To clarify this video isn't linked in the article (at least not anymore). It really turns this guy from a sympathetic figure to a douche IMHO. FTR I'm a staunch supporter of gun rights and the US 2nd amendment (I believe it guarantees a certain level of decentralization, but that's irrelevant to the point I'm about to make), but this guy coming out and yelling at her while holding a shotgun is totally inappropriate, as is him posting this video of her on the internet presumably without her permission. True he didn't point the shotgun at her (at which point she would have been justified using deadly force, should she have been carrying a weapon herself), but simply holding it is a douche move meant to intimidate unnecessarily. No reasonable person would think she posed an imminent physical threat to him (therefore justifying the calling forth of his weapon). She was trying to flee and he called her back! Posting to the internet also isn't going to help her problems finding a job.
It does have a mostly happy ending, but he's lucky she wasn't armed herself.
>at which point she would have been justified using deadly force, should she have been carrying a weapon herself
I suppose you missed the part where she tried to steal from him on his property? Regardless of the lack of moral justification for her to turn a theft into an armed robbery, WA is a castle doctrine state.
If you don't want guns pointed at you, don't steal from innocent people, especially not at their homes.
I'm not familiar with WA state gun laws, but Alaska (where I am familiar) is a castle doctrine state too, but you aren't allowed to shoot someone in the back who is fleeing even if they did just try to rob you. It also matters whether the person is inside the house, or simply outside but on the property. I don't know for certain, but I don't believe you can use deadly for to protect property either, only life.
> If you don't want guns pointed at you, don't steal from innocent people, especially not at their homes.
I'll agree with you there, although I will state that it's poor firearm practice to point at something you don't intend to shoot (I know he didn't point it at her, just stating as a general rule since many people that read this board are totally unfamiliar with firearms).
I also don't think he really thought he was in any danger, as evidenced by the fact that he opened the door before calling for his weapon. If he really thought he was in danger, that would have been a foolish mistake.
That all said, I do cut the guy some slack because adrenaline makes us do and say things that we may never have done if rational faculties were engaged. This is why training is so important. You fall back on your training when adrenaline kicks in. If you have no training, you'll most assuredly do something unwise that you will regret later with a clear head.
> but you aren't allowed to shoot someone in the back who is fleeing even if they did just try to rob you.
This will probably vary from state to state and maybe even from locality to locality. A gas station attendant in Indiana shot and killed a man fleeing from an attempted hold-up. The police cleared the attendant.
If a person is willing to steal something off a front porch, you can't make the assumption that they're unarmed, and won't turn around and shoot you.
It does have a mostly happy ending, but he's lucky she wasn't armed herself.