I'm still trying to figure out how Leo's comments relate to the story. This veteran may very well indeed know his weapon, yet he discharged his weapon stupidly, which flies in the face of the statement that, "he also likely knows how to use it in a safer manner than many so there's little chance what he did was unsafe. A warning shot is never save regardless of which direction it is fired. He was outside of the building looking at the guy attempting to break into his apartment and fired a warning shot into the ground, which could have ricocheted off a rock and killed someone while they were doing dishes or shattered a rock and one of the pieces could have put they eye of a child out. The guy started retreating as soon as he saw Thompson and the gun, so what was the warning shot's purpose?
"This is the end result. You break into someone’s house, there’s consequences," Thomson said.
The only problem is, his house wasn't broken into.
I'm not convinced of his combat battle credentials, either.
"When I’m dealt with a stressful situation, being a veteran from Iraq and the Afghanistan war, it’s natural. I just jump into combat mode. I told him, ‘I’m going to give you a warning shot’,” Thompson explained.
I had no idea that warning shots were part and parcel of military combat mode. <snort>
Plus, he's awfully fat for a combat veteran. Looks more like Larry the Cable Guy than a battle-hardened vet.