The vast majority of times when armed citizens are involved in self-defense shootings the person doing the shooting is arrested, cuffed and taken to the police station. Fingerprints are generally taken, and a night in jail waiting to be bonded out isn’t uncommon. Murder or manslaughter charges are sometimes filed, and the defender makes all the newspapers and police reports, resulting in a sullied reputation at the very least.
When all that stuff doesn’t happen, it’s a pretty good indication that the incident was an obvious case of self-defense. Such was the case this week in Manhattan, Kansas, when a 26-year-old man was forced to draw his legally carried firearm and shoot an aggressor
According to police reports, law enforcement officers with the Riley County Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the 900 block of Yuma Street at around 8 p.m. on October 9. When they arrived, they found that a 23-year-old Manhattan man had been shot in the parking lot of the Douglass Activity Complex.
The victim was transported by EMS to Ascension Via Christi Hospital, where he was life-flighted to Stormont Vail Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. While details of the event are sketchy at this time and still under investigation, the incident seems to be a clear case of self-defense.
“Preliminary information indicates the shooter, a 26-year-old male, acted in self-defense,” a release from the Riley County Police Department stated. “Due to the nature of the investigation, no additional information regarding the shooter will be released at this time.”
Police said there is also believed to be little to no relationship between the individuals involved in the self-defense incident. And, they said, the shooting seemed to be an isolated event with no threat to the public.
Law enforcement officials will continue to investigate the shooting to determine exactly what happened. The department intends to release additional information after the investigation is concluded.
