Assailant Shot By Would-Be Victim; Cops Cite Stand Your Ground Law
Police in Tallahassee, Florida, said a man taken to the hospital was the aggressor in a Sunday altercation that ended with a gunshot.
Police in Tallahassee, Florida, said a man taken to the hospital was the aggressor in a Sunday altercation that ended with a gunshot.
The incident took place at a Walgreen’s store, Fox49.tv, a local TV station, reported. Police say that the wounded man “aggressively approached the victim,” who fired a shot that struck the assailant.
The wounded assailant was transported to a local hospital, where he received treatment for non-life threatening injuries, according to FOX49.tv. Police and prosecutors elected not to charge the armed citizen, citing Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
Florida passed its “stand your ground” law in the wake of a November 2004 incident involving a 77-year-old man who fatally shot an intruder who entered the RV in which the elderly man and his wife were staying in following a hurricane, according to The Trace, a media outlet tied to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control group funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The elderly man was investigated for three months until it was determined that his actions were justified.
In 2005, then-Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed the legislation that codified the “Castle Doctrine” and also enacted the “stand your ground” provision. Under the law, a person is entitled to defend themselves without being required to retreat as long as they have a legal right to be in a given location when assaulted.