Is shooting through your front door legal in Texas

[ShootDontTalk]

VP Joe Biden says you SHOULD. With your double barrel shotgun, which is all you need for defense. Not a handgun or assault weapon.

Ah yes....the old Uncle Joe defense gambit. There are only two acceptable loads for the shotgun: birdshot or Dragon's Breath!

OT...There was a case near here recently where an elderly woman shot through the door and killed a drunken firefighter who was banging on her door at 2:00 in the morning. She warned him repeatedly while on the phone to 911 (IIRC). No charges were filed.

[joe817]

In one word.....NO, of course not.

Please do explain....

Someone banging on the door does not justify the use of deadly force. It's just that.....banging on the door. And you don't know who's on the other side of the door. And apparently from the OP's comment: "nothing happened I am just curios if your protected under the castle law doing that."..., I would have to assume the incident did not escalate to a point where deadly force was justified.

Now if he comes THROUGH the door, then that's an entirely different matter. I'd call that a home invasion, and in that case deadly force MAY be justified.

[The Annoyed Man]

Whether can or you can't isn't as important a question as whether or not you should. Personally, I would not. As long as they don't actually come through the door, you've got time to call 911, get behind cover, arm yourself, and wait. If he succeeds in breaking through, then drop the hammer on him. Just realize that any bullet you fire though the closed door which fails to connect with a bad guy whom you can't see, is a bullet that may connect with your neighbor's daughter across the street while she's doing her homework on the neighborhood couch.

Never be too eager to shoot somebody.

[joe817]

Whether can or you can't isn't as important a question as whether or not you should. Personally, I would not. As long as they don't actually come through the door, you've got time to call 911, get behind cover, arm yourself, and wait. If he succeeds in breaking through, then drop the hammer on him. Just realize that any bullet you fire though the closed door which fails to connect with a bad guy whom you can't see, is a bullet that may connect with your neighbor's daughter across the street while she's doing her homework on the neighborhood couch.

Never be too eager to shoot somebody.

Exactly the point I was trying to make. Thanks TAM.

[The Annoyed Man]

joe817 beat me to it by 3 minutes....

[Eric Lamberson]

Rule #4--Be sure of your target and what is behind it. Rule #5: Take cover and when they kick the door in blaze away! No one will question whether what you did was reasonable.

[Abraham]

I wouldn't.

[LSUTiger]

As someone who has had his door kicked in, I might.

My front door has a frosted glass window on it covered by wrought iron design, also I have a clear side window that I can see out of. My rear door has a clear glass window covered by a mini blind. I can easily see out through the side of the blind.

I can see well enough out both to determine friend or foe.

I guess it all depends on how much you want to unnecessarily endanger your self and family before responding to a verified threat.

I was asleep at the time but awoke to my back door being kicked in, by the time was able to respond the intruder was gone, kicked the door and fled.

Ok, here comes the "what if it's the mentally challenged neighbor kid try to save you from a fire" routine.

[jimlongley]

Come on! It just isn't yes or no. The best and most accurate answer has got to be "It depends". Under some limited circumstances articulated properly you might get away with shooting thru a door but you would likely be charged and tried so generally speaking no you cannot shoot thru a door.

Even though the law says "attempting" I can imagine circumstances where someone might be "attempting" with no foul play in mind.

Back in the '60s there was a crime where someone shot a BG outside their house and was subsequently arrested, and a cop made the statement that if they had dragged the dead body inside the house so that it appeared that the shooting occurred inside, the shooter could have saved themselves a lot of trouble. Over the years this became a rather popular urban legend, as if a good forensic team couldn't tell where the shooting took place.

Even if they are obviously, to me, attempting to break the door down, I think I am going to err on the side of letting them get all the way in the house before opening fire. Of course that also gives me the chance to get the shotgun off the rack in preference to my bedside .45.

These days I have a couple of digital voice recorders near phones in the house and if I have my wits about me, I will probably be using one of those and have 911 on the phone.

[der Teufel]

Even if they are obviously, to me, attempting to break the door down, I think I am going to err on the side of letting them get all the way in the house before opening fire. Of course that also gives me the chance to get the shotgun off the rack in preference to my bedside .45.

These days I have a couple of digital voice recorders near phones in the house and if I have my wits about me, I will probably be using one of those and have 911 on the phone.

I may not have the presence of mind to get a voice recorder, but I'm certain I'll be talking to the 911 operator!

[jrene]

It violates one of the basic rules of firearms safety: be sure of your target and what is behind and around it. A prosecutor would get that up on a white board as Exhibit A. You also need to get past the Massad Ayoob standard for the use of deadly force: Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy, articulated so well in his book Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense, a must read:

I think the circumstances under which you would ever be justified in shooting through a door are extremely limited at best. Never say never but this about as close as you can come.

[MechAg94]

There have been cases in Houston where someone shot through the door and was not charged. In both cases, I believe it was a drunk guy who was yelling and threatening the homeowner such that there was a clear threat. One was the son of a neighbor. At least one other was a drunk guy who lived nearby. I think there was another case up in North Texas where a guy went to trial for shooting someone through his back door. Not sure what the outcome was.

I would say it was not a good idea. Yes, there might be cases where you have a defined threat to your life and think you won't have time to act once the door comes down. Grand Juries have been understanding of that in the recent past.

If someone is yelling they are going to kill you and are busy putting an ax through your door, you can probably articulate that threat pretty well. Still it would be better to throw chairs and other obsticles in the way and wait for them to come through and present a better target.

[MechAg94]

Back in the '60s there was a crime where someone shot a BG outside their house and was subsequently arrested, and a cop made the statement that if they had dragged the dead body inside the house so that it appeared that the shooting occurred inside, the shooter could have saved themselves a lot of trouble. Over the years this became a rather popular urban legend, as if a good forensic team couldn't tell where the shooting took place.

When I was young, there was a case in my home town where an old lady stepped out in her yard with a side by side shotgun. A guy came at her and she killed him. She was never charged and everyone agreed that he presented a threat.

That is what is nice about the internet is we can discuss this stuff somewhat intelligently and get a better idea of the law and reality.

[Eric Lamberson]

Of course another option is to reinforce your door for $80.00. Do a search for StrikeMaster II--no one will be able to kick in your door. While you are at it put a deadbolt on your bedroom door and reinforce it as well. Does wonders for a good night's sleep.

[jbcummings]

My front door is substantial enough that short of going after my Sig 716 (.308), I doubt I have anything in the house that will shoot through it. On the other hand should some one get through that door, I should have no trouble describing myself as 'in fear of my life'. Hopefully whoever it is will still be wearing themselves out on the door when LE gets there.