'If someone points a gun at you and cocks it, you can shoot them,' Florida sheriff says
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An armed Florida man who rushed to defend his sister from an abusive ex-boyfriend will face no charges after fatally shooting him, according to the local sheriff’s office.
"If someone points a gun at you and cocks it, you can shoot them," Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons told WEAR News of the incident that unfolded last week.
Escambia County Sheriff's deputies responded to a home within the Silver Lake Mobile Home Park last Tuesday and found an unidentified 26-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Investigators said the man was the ex-boyfriend of a 24-year-old unidentified woman who lives in the home. The man reportedly broke the woman’s door down, entered the home and struck her "several times," according to the sheriff’s office.
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Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff Chip Simmons speaks at a podium. (Escambia County Sheriff's Office / FB)
The woman grabbed her phone and texted her neighboring family members, including her 23-year-old brother who rushed to her home to protect her.
Investigators said another argument broke out when the brother arrived, and the ex-boyfriend pulled out a gun and aimed it at the brother.
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The Silver Lake Mobile Home Park in Escambia County, Florida. (Google Maps)
"At one point, the male that forced entry into the trailer pulled out a handgun, pointed it at her brother and cocked it," the sheriff said.
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"If someone points a gun at you and cocks it, you can shoot them," Florida sheriff says. (Scott Olson / Getty Images / File)
The woman’s brother was also armed, and he fired two shots at the man, killing him.
The brother is not facing charges, according to the sheriff’s office. The State Attorney's Office added in a comment to WEAR News that recent Florida laws have expanded the scope of self-defense for residents.
"'Stand Your Ground' has expanded the area of the castle," Assistant State Attorney John Molchan told the outlet. "We used to have the ‘Castle Doctrine,’ which said that your home was your castle and that you could use deadly force to defend yourself from a murderer or a person committing a forcible felony."
