So here’s a news story for you. This involves a woman who was home alone, watching TV, when a 26-year-old man broke into her home through the bedroom window. Hearing the sound of breaking glass, the woman grabbed her handgun and ran out the back door. The intruder chased her out of the house toward the street. She called for help as she ran, although apparently none of the neighbors were close enough to help her. When the woman looked back and realized the intruder was still chasing her, she shot him in the chest.

She’s physically unharmed. He’s in critical condition.

Assuming the news story is substantially correct, I think it is safe to say that this woman made some good choices.

Although the law in her state (Florida) did not require her to retreat from her own home, she made a smart survival choice when she did her best to leave danger behind her. She acted decisively and immediately in her move toward safety, and she was smart enough to take a weapon with her just in case retreat did not work. When it became obvious that her retreat had failed, she used the weapon to defend her life. At the time she fired, she had no other viable choice if she wanted to survive the situation.

This set of facts would hold up very well in front of a jury, even in an “unfriendly” state. That’s good. Even better: the reason these facts would hold up well is because they show that this woman had an excellent self-defense mindset.

In fact, judging by her actions as reported in the news, this woman was a cornered cat. She moved away from the danger as quickly as she could. She didn’t care what damage she inflicted on her way to safety, but she wasn’t interested in fighting for fighting’s sake. She did only as much as she needed to do in order to escape. She didn’t deal in revenge. She felt threatened, so she simply left … efficiently.

Hat tip to 357 Magnum.