Is shooting through your front door legal in Texas

[android]

You're O.K. if you can convince the jury that you didn't know your wife had ordered the pizza. Put enough lead in the Domino's driver, and HE won't be able to testify against you. Go ahead and shoot through it. After all, it IS YOUR door.

Some of the hyperbole here is really over the top.

I have NEVER, NEVER in 20 years of being a home owner had any pizza delivery guy beating on and attempting to kick down my door. They ring the bell and wait patiently for me to open the door.

And to add, no door to door candy bar salesman, no Girl Scouts, no Jehovah's Witness, no Clean Water Petition hippies, neighbors or friends or anyone else for that matter has ever tried to kick in my door. Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really.

I'm not saying I'd take a shot through the door. I'm just saying it's NOT the pizza guy.

[Charlies.Contingency]

You're O.K. if you can convince the jury that you didn't know your wife had ordered the pizza. Put enough lead in the Domino's driver, and HE won't be able to testify against you. Go ahead and shoot through it. After all, it IS YOUR door.

Some of the hyperbole here is really over the top.

I have NEVER, NEVER in 20 years of being a home owner had any pizza delivery guy beating on and attempting to kick down my door. They ring the bell and wait patiently for me to open the door.

And to add, no door to door candy bar salesman, no Girl Scouts, no Jehovah's Witness, no Clean Water Petition hippies, neighbors or friends or anyone else for that matter has ever tried to kick in my door. Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really.

I'm not saying I'd take a shot through the door. I'm just saying it's NOT the pizza guy.

We've got to consider the What-Ifs on this. "What if the person banging on your door like they're trying to knock it down is some person trying to get help because ______.

It's not wise to shoot through a door in my opinion. I cannot find it in myself to shoot through my door without first identifying my target. Myself and my wife retreat with the kids to the big guns and shooting corridors. I'd rather wait at the end of the hallway in the dark with my 12ga, then blindly engage an unknown perceived threat. I have solid doors, not glass doors btw.

It can be justified, but will it be justifiable with your morals? I know what is and isn't to me.

[WildBill]

Shooting Through Front Door = Very Bad Idea

[RJS]

If it was middle of the night, I'd grab my Mossberg 930SPX Blackwater loaded with 7+1 of 00 buck and my EDC (Glock 19) from my nightstand, then take up a defensive position with about 25 feet between the front door and my position. I'd let the guy take the door down before I'd engage... the perps wouldn't stand a chance, and I wouldn't want any doubt in who the aggressor was.

[C-dub]

It sounds like everyone is right. Someone mentioned a shooting like this in Houston a while back. It was a fireman that was killed trying to enter the wrong house after being brought home after a night out drinking. I think the woman was no billed.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/ ... 6adbc.html

Another one was a musician in Dallas. Shooter in this case was also no billed IIRC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/05dallas.html?_r=0

So, it depends on the situation.

[txglock21]

So after 3 pages of postings, my summary is: LEGAL= Yes/probably. GOOD IDEA= Probably not.

[mojo84]

Every time I see this thread I think to myself, it's ok IF one guesses right. If it turns out to be an obvious bad guy or someone up to no good, it would probably be ok. If it happens to be someone else or a cop/cops doing a welfare check or serving a warrant, one would be in neck deep trouble.

Only way I would shoot through the door is if I had no doubt the intentions of the person is to harm us.

When I lived in Houston, a cop was shot through the townhouse door two doors down from us when serving an arrest warrant. The guy heard the banging on the door and he started shooting from inside. Hit one of the cops in the leg. It didn't end well for him. They subued him after a struggle and took him into custody. I never saw him again.

[JALLEN]

I seem to recall this was covered by a former Congressman from Tennessee, who taught, "Be sure you are right, then go ahead!"

[Dave2]

I'd focus more on whether or not doing <x> is a good idea. It tends to be a much easier question to answer, and I can't ever recall concluding that <x> *is* a good idea and then finding out it's illegal.

At least for me. Your life may vary.

Edit: When <x>'s legality is in question, that is. I personally think that, for example, carrying in class is a great idea, but it's clearly illegal at the moment.

[RPBrown]

Would I shoot through the door, probably not, at least at first.

We have a reinforced storm door with shatter resistant glass then the main front door that is solid oak with a peep hole. Both of which stays locked. We seldom use the front door, only to receive a delivery or if power is out because we always go through the garage door. We also have cameras showing the front porch, driveway and front yard.

Now, if they are beating on the door, I will be seeing who is there by any means necessary. If they break through the storm door and I do not know them and they have not identified themselves as LEO, then they will be warned then all bets are off if they don't leave.

[Pawpaw]

As long as my door holds out, I'm comfortable with taking up a defensive position while my wife calls 911.

The way my house is built, the person kicking the door is already 4 feet inside the "fatal funnel". Once he enters, he'll have to traverse about 10 more feet inside the funnel before he can move to the side. Even then, he can only move to his left (my right). I'll have plenty of time to deal with the threat after the door opens.

[ShootDontTalk]

I think the consensus here is that most of the males on the board wouldn't shoot through the door. When women are home alone, the situation is quite different. Here is the story I alluded to earlier:

http://www.click2houston.com/news/woman ... e/25029960

The woman is not identified by name, but she was 64. I cannot find any indication that she was indicted. Just a tragedy from beginning to end.

I discussed this with my wife, who is 64, and she said, "I probably would do the same thing if I was alone in the house." The bottom line for potential home invaders is that if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person at home, you're fair game - even on the porch.

[treadlightly]

And to add, no door to door candy bar salesman, no Girl Scouts, no Jehovah's Witness, no Clean Water Petition hippies, neighbors or friends or anyone else for that matter has ever tried to kick in my door. Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really.

I once had an upset person bang the crud out of my front door. It wasn't a violent attack, it was one of my renter's customers who thought for some reason I had something to do with a computer repair that caused lost files. I had nothing to do with the situation. They left, angry. I went back inside and finished lunch.

Another time I heard a bang on my office building that sounded like a kid ran full speed into the wall. Several of us went outside to see what had happened and look for damage. Nothing was there, but I later developed a theory.

That bang was precisely to the minute at the time a meteorite entered the atmosphere about 50 miles away above Hillsboro. A sheriff, farther away than I was, reported the ground shaking. My theory is a sonic boom jiggled the sheet metal rear wall of my building enough to cause it to shift, relieving expansion stress, and that created a loud bang.

I could have shot through the wall to be on the safe side, but I might have Mozambique'd poor ET who was only panhandling for a dime and directions to the nearest galactic pay phone.

Just saying, things can be different from what they seem when the evidence is limited.

[R DAVIS]

You're O.K. if you can convince the jury that you didn't know your wife had ordered the pizza. Put enough lead in the Domino's driver, and HE won't be able to testify against you. Go ahead and shoot through it. After all, it IS YOUR door.

Some of the hyperbole here is really over the top.

I have NEVER, NEVER in 20 years of being a home owner had any pizza delivery guy beating on and attempting to kick down my door. They ring the bell and wait patiently for me to open the door.

And to add, no door to door candy bar salesman, no Girl Scouts, no Jehovah's Witness, no Clean Water Petition hippies, neighbors or friends or anyone else for that matter has ever tried to kick in my door. Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really.

I'm not saying I'd take a shot through the door. I'm just saying it's NOT the pizza guy.

Golly Mr. Know It All, I guess you weren't around when my neighbor had his door almost kicked in by a Dominos driver (hence the reference), who was being attacked by a big vicious dog running loose in the neighborhood. Fortunately, my neighbor was wise enough to check out the situation. He didn't shoot through the door, but he DID dispatch the dog, which likely saved the drivers life. The driver ended up with about 50 stitches from the dog bites. I guess he is lucky it didn't happen at your house.

After all, " Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really." --- RIGHT ?

[jimlongley]

You're O.K. if you can convince the jury that you didn't know your wife had ordered the pizza. Put enough lead in the Domino's driver, and HE won't be able to testify against you. Go ahead and shoot through it. After all, it IS YOUR door.

Some of the hyperbole here is really over the top.

I have NEVER, NEVER in 20 years of being a home owner had any pizza delivery guy beating on and attempting to kick down my door. They ring the bell and wait patiently for me to open the door.

And to add, no door to door candy bar salesman, no Girl Scouts, no Jehovah's Witness, no Clean Water Petition hippies, neighbors or friends or anyone else for that matter has ever tried to kick in my door. Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really.

I'm not saying I'd take a shot through the door. I'm just saying it's NOT the pizza guy.

Golly Mr. Know It All, I guess you weren't around when my neighbor had his door almost kicked in by a Dominos driver (hence the reference), who was being attacked by a big vicious dog running loose in the neighborhood. Fortunately, my neighbor was wise enough to check out the situation. He didn't shoot through the door, but he DID dispatch the dog, which likely saved the drivers life. The driver ended up with about 50 stitches from the dog bites. I guess he is lucky it didn't happen at your house.

After all, " Somebody trying to kick in my door is up to no good, really." --- RIGHT ?

And in the fire department I used to belong to, we broke in the door of a house with an active fire, and discovered that the homeowner was in his basement workshop running a lathe with the radio up loud. His first clue that there was anything amiss was when we charged down the stairs with a hose to check where the fire was burning through the living room floor. We banged a lot before we broke the door down.