Melinda Herman, Mom Who Shot Intruder

[bonnie]

Melinda Herman, Mom Who Shot Intruder, Inspires Gun Control Foes

By KATE BRUMBACK 01/09/13

LOGANVILLE, Ga. -- A Georgia mother who shot an intruder at her home has become a small part of the roaring gun control debate, with some firearms enthusiasts touting her as a textbook example of responsible gun ownership.

Melinda Herman grabbed a handgun and hid in a crawl space with her two children when a man broke in last week and approached the family at their home northeast of Atlanta, police said. Herman called her husband on the phone, and with him reminding her of the lessons she recently learned at a shooting range, Herman opened fire, seriously wounding the burglary suspect.

The National Rifle Association tweeted a link to a news story about the shooting, and support poured in from others online, hailing Herman as a hero. The local sheriff said he was proud of the way she handled the situation.

"This lady decided that she wasn't going to be a victim, and I think everyone else looks at this and hopes they have the courage to do what she done," Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said Wednesday.

Herman was working from home Friday when she saw a man walk up to the front door. She told police he rang the doorbell twice and then over and over again. He went back to his SUV, got something out and walked back toward the house, a police report said.

Herman took her 9-year-old son and daughter into an upstairs bedroom and locked the door. They went into bathroom and she locked that door, too. She got her handgun from a safe, the report said, and hid with her children. At some point, she called her husband, who kept her on the line and called 911 on another line.

In a 10-minute 911 recording released by the Walton County Sheriff's Office, Donnie Herman calmly explained what was happening to a dispatcher. His part of the conversation with his wife was also recorded.

"Is he in the house, Melinda? Are you sure? How do you know? You can hear him in the house?" Donnie Herman said.

His wife told him the intruder was coming closer.

"He's in the bedroom? Shh, shh, relax. Just remember everything that I showed you, everything that I taught you, all right?" Donnie Herman told his wife, explaining later to the dispatcher that he had recently taken her to a gun range.

It wasn't clear from the recording exactly when they went to range and Donnie Herman told The Associated Press on Wednesday the family didn't want to talk about the shooting.

After Donnie Herman told his wife police were on the way, he started shouting: "She shot him. She's shootin' him. She's shootin' him. She's shootin' him. She's shootin' him."

"OK," the dispatcher responded.

"Shoot him again! Shoot him!" Donnie Herman yelled. He told the dispatcher he heard a lot of screaming, but he seems to get increasingly worried when he doesn't hear anything from his wife.

Melinda Herman told police she started shooting the man when he opened the door to the crawl space. The man pleaded with her to stop, but she kept firing until she had emptied her rounds, she told police. She then fled to a neighbor's house with her children.

The man drove away in his SUV. Police found the SUV on another subdivision street and discovered a man bleeding from his face and body in a nearby wooded area. Police identified the suspect as 32-year-old Paul Slater of Atlanta.

Chapman said the hospital asked him not to comment on Slater's condition, but he said he is not certain Slater will survive. Authorities have a warrant but haven't formally arrested Slater yet. They plan to charge him with burglary, possession of tools for the commission of a crime and aggravated assault, Walton County sheriff's Capt. Greg Hall said.

A phone number for Slater was not listed and it was not clear whether he has an attorney.

Authorities believe Slater targeted a home in another local subdivision but left when confronted by the homeowner, Chapman said.

[bonnie]

BONNIE

thank you for posting this article---it was very interesting for sure

dgrimm60

Bet if the guy recovers and sees the light of freedom to try this again,he will make sure his "victim" isn't armed and shooting at him.

[Neil D]

So, explain to me why she didn't just answer the door?

[Liz]

Maybe she had a gut feeling that he had no business to conduct with her?

[Neil D]

An arguement can be made that she entrapped him, desiring to kill him and lured him into the home...

.....I'm just sayin'......

[Liz]

How did she entrap him? She did not give him permission to enter the house, and yet he did anyways, is that not breaking and entering?

[bonnie]

An arguement can be made that she entrapped him, desiring to kill him and lured him into the home...

.....I'm just sayin'......

That poor man,she doesn't answer the door so she entrapped him.

Good for her.

This may be the reason tho

Herman was working from home Friday when she saw a man walk up to the front door. She told police he rang the doorbell twice and then over and over again. He went back to his SUV, got something out and walked back toward the house, a police report said.

In another article on the same story it states he got a crowbar from his car. Better of course if she had let him use it on her and the kids.

Most women with a brain seeing that would be a little alarmed

[cricket]

So, explain to me why she didn't just answer the door?

Because women who are home alone with their kids seldom "just answer the door". My kids knew that if the doorbell rang, they were to go to another room and let me decide if it was someone we know. If so, I'd answer the door. If not, and I felt sociable, I'd talk with them through a window. If I didn't feel sociable, I'd just not answer and wait 'til they left.

[phkrause]

An arguement can be made that she entrapped him, desiring to kill him and lured him into the home...

.....I'm just sayin'......

That might be true, but by not answering the door she was telling whoever was there she wasn't interested in coming to the door. Have you never done that before? And than the guy brakes in! I don't see entrapment at all.

[phkrause]

So, explain to me why she didn't just answer the door?

She didn't want to Neil! I'm not trying to argue, but we don't need to answer the door if we don't feel like it. And besides maybe she took a peek and decided, I don't know that person so I'll not answer and they will go away. Pretty simple to me.

[bonnie]

That might be true, but by not answering the door she was telling whoever was there she wasn't interested in coming to the door. Have you never done that before? And than the guy brakes in! I don't see entrapment at all.

As absurd as that statement is,there are actually those that will believe because she had a handgun that is what she did.

Can't wait for the convoluted,twisted reasoning that explains how she trapped him into coming after her in the crawl space

[bonnie]

As I have never taken gun training I can't speak from personal experience but from those that have,she did everything that the anti-gun advocates recommend first.

Not answering the door when she was uncomfortable with who was on the other side.

Trying to get to a place of safety for her children and herself,and as a last resort using the gun she had been trained to use.

Hardly sounds like a out of control gun nut just praying for the chance to shoot someone.

[Guest]

As absurd as that statement is,there are actually those that will believe because she had a handgun that is what she did.

Can't wait for the convoluted,twisted reasoning that explains how she trapped him into coming after her in the crawl space

How ridiculous! Who thinks that way? Is it the liberals? Are they backwards on everything?

[bonnie]

How ridiculous! Who thinks that way? Is it the left leaning liberals? Are they backwards on everything?

I think there are people that do. It must somehow be the fault of the person trying to defend themselves from the people they are trying to "entrap"

But don't laugh to soon.When I raised Rotts a family that purchased one of my pups had a interesting experience.

He had his dog in a secure,enclosed back yard. Sign up in front of his house letting everyone know.

A armed man scaled his fence and came face to face with a angry 100 lb rott.Rotts are an interesting breed in that most don't bother with the huffing and puffing.They don't bark as a warning,they are just suddenly in your face.Very unpleasant experience

A few painful bites later the dog was called off and the man taken to the hospital.

Guess who got sued for having a dangerous animal.The man did not see the sign warning him. As he explained the homeowner did not have a sign in the back and he did not try to breakin in the front of the property.

Never did here how the lawsuit turned out but I wouldn't be surprised if this painfully twisted and convoluted thinking did not win

[cricket]

The thing that gets me is that this man had intruded on another home before--and left when he saw a gun in that instance. He was likely unarmed. Do you suppose he would have left in this instance as well? I'm sure we have no way of knowing.

What are the laws regarding shooting someone in your own home? Must there be an attempt at physical harm before firing a gun to protect one's self?

[bonnie]

The thing that gets me is that this man had intruded on another home before--and left when he saw a gun in that instance. He was likely unarmed. Do you suppose he would have left in this instance as well? I'm sure we have no way of knowing.

What are the laws regarding shooting someone in your own home? Must there be an attempt at physical harm before firing a gun to protect one's self?

Don't know.I think different states may have different laws regarding that.

Don't know if the same law applies here in MN as it did when we had problems with a prowler.

It began as what was considered a prank and escalated. The PO told us if you shoot him make sure you pull him inside your house first before calling the PO.

Never came to that. When my brother shot off my husband's double barreled shotgun out the window in the air and invited the creep to "Please come again" we didn't have any further problems

[cricket]

I like your brother's reaction! Thanks for the response, Bonnie. I don't know what the laws are either. Sure is interesting though.

[Guest]

I think that if you fear for your life, the law allows you to use deadly force, in most cases. That's the way it is here in NC anyway.

[Neil D]

How did she entrap him? She did not give him permission to enter the house, and yet he did anyways, is that not breaking and entering?

[bonnie]

Herman was working from home Friday when she saw a man walk up to the front door. She told police he rang the doorbell twice and then over and over again. He went back to his SUV, got something out and walked back toward the house, a police report said.

[Guest]

That shows fear and malice....and I don't know how many bullets she hit him with, but it was probably more than one...

She hit him in the face and neck 5 times, and it still didn't stop him. He got in his car and drove away.

So you didn't even read the article, huh? You're just going to come in here and start railing against the mother with the gun, and saying she did something wrong, and malicious, without even knowing any of the facts,....at all. The only fact you know, is that she had a gun. And now it's plain to see that in your mind, that makes her the criminal. wow

Also fear and malice are two totally different animals. They do not go together as you have suggested. So your statement doesn't really sense.

What she had was fear, not malice. She was protecting her children.

[bonnie]

She shot him all up, in the face and neck, with everything she had, and it still didn't stop him. He got in his car and drove away.

Melinda Herman fired a six-shot revolver at the intruder, hitting him five times, in his torso and in his face. Surprisingly, he managed to flee.

They remind people that Melinda Herman had only a six-shot revolver.

“It’s a good thing she wasn’t facing more attackers. Otherwise she would have been in trouble and she would have run out of ammunition,” said Erich Pratt, director of communications for the Gun Owners of America.

“She shot him five times and he still didn’t drop. This is going to endanger people’s safety.”

Remember your previous post asking who would be so ridiculous as to believe......

You have your answer.

[Neil D]

Richard,

I am giving you the other side of the story, based upon what was written..I'm just sayin'...

And in the 3 states I have lived in, I was always told that an intruder has to have a gun, or something that looks like a gun or a weapon and be in your house for you to shoot him...If he's outside, YOU are charged with aggravated assault or something like that.

I had a good friend who was protecting his family with a gun, when the guy came out to this farm house,90 minutes from any county sherrif...His wife is a looker, and they have a good marriage...

A couple of ranch hands got drunk, and started tearing up the outside of thier house, and threatened to come into and kill them...for whatever reason...I don't remember why they was there nor how they came to be there...just that they were, and attempted to climb in the house...luckily they were drunk, and couldn't make it into the house...doors were locked and pinned shut. As I recall, there were a couple of windows broken. The perps couldn't climb in, for whatever reason of thier inebriation...

My friend had his hand gun out, walking the rooms...and his lovely wife and children were in the closet...My friend said that there were many times that he could have shot the perps, but he didn't....He had them in his site...but he didn't shoot them.....He said that if they got into the house, he would have shot them...They waited 2 hours for the county sheriff to show up....and arrest them....

Twas the most terrifying 120 minutes that they endured....

To me, THAT is responsible behavior...and obeying God's law of love....

[bonnie]

And we are to assume a mother hiding her children to protect them instead of shooting first was somehow different.

I notice in your story the men could not get inside. This man did and followed to the crawl space and opened the door.Big difference.This woman somehow was not being responsible or obeying Gods love?

Just curious,what in the world does a woman's looks or the state of their marriage have to do with someone trying to break in to your house to kill your family?

[Neil D]

She hit him in the face and neck 5 times, and it still didn't stop him. He got in his car and drove away.

So you didn't even read the article, huh?

What you posted up doesn't say that....in fact, it doesn't say that she has a revolver...