Originally Posted by sirrduke2010

I am not an attorney so I can't give legal advice.

I think self defense is probably the most misunderstood subject. Why is this important? The reason is that you don't want to be arrested, put in jail, have to hire an expensive attorney, you don't want to have to serve time, and/or be sued by the intruder or burglar. After a number of discussions I find that there is a number of people that don't know what self defense is. You can claim it all you want but the DA can still charge you and you could end up in jail.

Shooting someone in the back oftentimes isn't seen as self defense because it doesn't look like you aren't immediately threatened or you are trying to protect your valuables but it depends on the situation. There are cases that would merit it like if somebody was threatening your loved ones or if they were carrying a knife or a gun when searching your house. Of course this could also be seen as a gray area. If they were carrying something that looked like a weapon but wasn't then it is going to be different. I think you might want to be very careful with this one.

If the guy is running toward the door or even down the street with one of your possessions shooting them in the back isn't going to be seen as self defense. It will be seen as assault and/or murder if the burglar dies. Now if the guy was running out the door with one of your children and you shoot him in the back to stop him this may be another story.

Shooting someone in the back generally doesn't pass the test as an immediate threat but it depends on the situation and every situation is different.