably could have conveyed his message by just brandishing his rifle instead of actually shooting it where he could have killed somebody for loitering on his lawn.
Dumbass prosecutor.
What the hell is an “assault-style rifle”?
I'd have fired ONCE into the ground directly in front of the approaching fighter. The next shot would have found a much softer target...
Call the cops and wait for them to come thru the front door. Firing bullets into the air can kill someone else.
“Shannon Smith had been an award-winning athlete and honor student, and had graduated from the eighth grade a few weeks prior to her death. While standing in her backyard and talking on the telephone with a friend, a stray bullet hit her in her head, causing instant death. Smith’s death sparked a furor among Arizona residents. Her funeral was attended by approximately 1,300 mourners.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon%27s_law_%28Arizona%29
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/03107.htm
The best warning shots would be into the soft target first.
The dirt is no threat.
That said, he had the wrong firearm with him. A 12 gauge with 00 buck would be a far more effective tool. For noise effect, a 410 would work well too.
"Get off my lawn!"
Quickdraw!
Call 911 and Die
http://www.amazon.com/Dial-911-Die-Richard-Stevens/dp/0964230445/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283914961&sr=1-1
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL AN “ASSAULT-STYLE” WEAPON! LOL!
One of the most basic rules of marksmanship is know what you are shooting at and be sure of your backstop (what your bullet will hit if you miss or your bullet goes through your target).
If you are shooting in the air you have know idea what you are shooting at or where your bullet will eventually come to rest.
I have read of many tragedies caused by hunters and shooters who did not follow these two simple rules.
I agree this man had the right to defend his home but he did recklessly fire his rifle in the air. He may be guilty of reckless endangerment of his neighbors.
And wait 40 minutes for the cops to show up?
A deer rifle....
Totally Awesome Guns and Range commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAyJhnrCQFw
Love that movie!
For all you and I know...the guy had blanks!
It was great.
George Grier said he had to use his rifle on Sunday night to stop what he thought was going to be an invasion of his Uniondale home by a gang he thought might have been the vicious “MS-13.” He said the whole deal happened as he was about to drive his cousin home.
“I went around and went into the house, ran upstairs and told my wife to call the police. I get the gun and I go outside and I come into the doorway and now, by this time, they are in the driveway, back here near the house. I tell them, you know, ‘Can you please leave?’ Grier said.
Grier said the five men dared him to use the gun; and that their shouts brought another larger group of gang members in front of his house.
“He starts threatening my family, my life. ‘Oh you’re dead. I’m gonna kill your family and your babies. You’re dead.’ So when he says that, 20 others guys come rushing around the corner. And so I fired four warning shots into the grass,” Grier said.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/09/07/long-island-man-arrested-for-defending-home-with-ak-47/
Wasn't that the point he was making?
One more reason down here we say Southern by the Grace of God!
What goes up, must come down.
I don’t live far from the scene of the incident, and from what our local papers are saying the mob on the man’s lawn were hispanic gang members. From photos, Mr. Grier is a black man. The town of Uniondale is primarily black and hispanic and is not a very nice place. In the last 25 years or so, the area has become very crime ridden. The papers do not say why these gang members were on Grier’s lawn in the first place, but it seems terrible that a homeowner cannot protect his own domicile from harm. I did not know that Long Island would consider Grier’s action criminal. Can’t wait to leave this place.
Yep. Clint Eastwood. A M1 Garand. What could be wrong with that?
You may be right.
But if he did it would be obvious to the guys on his lawn.
To fire blanks from a semi-auto rifle you have to do one of two things.
One; manually cycle the bolt for each shot.
Two; install a special attachment over the muzzle of the rifle to provide the backpressure necessary to cycle the bolt automatically. (Typically this attachment is about three times the size of the muzzle of the rifle and painted orange so that the training officer can see that it is installed)
Either one of these things makes it obvious to anyone familiar with guns that you are firing blanks.
If you have a recoil operated semi-auto you just have to manually cycle the bolt.
Do we know he was arrested for the air shot and not for firing, period?
Is that a good movie? Someone gave me the DVD for my birthday, but I still haven't watched. Clint lost me as a fan with the craptastic movie about the girl boxer who pulled the plug at the end.
‘Firing bullets into the air can kill someone else.’
I guess you didn’t read the article. Read before posting.
Go read it again if you’re missing my point.
In NY this is probably true.
I merely state that firing in the air is reckless. No one should do that especially in an urban setting. You cannot predict where the shot will land.
The smart way to fire a warning shot is to fire in to the ground as close to vertically as possible
Of course firing a warning shot at all is debatable.
Warning shots are for idiots that saw too many movies.
Great movie...if you enjoy watching un-politically correct tough old codgers delivering beat-downs on hip-hop gang thugs!
Watch it, I think you will like it. (for the record, that other movie did nothing for me either...I thought it was BS)
“What goes up, must come down.”
But shots FIRED INTO one’s lawn need not come UP!
This guy did a few very stupid things. He showed a weapon before one was, strictly speaking, necessary, hoping it would talk for him, thus telegraphing fear. He fired 4 “warning” shots into the ground after being challenged by a punk who correctly assessed that he was afraid of using the gun. He fired a shot into the air.
Guns are very serious things; when a man points one he ought to mean it. Guns aren’t made for negotiation.
They wouldn't know a cap pistol from a .270 rifle......
Based on the story linked from post 22, I’d have to take this guy’s side 100%. I hope the courts rule in his favor. He’ll probably have to move his family away now, though.
This story reminds me of another story in NY a few years ago. In that story, the homeowner used an old gun that wasn’t registered, and a teen was killed. The homeowner was sentenced to two years.
I hope this guy isn’t charged with anything. He only shot warning shots. With all the gang activity, how else are the residents supposed to protect themselves?
They're for use AFTER the warnings have failed.
I had to sit there quite some time...during the credits. Kinda choked up....
My girl really liked the movie too...we laughed out loud 5-6 times....
You should watch it, FRiend.
Best FRegards,
Put me on the jury.
This guy’s mistake was going outside.
1) Call police.
2) Close and lock all doors and windows.
3) Wait.
4) If perps enter,shoot to kill.
Never go outside with a weapon in the case of home defence.
Regards,
GtG
I am sure myth busters may have to do this but I think a 7.62 round shot “in the air” would not do much more harm that taking that same bullet and throwing it as hard as you can at someone.
Think terminal velocity. If it was fired at less than a 45 degree arc than it would have been dangerous.
to imagine terminal velocity of an object, you can imagine driving a car and having that object(a bullet) suspended on a string outside the window. Now drive the car fast enough to have that object on a string reach a 45 degree angle(fudging for the string drag) and you have the terminal velocity for that object.
A paper cups terminal velocity might be 10 MPH and a penny’s terminal velocity might be 30 MPH. A tumbling bullet? I don’t know.
I am guessing it would be about as fast as a MLB pitcher could throw it and it would suck to get hit by it but I don’t think it would be deadly, unless it hit you in the eye and if that happened it just wasn’t your day.
Not much...FRiend.
You: “I guess you didn’t read the article. Read before posting.”
Article: “George Grier, 30, fired rounds into the ground and air “
I read the article, and YOU need to read before criticizing someone else.
A San Antonio man was shot 13 times. As police investigated, gangs began to fight. As arrests commenced, rioting broke out in the neighborhood. I saw this reported on broadcast tv last night.
Dunno about that. Did they get off his lawn and leave him and his family alone?
That was what he was trying to accomplish, wasn't it?
No one died. No one was hurt. They left him alone. Seems like an effective negotiation strategy to me.
And in general ... if your house is being surrounded by 10-20 gang members, the last thing you want to do is to attract their attention in a hostile way. It might be a manly thing to do, but tactically it is unwise. Most likely they don't even know or care about your existence. You gain nothing by revealing yourself and your capabilities. Negotiations with gangs are unlikely anyway; the only people you can negotiate with are probably nice enough that you don't need to.
So from my "monday morning quarterback" POV, the best plan of action for him would be to call the police, then to hunker down at the house, distribute weapons and ammo to all able family members and allocate them to cover doors and windows. If any of these entry points is breached by criminals then the defenders have clear legal right to use deadly force.
“I am sure myth busters may have to do this but I think a 7.62 round shot “in the air” would not do much more harm that taking that same bullet and throwing it as hard as you can at someone.”
Wrong. They can kill when they come down unless you manage a perfect 90 deg into the air shot.
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