Tragedy of the day

How I hate it when I read these things . . . :-(

A man from Natchez, MS shot and killed his wife when he mistook her for an intruder.

There are so many things one could say . . . but I'll say only this. If you hear a noise in your home you'd better be very, VERY sure of your gun-handling skills and knowledge of tactics before you go looking for trouble. It might be your wife, or kids, or some completely innocent noise. If you decide to go looking, tell the rest of your family to stay put and not move around, or this sort of tragedy might well result.

I remember doing 'shoot house' drills at Thunder Ranch in TX (it's now in Oregon) and at the Chapman Academy in Missouri. We learned very early (and very often) that it's a dangerous job and one not recommended for the untrained. The only justification for it is if you have no choice but to get your kids out of danger, or something like that. If possible hunker down in your secure area (probably your bedroom), cover the door with your firearm, call the cops and alert them to come in announcing their presence. If you can tie a spare house key to a luminous stick and chuck it out of the window, then tell them where to find it, this saves them having to kick in your front door.

The point is that you're safe together while they root out any intruder. If you decide to 'do it yourself' . . . something like this may happen.

How is this poor man ever going to live with himself again? And if he and his wife had children, how will they ever understand?

May God have mercy on all concerned. This is just miserable.

Peter