“Who’s there?”
Learn to say it in your sleep.
“When you have a home where you have family members, you have to be even more careful and wait that extra second and do everything you can to make sure you know what you’re dealing with when you’re about to use deadly force,” [Martin County Sheriff] Snyder said.
Well said, Sheriff Snyder.
Many of my colleagues disagree with my assessment that decision-making is far more important than marksmanship and technical proficiency but I’m sticking to my guns on the subject. Every incident like this I read about makes me more of a ‘bitter clinger’ to my opinion.
“Daddy, where’s Mommy?”
“I accidentally killed her before you were even born. I’m so sorry I took your Mommy from you.”
If anyone thinks that man will ever sleep through the night again, they’re wrong. My prediction is that he will also die young, leaving his child without any parents at any early age.
tacticalprofessor 
Making good decisions should be a foundational skill, one that happens prior to ever needing to worry about marksmanship or any other technical skill. Lots of folks forget about the aftermath when somebody shoots someone, even legally. This man’s life is forever ruined.
“This man’s life is forever ruined.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Agreed. Positive target identification is non negotiable no matter where the use of deadly force may be considered. Home, workplace, shopping, in the car or out for a walk. This tragedy could easily have been avoided by calling out “Who’s there?” Or the simple employment of a good flashlight
Claude,
I agree with your assertion that decision making > technical skill (as it relates to personal protection), but why do you suppose so many of your collegues disagree with this?
Technical skill is easier to teach than decision-making and provides more ego enhancement.
This is an awful tragedy. The fact that it was easily and completely preventable makes it a monumental tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, lives ruined for generations.
[…] Who’s there? […]
That’s truly the worst possible case! To kill the one you tried to protect, I don’t know how you recover from that.