WI: Gunfight, Home Invader Killed, Headline: Victim Identified

Many self defense shootings are not reported in the media. Many are not entered as justified homicides in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). A self defense shooting, which included a justified homicide, occurred in the 800  block of Waugoo Avenue, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,at night, on November 5th, 2017.

The initial reporting did not include any indication this was a justified self defense shooting.

The headline: Oshkosh shooting victim identified. From nbc26.com: Nov. 6, 2017

OSHKOSH, Wis. - An 18-year-old Appleton man is dead after a shooting in Oshkosh. Police said a suspect is still at large.

Police identified Cashmiere A.S. Hill as the victim.

Nine days later, this report is made about the incident on Waugoo Avenue.  There is no indication that the shooting was justified self defense.

The headline:  Three arrested in connection to fatal Oshkosh shooting. From nbc26.com:  Nov. 15, 2017

OSHKOSH, Wis. - Three men have been arrested in connectoSHion to an armed robbery that ended in the fatal shooting of a teenager in Oshkosh.

Cashmiere A.S. Hill, 18, was killed in the shooting on Waugoo Avenue on November 5.

On November 16, we get this report. There is a hint the shooting was justified. A man is charged with felony murder. The headline:

Man charged with murder in connection to fatal Oshkosh shooting.  From nbc26.com:  Nov. 16, 2017

According to a criminal complaint, several people planned to rob a man on the 800 block of Waugoo Avenue after he posted on Facebook about winning thousands of dollars at the casino.

That group included Summers and Cashmiere Hill, 18, of Appleton.

The man fought off the armed robbers once, but Hill then returned and the man shot at him in what he said was self-defense, court documents said.

On the afternoon of 16 November, 50 miles away, in Green Bay, a reporter obtains the police report.  WBAY gves a reasonably detailed account.

The headline: Complaint: man shot and killed during robbery attempt in Oshkosh.  From wbay.com:

An 18-year-old Appleton man was shot and killed by the target of a robbery at an apartment in Oshkosh, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Action 2 News.

Tory Summers, 28, has been charged with Felony Murder in connection to the death of Cashmiere A.S. Hill. Summers is also charged with Armed Robbery and Burglary.

On Nov. 5, Oshkosh Police were called to a report of a shooting in the 800 block of Waugoo Ave. Officers arrived on scene to find Cashmiere Hill on the sidewalk outside of an apartment complex.

An investigator entered the apartment and found blood on the door to the entrance, handrails and steps.

Police located the alleged target of the robbery, who had a gunshot wound on his right forearm. The man told police that he had been watching a movie in his living room when he heard glass breaking in his kitchen. He went to check it out and found a man trying to get into his home.

It is a clear example of a self defense shooting. The victim was targeted in his home. He was subject to home invasion aimed at robbing him. There were multiple assailants. He was shot at and wounded while defending himself. He killed one of the home invaders. You would not know it from reading most of the coverage.

Only the last headline hints the homicide was justified.

One of the suspects has been charged with Felony Murder. There is no wording to indicate this was a home invasion.

Is this self defense shooting going to be entered in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports as a justified homicide? Unlikely. A suspect is being charged with the homicide. There are no charges against the wounded victim.

Fox news had a more neutral headline on 6 November: From Fox11news.com:

Man killed, another wounded in Oshkosh shooting

The news organizations depend on the police a great deal. The police have to investigate the situation. That takes time.  The victim does not want to be identified and targeted. That leaves an information void for the media. That explains part of the problem.

Why not this headline:  Home Invasion, Defender Wounded, 1 Invader Killed? 

By November 16, the facts were known. A headline featuring self defense would have attracted many readers.

The media are biased against self defense. The FBI UCR rules are biased against reporting justified homicides.  Only 20% of justified homicides are recorded by the FBI.

There is tremendous understatement of armed self defense in the United States.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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