George Grier of Long Island has been arrested and charged for reckless endangerment for firing four warning shots into the ground when up to as many as twenty individuals stormed his property.

According to Grier, he was entering his home when five men approached and invaded his property. He ran into the home, directed his wife to call police, and returned to his front lawn with an AK-47 at which point even more individuals rounded the corner and began threatening him. Grier says the men threatened to kill him and his family.

To deter the potential assailants, he then fired his AK-47 into the ground.

Grier was subsequently arrested and charged. No others have been charged.

We are of the opinion that Mr. Grier’s actions are expressly protected by the United States Constitution, regardless of the intricacies of New York State law. Grier has been charged with reckless endangerment – creating a risk to human life, a risk that someone’s going to die. Mr. Grier was responding to a risk that someone was going to die, he did not create that risk.

The use of force in response to what law enforcement perceives to be a lack of  force on the part of the trespassers in this case is a gross misinterpretation of the events.

A criminal does not have to have a weapon to forcefully enter a home and assault its residents, especially if the criminals number twenty individuals suspected of being part of a violent gang who are instigating the threats on private property.

In our view, the fact that these individuals were on Mr. Grier’s property, making physical threats against him, his wife and his children is reason enough for Mr. Grier to not only fire warning shots, but to take all available means to eliminate the threat.

This is exactly the reason why high powered, semi-automatic weapons should be a part of every home defense plan.

For those who believe Mr. Grier overstepped his bounds, consider what you would do if twenty suspected gang members were on your lawn threatening to kill your entire family.