Diaz was driving the group to pick up another friend before going on to the ice skating rink. They were using a GPS device that took them to the wrong house. Whether they typed in the address of their friend wrong, or the device malfunctioned is irrelevant. What they found when the pulled into the driveway is inexcusable.
69 year old Vietnam vet, Philip Sailors, came out of the house and saw the group of young, Hispanic, people in a car in his driveway and immediately felt he was under attack. He rushed inside, presumably as fast as a 69 year old man can rush, and grabbed his gun. He came back outside and fired the .22 caliber pistol in the air.
By this time it was very apparent to Diaz and his friends that this was not their friend's house. Seeing an old man coming out waving a gun must have been terrifying. They went out for a night of fun, but at this point they were just hoping to get out of that situation alive.
Diaz quickly threw the car in reverse and hit the accelerator. Sailors lowered his gun and fired into the car, hitting Diaz in the head.
Where does the line between defending your property and common sense lie? These people were not hurting Sailors, they were looking for their friend. Once they realized their mistake they were leaving. One report says Diaz rolled down the window to apologize to the man advancing toward them with his gun raised. He tried to explain their mistake. Sailors wasn't interested in his explanation.
Sailors has been arrested, of course, and maintains he is innocent due to self defense. I would like to know how one can claim self defense when you shoot at a car driving away from you.
A lawyer for Sailors had this to say in defense of his client:
"He fired a warning shot and then when the car was accelerated to go in reverse he perceived it differently. He’s an elderly man, he perceived the car going towards his house, towards him."
If he cannot perceive if a car is coming towards him or moving away, he probably should not be pointing a gun at anyone, or maybe own it at all. We would not let someone like that drive a car. How is this different?
This speaks to the gun culture in this country. There is a problem when people, Sailors undoubtably among them, believe they need to resort to tactics from the Old West in order to survive in the 21st century. This culture that surrounds guns must be part of the conversation. Bob Costas on the Daily Show this past week discussed the gun culture in America with Jon Stewart. It is real, and people are less safe because of it. More guns does not equal more safety, contrary to the NRA's position.
This will be an interesting story to follow.
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