Man Shoots Lost Alzheimer's Patient Thinking He's A "Prowler"

[Andara Bledin]

You are both right- when you are aiming the gun, you aim at center mass, not at any extremity ( and not a headshot either) but as soon as the threat is over, you stop shooting. (with obvious allowances for if you have already pulled the trigger when the target surrenders)

While this is, of course, the logical response, if you only fire once and stop after the target goes down, many states will prosecute you for murder or manslaughter and reject your self defense plea based on the fact that firing only a single shot as opposed to multiple shots because if you were calm enough to stop someone with only one shot, you weren't legitimately in fear for your life. It's stupid, but how reality works out.

[Gravekeeper]

Not much new yet. The shooter has been identified as Joe Hendrix, but he has declined to comment on anything so far. The verbal commands he gave the victim were stop, identify yourself and raise your hands. Nothing on whether he specifically said "or I'll shoot" or not so far.

Looks like this is going to land right on top of Stand Your Ground. Under Georgia law, lethal force can only be used if the person is forcibly trying to enter your home and the occupants have a reasonable fear they're going to be attacked. Going outside to confront the person when they're not in the process of trying to forcibly enter the home doesn't count.

[Cia]

In some states using deadly force to protect mere property isn't legal, and most of the people that panic and shoot an innocent are ones that either have zero clue, or totally disregard basic firearm safety. Anyone can purchase a firearm*, not everyone knows or cares to learn how to properly use one. Which causes the stereotype of "redneck bubba with a beer in one hand and a rifle in the other" to gain traction.

*barring certain criminal convictions or mental health issues

Which is South Dakota, you can't use deadly force to protect your property in unless your life is in imminent danger. \0/ Firearm safety course. You can't shoot someone wandering around in your backyard. Close and lock the doors, turn the lights on and keep watch until the cops show up.

[Panacea]

And anyone thinking an Alzheimer patient is a harmless individual.

OK, let me stop you right here. Alzheimer's patients are NOT as a group more prone to violence than anyone else. Some can be aggressive, but not all, and not in every circumstance. The way you write it people should be afraid of violence from EVERY Alzheimer's patient, and that's just not true.

Alzheimer's changes personalities. Some become more passive others more aggressive. You can't paint them all with the same broad brush.

The thing about this case that really hits home with me was what the Sheriff said about folks with Alzheimers that they can't be watched 24/7.

Yes they can. Yes they CAN. This is why we need these folks to either have 24 hour live in care givers or skilled care facilities.

I hate the circumstances of this case; it makes me sick. This could have been my mother. I tried for two years to get her help, and the system would not help me. It took her wandering after midnight banging on neighbor's doors because she locked herself out of the house to get her help. Thank god they called the cops and WAITED. As it was, the cops thought she was a mental health case and took her to a hospital and not jail. It wasn't until she urinated on herself that the ER staff realized she had a UTI (which creates terrible confusion in the elderly).

My mom got lucky; I took the opportunity to get her evaluated for the Alzheimer's I knew she had, and get her into a locked skilled care facility where she has put on weight, and thrives.

The biggest question on MY mind is: where in the hell was this man's family? Where in the hell was the community to let this man live at home unsupervised?

This senseless death isn't just about guns. It's about our abandonment of our seniors.

[protege]

The thing about this case that really hits home with me was what the Sheriff said about folks with Alzheimers that they can't be watched 24/7.

Yes they can. Yes they CAN. This is why we need these folks to either have 24 hour live in care givers or skilled care facilities.

Unfortunately, many nursing or skilled care facilities are under-staffed or underfunded. They might only have 20 or so caretakers for over 100 residents. If so, they simply don't have the time to spend hours with everyone. Even with security systems, some residents manage to 'escape' and possibly die during the winter

Then you have some that simply don't give a shit. My grandmother had a stroke, and we had no choice but to put her in a home. After her stroke, she was confined to a wheelchair. Because she couldn't get her 'chair into the bathroom (at least not without help), she would sometimes attempt to walk across her bedroom, rather than wait for someone to help her. After she fell, and hit her head, we had someone posted in her room during the day.

The bitch (and I'm being nice) who we were paying to watch Grandma, decided that she would rather watch TV than do her damn job. She ignored Grandma...who had walked across the room, and fell again. Another head injury, and my mom was pissed. The bitch was fired after we threatened to sue for negligence.

It only took a minute for the fall

The biggest question on MY mind is: where in the hell was this man's family? Where in the hell was the community to let this man live at home unsupervised?

This senseless death isn't just about guns. It's about our abandonment of our seniors.

A lot of families simply don't want to deal with their older relatives. To them, they simply dump the "unwanted problem" in a home, and hope it goes away. I've posted about how my uncle and aunt didn't want to deal with Grandma (their mom) and her mental issues. They saw it as an inconvenience. Sadly, this attitude is very common--quite a few of my grandmother's fellow residents were truly alone. They never got visitors

Granted, some of them had serious mental issues. My grandmother wasn't alone in that regard. When I'd take her on a car ride, just to get her out of that place for an hour, she sometimes drove me nuts. She'd ask the same questions over and over for an hour. I can remember wanting to put the car into a tree...just so she'd shut up

I can understand the attitude, even if I don't agree with it. Taking care of someone, who cannot care for herself, is difficult. But, it's the right thing to do.