I’m a bit late to the party, but I thought I’d share my thoughts on this sad event:
A Hofstra University student being held in a headlock at gunpoint by an intruder was accidently shot and killed by a police officer who had responded to the home invasion at an off-campus home, police said Saturday.
Here’s the details
Azzata said the Nassau County police officer fired eight shots at Smith, who police described as having an “extensive” criminal background. Smith was hit seven times and died. Rebello was shot once in the head.
“He kept saying, `I’m going to kill her,’ and then he pointed the gun at the police officer,” Azzata said.
As horrible as it went, I have to say good shoot. First up, an innocent life was being threatened AND the officer was being threatened, the attacker could have killed any of them at any moment. Also all shots fired but the tragic one made their mark, and only 8 shots were fired. This was not the shameful mag-dumps we used to read about more frequently. I don’t even think I can shame officer training, which is generally too lax, as this was likely a VERY difficult shot.
I don’t think we should really look too much at the officer, but more WHY he was in this situation in the first place:
Earlier Saturday, police announced that Smith, 30, had been wanted on a parole violation related to a first-degree robbery conviction and had an arrest history dating back nearly 15 years.
Sounds like JUST the man that needs to be out on the streets. Oh, and this is New York, where people are disarmed, now by the very ironic “SAFE Act”.
Rebello was in the two-story home with her twin sister Jessica, a third woman and a man when Smith, wearing a ski mask, walked into the house through an open front door, Azzata said. Smith demanded valuables and was told they were upstairs, Azzata said.
Smith, apparently unsatisfied with the valuables upstairs, asked if any of the four had a bank account and could withdraw money, Azzata said. The intruder then allowed the unidentified woman to leave and collect money from an ATM, telling her she had only eight minutes to come back with cash before he killed one of her friends, Azzata said.
The woman left for the bank and called 911, according to Azzata.
Minutes later, two police officers arrived at the home and found Rebello’s twin sister Jessica running out of the front door and the male guest hiding behind a couch on the first floor, Azzata said.
You don’t need a gun to protect yourself! Just give them what they want!
What if what you have isn’t enough? What if they want to rape or murder you?
We’re putting all the weight on the police to protect us from criminals who SHOULD still be in prison, yet we let them go, and disarm their victims. Is there ANYTHING right about that?
