FL Gun Owner Shoots, Kills Multiple Armed Intruders

A Pasco County, Florida man who believes he was targeted after posting pictures of his gun collection online shot three men who broke into his home early Friday morning, killing two and injuring a third. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters Friday afternoon that the victim was awake and alone in his home playing video games when he heard the sound of glass breaking coming from the rear of the home.

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Grabbing his firearm, the homeowner went to check out the noise. As he was walking down a narrow hallway towards the rear of the home, he spotted an intruder armed with a gun of his own.

The homeowner shot and killed the first intruder and then took out the second one, who was right behind the first.

At some point, one of the three intruders managed to fire a gun. But, the homeowner was able to shoot him, too, before his gun jammed.

When the homeowner’s gun jammed, he went to grab another one. At that moment, the third intruder managed to get up and run away.  But, a neighbor stopped him in his tracks and held him at gunpoint outside until Pasco County deputies arrived.

Authorities say the 19-year-old surviving intruder was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. He is being charged with two counts of second-degree homicide and one count of home invasion robbery.

I love the fact that the intruder was able to run outside, only to be stopped by another armed homeowner before he could get away. That’s some 2A teamwork right there.

According to WTSP-TV, the homeowner told authorities that he regularly shows off some of his firearms on his social media accounts, and authorities say they believe that this was “not a totally random situation,” though they haven’t confirmed if the homeowner was targeted due to his online presence.

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As for the suspects, Sheriff Nocco says all three of them have lengthy criminal histories. 19-year old Jeremiah Tramel, the surviving suspect, has at least one battery charge on his record, and Nocco described the two deceased home invaders as having “very violent” criminal charges in the past.

Nocco also made clear that, “the victim in this case exercised his Second Amendment right to protect himself inside his home,” and said that under Florida law, the victim’s name would not be released to the public, in part because of concerns that he could be targeted for another attack by associates of the three home invaders. Heck, at this point you could even have a social justice mob try to come after this guy, though I think that would be a bad idea for reasons that should be self-evident.

I hope that Jeremiah Tramel is ultimately able to explain to investigators why the three men decided to arm up and rob the home of a self-described “gun enthusiast.” Did they simply think that because it was three against one they’d automatically come out on top? If so they were woefully mistaken. Sheriff Nocco described in his press briefing how the homeowner encountered the three men as he walked down a narrow hallway. All three were basically stacked in a row, and only one of them even got a shot off against the homeowner.

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Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, and this home invasion was a stupid idea from the get-go. I’m glad to see the homeowner is alive and unharmed, though I imagine his social media presence may be undergoing some major renovations in the future.

 

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