Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Here’s another defensive gun use that groups like Moms Demand Action will completely ignore. Authorities in Pima County, Arizona say a woman shot and killed a man with a lengthy criminal history who was trying to break into her home last week, protecting herself from what could easily have been a violent encounter.
According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office 43-year old Jason Magrum had been a frequent flyer in the local court system, with at least eight charges going back to 2006 for things like assault, disorderly conduct, and threats or intimidation. Magrum is also a registered sex offender in Utah, so there’s no telling what was on his mind when he attempted to gain entry to the woman’s rural home southwest of Tucson.
[Name redacted by Bearing Arms], 54, was home alone when the incident occurred.
She told deputies she grabbed a gun and fired a warning shot through the window hoping it would scare the intruder away, according to an initial news release from the department.
She fired a second time, striking Magrum.
Responding deputies tried to revive Magrum, but he died at the scene.
Magrum listed a residence in the same block of West Pyle Road where the alleged attempted break-in occurred, records shows.
The victim’s name is unfortunately out there, but I don’t see the need to name her here at Bearing Arms given that she was the victim of a crime.
Given Magrum’s proximity to the victim’s home, this may not have been a random break-in, but instead a targeted attempt on the woman alone inside her residence. Whatever he had in mind, it wasn’t good. According to an earlier report, Magrum was first verbally warned by the woman to leave the property before she fired the warning shot, but neither her shouting nor her shooting persuaded him to turn around and walk away.
The PCSD said Magrum was trying to break into a woman’s home. The woman told him to leave, but he did not stop.
The woman then grabbed a gun and fired a warning shot. The PCSD said Magrum tried to disarm her and was shot.
The woman wasn’t hurt and cooperated with deputies. As of Aug. 16, the woman is not facing any charges so 13 News is not naming her.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Magrum was convicted of aggravated domestic violence in Pima County in 2014. He was sentenced to six months in prison.
So, a registered sex offender with a history of violence tries to invade a woman’s home and disarm her after she’d fired a shot to scare him away. As long as the physical evidence matches the victim’s story, I’d say this is a clear-cut case of self-defense as well as another example of why it’s so important to be able to protect yourself, even in the sanctity of your own home.
Thankfully, it sounds like the woman was unharmed in her encounter with the violent offender, and the fact that she was able to get her gun may very well have saved her life. We’ll keep a lookout for any updates, but as of now this looks to be a justified use of deadly force by someone who had a reasonable fear that the man trying to get inside her home meant her harm.