Being the victim of an attack of any nature can be truly shocking, and can have a profound and long-lasting effect on a person’s mental health. However, sometimes in defending themselves from attackers, the innocent party can end up killing the attacker out of self-preservation, which can sometimes have even more prolific effects on a person.
One person took to Reddit to find out about some cases where people had killed another person in self-defense by asking, ” People who killed in self-defense, what’s your story?”
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What follows are a series of stories from such people, all of which are shocking, heartbreaking, and unforgettable.
Defending An Armoured Truck
“Worked for an armed messenger service. Not even 10am and as I was opening the door to the truck, I saw a huge guy (I’m not tiny, over 6ft and well proportioned) in the mirror (meant just for this thing) get out of a car and run towards me. He put me in a chokehold and started grabbing for my gun. He manhandled me like I weighed nothing, would have easily gotten the gun if it wasn’t an L3 holster. I managed to draw it, press it against him and started pulling the trigger before I blacked out.
“I have no idea what he would have done if he got the gun and I’m not used to just being tossed around like that. He turned out to be blind drunk and played for a college football team” — Ironbackedfrog
This person left this job at some point after this incident and now works for the police instead.
Saving A Family Member
“I was born in Honduras (I live in the US now) and from what I remember, it was a very deserted place. [One day] I went home and I heard my aunt scream from the kitchen. ‘Ayuda Ayuda!’ And then I remember that my uncle kept a gun hidden covered in rocks beside an old bathtub outside(that’s where we bathed). He knew how dangerous it could be in this area so he prepared me for everything.
“Went around the back and grabbed it as fast as I could. I went in and there stood a man with a knife threatening my aunt. I didn’t really grasp what was happening but I shot him without any second guesses like I was taught by my uncle. I honestly still don’t believe I did something like that to this day and I don’t know what would’ve happened to my aunt if I didn’t get there sooner. I still don’t feel comfortable talking about this to my friends but I just want to get it off my chest” — bordibird
Apparently, this person is looking to attend therapy sessions to help them get passed this traumatic experience.
“I Was At My Home Country During A Civil War”
“Some people started going to random villages and draft males and use them as soldiers. They came to our house and took me (12 yo) and my brother (10 yo). It was a few hours drive until we reached a checkpoint where we would be stationed. One of the commanders took me and my brother to an abandoned building close to that checkpoint and then took off his gear and was trying to rape my brother. I was scared and in a panic a grabbed a decent-sized rock and hit him in the back of the head before he can do anything to my brother. He fell and I got on top of him and smashed his face over and over and over with the rock.
“Me and my brother ran from that abandoned spot through some mountains and kept running until we reached a city nearby. We went to a nearby mosque and told the Shake in that area to help us and that we were from said village. To our luck, he was a decent human being and returned us back to our village. A few years later we moved to the US. My brother killed himself two years ago and I am still in school.” — AKAE2
This person went on to say that they and their brother never told anyone about what had happened that day, they simply told people that they managed to escape.
Mistaken Identity
“While in college in my first apartment, I came home from work at 3 am. Some dude was in the hallway outside my door, and I had a bad feeling about it. I paused and went to get the mail, hoping he would leave. Nope. I come back and he is waiting at my door. I asked him what was up, and he said he was looking for John. My name is not John, and I lived alone. I asked him to move and let me in my door. He told me to fuck off and get John.
“I slid between him and the door, opened it and he pushed his way in. I pushed him out, he took a swing at me. I swung back hitting him in the eye, which caused him to fall back and hit his head. Out cold. Forever. Apparently John was the guy who lived in the apartment before me. The dead guy spent 5 years in jail because of John ratting him out for drugs. Dead guy came to get some revenge. Got dead instead.” — BuddyPeanuts
What a waste spending 5 years in jail only to throw your life away again when you finally get out.
Drunken Attacker
“One night I was walking home, pretty late like 2 am in the morning. I was 16 at that time and I happened to pass a bar. One drunk old dude said ‘Hey, come here and buy me a beer’. I started to walk faster and pretend I didn’t hear him. Right after that, he jumps on my back, trying to choke me. Managed to fall hard on my back(he was still piggy riding me) Unfortunately when we fell he hit his head on the curb..” — Fimmtly
Apparently, when this person called the police, the authorities recognized him as someone frequently getting into trouble in that area for being drunk. If you keep doing stuff like this, it is only ever going to end in disaster.
Drug Addict In The Attic
“My Dad is a security guard. Back in 2016, he kicked a crackhead out of a concert. The guy waited outside and followed my Dad home. Being so damn high he obviously didn’t think and just wanted revenge. When he got my address he left, but came back[and] snuck into the crawl space of my roof and lived there for what was apparently 2 weeks. So, I’m home alone and bored, and I hear some banging in the roof. I didn’t know there was a dude up there so I opened up the roof to find out what it was.
“The second I opened it he pounced on me. I kicked him off as soon as possible and ran down the hallway. He was a hell of a lot faster than me. I turned around, just in time to see him pull out a knife and go for my back. I put out my hand and the knife went straight through. But I didn’t feel it. The adrenaline was pumping. I ripped my hand away, punched him with my left hand and ripped out the knife with my right. He ran at me again and I held out the knife and happened to hit him in the throat. He suffocated about a minute later.” — SneakyEnch
When emergency services arrived, there was ample evidence to prove that it was self-defense. Also, they had to have their hand glued back together, the knife had thankfully missed any bones.
Mugging Gone Wrong
“Some guy tries to mug me in the street. He tells me to give him my wallet. I pulled my Concealed Carry and shot him in the leg (fatal) and pelvis as I pulled up my gun. I grab his gun (a snub nose revolver) out of his hand and see the chamber. It was empty. That fucked me up for years.” — CantMatchTheThatch
There were a lot of people debating in the comments over whether or not this person should simply have handed over the wallet instead of risking the confrontation. However, this person explained that as it happened they couldn’t have been certain that the mugger wouldn’t have shot them regardless of whether they handed it over or not.
The Tragedy Of The Wrong House
“I was twelve, the oldest of three brothers. We were home alone while my parents were out on ‘date night’. At maybe 10 pm we hear a loud banging at the front door before a man broke the lock with his sheer body weight and momentum. I told my brothers to hide in my room while I went to my parent’s room for their shotgun.
“The whole time this guy is yelling about ‘where are my keys’ and he starts coming upstairs when he heard me fumbling as I tried to load the shotgun. He flung the door to my parent’s room open and I fell back with the gun shaking in my hands. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger twice, the first one caught him in the legs and the recoil made the second shot catch his entire torso.
“The poor man had been drunk and lived a few houses down the way, but I didn’t learn that until after. All I could focus on was how he was begging his mother not to let him die and that he was sorry he let her down as he slowly died on the floor just feet away from me.” — PM_Me_ChoGath_R34
This is one of the most tragic on the list. A lot of people had a lot of questions as to why a child had such easy access to a firearm, while others said that they were in the right for their actions.
Falling Through A Window
“I was headed to work at 2am, and lived in the bar district. As I was headed down the stairs, my front window broke and somebody appeared to be coming in. I shot, and got him through the collarbone and into his chest. Called the police after.
“He was drunk, and was hitting on a female bartender on her way to her car. She threw him off and into my window, as she was a former marine. It ended up that his family sued me for wrongful death, I had to sue her for damage to my property, and she sued him for assault. Texas ruled that she was defending herself, he assaulted her, and by suffering the consequences of his actions, forcefully entered my property. Charges were filed against his estate, and he was responsible for my window and damage to the property. She was responsible for $500 (between my time off and my deposit on bail, which her insurance covered), and I was responsible for his legal fees.” — The_WacoKid
This person said that while they do not believe that they should have fired at the man if they knew the whole situation, they believe that they had the right to defend themself due to it being at such a strange hour and seemingly an attacker.
Home Alone
“When I was 13yo, parents were out having a dinner date. At the time my family lived [in a ] quiet place, so my parents didn’t think much of leaving me alone with my 9yo little brother for an hour or two. I was putting him to bed when I herd a knock on the door. This knock was loud and he banged several times before stopping for a moment. I heard glass shatter, I immediately grabbed my 22 long rifle my parents got for me, and hid in my little brother’s room behind his bed with rifle mounted at the door..told him to hide under the bed. […]
“I remember thinking to myself to protect my little brother at any cost. I heard noises [first] in the kitchen, then the living room, then my room, then finally the hallway to my little brother’s room. As the door opened I saw an unfamiliar guy, he quickly seen me then rushed me. I fired all the rounds in my rifle. I just remember him dropping on the floor with a loud thud, my brother crying.
“I called my parents after which they called the police. After talking with my parents, they told me the police said that the guy was our next-door neighbor and a registered sex offender most likely was staking out the house and he noticed we were home but our parents weren’t.” — lol_Roxas
Apparently, from then on their parents took them with them if they ever went out for dinner.
Bedroom Intruder
“Happened last week… Guy broke into my house and I woke up when I heard noises in the hallway. I took my gun out and yelled through the door for him to get out and that I already notified the police. He barged into the bedroom holding a knife five seconds later, I shot him twice in the abdomen and he died in the hospital.
“I still feel pretty conflicted about this, It’s hard to describe, but I do feel bad about doing it, he had a family after all… On the other hand, I figured it was him or me and my girlfriend and I had no other choice. I do think it’ll need a few more weeks to truly sink in, but I can tell you I haven’t slept well since. I’m also constantly distracted at work right now… The police told me I was lucky to wait until he went into the bedroom with a weapon, as otherwise, I could have faced manslaughter charges. As it is, it’s gonna be lawful self-defence.” — Flaksim
Second Story Home Invasion
“I live with my girlfriend. Let’s call her Layla. So one day Layla had to take care of some family business so I was left alone. That night somebody decided it would be okay to not even walk through the unlocked door, but BREAK my girlfriend’s window. The shattering glass obviously scared the sh*t out of me and I ran upstairs to my closet, grabbed the gun and looked in each room to see where the glass was broken, and it did not take long, as I found out it was in Layla’s room.
“When I burst in, The man was brushing glass off his pants, I froze for a moment. I then remembered we were on the second story, and since he was still by the window I pushed him out of it and ran out and called the police. I did not have to even hold up my gun, which I’m glad I did not.” — Poof_ball
This person was not charged with murder and doesn’t know why they were in their house. They also wrote that they still suffer from anxiety when home alone.
Slipping On The Stairs
“When I was 12 my mother was in the hospital and my dad was deployed, that left my sister watching us overnight. Around 1 am I woke up because I heard stuff downstairs ( I slept in the one-room upstairs by myself ). I then heard footsteps coming down the hall, I didn’t know what to do. I had nothing, except a really big fan I kept in room cus it gets hot at night. I then proceed to get up unplug the fan and Chuck it down the stairs, slamming the door and locking it behind me.
“I must’ve waited half an hour for something when I heard sirens. Apparently my sister called 911 after she hid under the bed protecting my younger siblings. Later I had to talk to the cops. Apparently the fan knocked him off his feet when he was on the stairs sending him backward off the stairs. As he was falling his head caught the bookshelf at the bottom slicing open a huge gash just behind his left ear. The police found him dead when they arrived.” — socksad
No charges were pressed against this person. According to the post, the burglar had robbed many houses in the area.
Falling Into A Road
“This was a few years ago. I was going back home after a visit to my bank. I realized that someone was following me. I tried to ignore it first but he kept following me. I changed my direction so that I don’t go near my home.
“Then to finally confirm whether it was real I pretended to tie my shoelaces. The guy took this as an opportunity and lunged at me, I realized what was happening just in time. I stood up hurriedly, he bumped into me and I fell down again. I thought I was done for, but the guy fell down too on the road and got run over. I have a fear of roads ever since then. Even when I am driving, I know it doesn’t make sense that I would develop a phobia of roads after this. But that’s what happened.” — shubham1089
The person who wrote this said that they went to a few therapy sessions, and now, 8 years on, they feel a lot better in themself.
Attacked By Drug Dealers
“I was living in Rochester NH at the time. The previous tenant to my apartment had been a habitual drug user and was in jail. She owes her dealer a lot of money. He had banged on my door 2 or 3 times looking for her, because, ‘dude, she’s in jail’, wasn’t working for him. So, at about 02:30 in the morning, he and 3 of his lackeys kick my door in. In the hail of gunfire, they all missed me. To this day I’m not sure how they missed me, and I know I used a lot of my luck for that. I returned fire and hit all four of them.
“My dad trained me how to shoot a gun, and made me shoot like I was in the military. Center body mass. Of the 15 rounds I fired, I missed 3. One hit the light pole in the parking lot, and 2 hit a tree 20ft behind it. I had a .45 Smith and Wesson with hollow-point rounds. Had too many kids living near me to be willing to use anything that might keep going through more than one layer of drywall. I was in therapy for about 18 months. No charges were pressed as the police ruled it self defense/ castle doctrine. I moved out about 2 months later for obvious reasons.” — Patchworkdeath1390
The Mysterious Stranger
“I almost got arrested for this but I was sitting on my couch with my wife when I heard a knock. I peep through and saw a man holding a shotgun. He must have heard me at the door then shot at me. I barley got hit then ran to my drawer got my gun and just started blasting at the door. When noise stops I open the door and He’s dead. Me and my wife still wonder why he attacked us” — helpmeimtofarinreddi
The uncertainty of such an attack must make dealing with something like this very difficult.
Warfare
“I was a door gunner in Iraq for a helo squadron. Our main mission was casualty evacuation. 99% of the time we didn’t fire weapons. Either we didn’t take fire or those shooting at us were too far away to actually hit us. Point being we typically were not shooting at anyone.
“One mission I happened to be on involved grunts taking fire. We were nearby and they radioed us for cover fire. From the air, it was just shooting a green patch on the ground. However, after the fight we provided the evacuation support for the wounded. One of the wounded was an enemy combatant that couldn’t have been older than 16. Maybe younger. There isn’t a day that goes by that the image of him doesn’t flash into my thoughts.” — DivvyDivet
This person said that after the conflict they gathered up wounded and dead from both sides, this is also a part of the Geneva Convention apparently.
Intruder
“I was staying with my grandfather and I woke up to a noise coming from upstairs (main floor, I was in the basement) and just knew it wasn’t my grandfather. There was banging around and heavy footsteps. I was in the room with the gun cabinet, so I grabbed a shotgun and went to check it out. When I got to the top of the stairs I saw a guy in the living room going through stuff so I pressed the safety and said he needed to leave. He turned around and saw my unthreatening scared as sh*t 14 year old self and told me to just go back downstairs and mind my business; so I repeated myself.
“He turned around and started walking towards me with something in his hand, so I fired. At this point, my grandpa is very awake and comes out of his room and just tells me to look away and call the police. Thankfully due to all the factors of him being a repeat offender, having a weapon, my age, and castle laws, it didn’t go any further than the police coming and asking me questions.” — YutBrosim
This person also wrote that this experience messed them up for a considerable amount of time afterward. It’s hard to imagine how something like this would affect such a young person.
Shot In An Alleyway
“I was walking home from the reck center when I was 15, it had gotten a lot darker due to daylight savings and I didn’t realize the time. I lived in a bad neighborhood, I was going home and this guy in the ally way attacked me, he started beating the shit out of me and robbing me, I still don’t know why he just didn’t take his gun out and shoot me. Anyways, I started fighting back and wrestling this guy.
“Somehow the gun got knocked about 2 feet away from my head, he was on top of me beating me and choking me. I started feeling around and there was this pretty pointy rock that was next to this trash can, I grabbed it and punched him with it in his rib and then again to his jaw, I shrimped out and crawled towards the gun. Once I had it, I rolled over and shot him 3 times and just laid there for a few minutes trying to process what the f**k just happened.” — gayflyswater
Abusive Partner
“I was with an abusive ex who would come home drunk every night. One night, we had a fight bc I had my phone on vibrate and that obviously meant I was sleeping with other ppl behind his back. He left for awhile and came home drunker then I’d ever seen him. He lunged at me and wrapped his hands around my neck and sat on my chest. I thought I was going to die. I had done some BJJ when I was younger and managed to pull me legs up under his crotch and then with everything I had. I pushed him off me.
“He hit his head on the sharp corner of a table and went still. I figured he had been knocked out so I went outside and called the police. I had the deepest purple bruises in perfect fingerprint form around my neck…he would’ve gone to jail. I walked back in after I calmed my nerves just to make sure he wasn’t awake and coming for me. He had a huge pool of blood under him. It was almost black looking so I stood there trying to figure out wtf I was looking at. Years of therapy. Self-defense plea. Open and shut…” — dudeimsick
BJJ stands for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and they said that their instincts just kicked in when he was attacking her.
