MI: "Assault Rifle" (Hi-Point Carbine) Used to Stop Detroit Home Invasion

Hi-Point Carbine used in defense of home.

The Hi-Point carbine shown comes with 10 round magazines. It is inappropriately described as an "assault rifle". It is a good choice for home defense because it is short and easy to handle, has little recoil or muzzle flash, and takes much less practice for the average person to use accurately than does a handgun. From the dailymail.co.uk:

This is the dramatic moment a mother-of-two opened fire with an assault rifle on intruders who tried to smash their way into her home.

The woman took action after three hooded individuals kicked down the door of her Detroit home on Monday night where she lives with her two young children.

She fired off rounds in a bid to deter the would-be burglars, later saying she 'didn't have time to get scared'.

I do not expect the Daily Mail to have a gun expert on hand (hint: I am available for very reasonable rates), but to call a Hi-Point carbine an "assault rifle" is a bit over the top, even if it fits the elastic legal definition of "assault weapon"  in some state law, based on cosmetic features.  On the plus side, I give them credit for carrying the story without ever saying that the mother and her children would have been better off without a gun.  They get additional points for mentioning a case where a Brooklyn boy of 10 drove off home invaders by picking up a pistol that they dropped and firing it at them.

To add to any controversy, this appears to be another case of successful use of "warning shots".

As the intruders fled the home while shots rang out, one dropped a handgun. He grabbed it and tried to get back into the house but was scared off by more shots.

I do not recommend "warning shots", but there is no question that sometimes they are used with positive results. Consider the Korean grocers during the Rodney King riots, and these teenage criminals.   Unless, of course, the mother simply needs some time at the range.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch