This case sounds similar to the 2020 shooting death of Ryan Whitaker in Phoenix. Someone called to report a domestic disturbance in an apartment. Turns out, there was no domestic violence. The man and woman were only playing videogames. But, when the police knocked, the man answered the door while holding a handgun. When he saw they were cops, he immediately started to put the gun down, but the police shot him, anyway. (The video is on YouTube.)
Both cases are sad. These shootings should’ve never happened.
But, why don’t people just look through the peephole to see who’s on the other side of the door? Swinging the door open with a gun in your hand doesn’t seem like a good idea.
This may be why looking through the peep hole is a bad idea: