A Las Vegas party goer was shot in the chest after a mistakenly knocking on the wrong the door. (Photo credit: Review Journal)
A Las Vegas homeowner shot a confused party guest who had knocked on the wrong door early Thursday morning.
The victim and his friend had left a party near the 9200 block of Wittig Avenue. When they returned a short time later around 2 a.m., they mistakenly knocked on the door of a nearby home. When the homeowner refused to let them in the knocking turned to banging and the homeowner, believing he was being burglarized, fired a single round through the closed door, Review Journal reports.
The victim was struck in the chest and was transported to University Medical Center, where his condition was not released. Police have yet to release the names of those involved, but property records show the home is owned by Las Vegas Fire Department Capt. Victor Thompson.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that the homeowner called 911 after the shooting.
Neighbor Keith Patton said it’s easy to confuse the houses in their neighborhood and have walked or driven up to the wrong driveway multiple times.
It is unclear if the homeowner will be charged, but according to defense lawyer Chris Rasmussen, Nevada’s “Stand Your Ground” law may be applicable in this instance.
“You can use deadly force if you have a reasonable belief that your life is being threatened,” Rasmussen said. “If someone’s breaking through your front door, you don’t have to wait for them to get through the front door to shoot.”
“It all comes down to what a jury is going to think is reasonable,” Rasmussen added. “That it happened at 2 a.m. and not 2 p.m. is significant.”
The shooting remains under investigation.
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