Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- On 8 August, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky, at about 06:30 a.m., Shawn Michael Woods is reported as breaking into multiple apartments in an address near Martin Luther King Dr. He is said to have broken into one woman’s apartment and tried to crawl into bed with her. A business owner in the area said he had multiple problems with Woods. From wkyt.com:
Lexington police say the shooting happened around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. The person who shot Woods lived in the apartment complex.
Investigators believe Woods was breaking into multiple apartments throughout the morning after talking to witnesses.
A neighboring business owner told WKYT he had several run-ins with Woods in the last few days.
At first, local reporting was that Woods was the victim, because he had been shot and killed in one of the residences. He is said to have lived at the apartment complex. Police investigated the shooting and determined it was self-defense, only a few hours later. The district attorney could make a different finding, but it seems unlikely. The finding by the police was quick. It was aided by multiple witnesses who corroborated violent criminal behavior before Woods broke into the residence where he was shot and killed.
A business owner, interviewed near the scene, said that he appreciated what the defensive shooter had to do. He felt sorry for the difficulties the shooter would be going through.
This case illustrates the mathematical problem of people who repeatedly violate the rights of others.
Most people do not want to become involved in violence. But violence only takes one party. Violence can come to people if they want it or not.
Eventually, perpetrators run into someone who fights back. Sometimes, the perpetrator does not survive the encounter. Smart criminals learn and decide not to continue their criminal acts. Some learn to carefully evaluate victims and choose those who are helpless or unwary. Successful burglars learn to commit crimes when no one is at home.
A lot of crime is committed by people who are intoxicated on drugs or alcohol. Judgment is reduced, actions become less inhibited. Some drugs induce paranoia and/or hallucinations. Many break-ins occur when someone on drugs believes they are being pursued and threatened. Victimization studies in the United States indicate about a third of the perpetrators were under the influence. Crime committed by people under the influence can be particularly frightening because the perpetrators do not act rationally.
It does not take a lot of criminals to create a lot of crime. In Sweden, one percent of the population commits 63% of the violent crime. I have not found similar statistics for the United States.
Removing a few criminals from society, either by shooting them or putting them in prison, can lower the crime rate significantly. Fear of arrest, jail, or of being shot can cause criminals to reduce the number of crimes they commit. The most effective way to reduce crime is to have a society where crime is not tolerated and where the rule of law is respected and expected.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Love happy endings!
Barbara, I know how you and your son feel. I’m a disabled senior and some years ago I had a violent, drunken ex-con try to(as he said)kick the living Shit out of me. Luckily for him, he backed off when he saw a 9mm 3 feet from his face. He made a hasty retreat.
That’s one we tax payer want have to feed and he want commit anymore crimes
I am the mother of the young man who shot the criminal who broke into his apartment in Lexington. What you should know is he is only 21 years old and had recently received his CCP. He has hunted since he was 8 years old and has been raised to have a healthy respect for all firearms. His father is a USPSA competitor and although this is a difficult situation for us we are so grateful that we were not the recipients of a phone call telling us our son was in the hospital or worse – murdered by this… Read more »
Not No More,Thankfully.
At one time it was said a burglar committed up to 50 burglaries before he was caught for the first time.
Most crimes are committed by repeat offenders.
Ask any LEO that has worked an area for awhile and they can tell you most of the bad guys and the families they come from.