Mercer County DA Declines Charges in Fatal Crossbow Shooting

Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards reports that a Pennsylvania district attorney has ruled a fatal crossbow shooting in September to be self-defense.

Key points

• The incident: police in Sharon, Pennsylvania, were called to a domestic incident early on September 24 and found a 24-year-old man critically hurt by a crossbow bolt to the chest. He died at a hospital.
• The decision: Mercer County District Attorney Jacob Sander announced on Monday that the person who fired acted in self-defense and will not face charges.
• What is unknown: the article says it is not public who fired, how they knew the man, whether anyone else was in the home, or what the dispute was about. With no charges, it says police have little reason to release more.
• Legal context: Edwards notes that self-defense laws do not generally name what may be used, and cites a New Jersey law, now being challenged, that limits self-defense carry to a firearm or a small amount of chemical irritant.

Quick take

Edwards writes that the unusual weapon does not change whether the shooting was justified. In his view, anyone who reasonably believes they face imminent death or serious bodily harm is generally entitled to use deadly force. He adds that he would not recommend a crossbow for everyday carry.

Read the full story at Bearing Arms.