The gunslinging bystander who drew national attention when she opened fire at fleeing shoplifters in a Home Depot parking lot vowed Wednesday that she will never help anyone again.
In October, the 46-year old Michigan woman, Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, fired several shots with her licensed 9-millimeter handgun at the sport-utility vehicle of two suspected shoplifters in a store parking lot in Auburn Hills, Mich. The men drove away but were later arrested.
Ms. Duva-Rodriguez, who had been a passer-by when she noticed the commotion, found herself on the opposite side of the law too. She was charged with one count of reckless use, handling or discharge of a firearm.
Her case became an example of incidents in the United States that highlight the debate over the proper response by armed bystanders to violence or crime, one that often resurfaces after mass shootings like the ones in San Bernardino and Colorado Springs.
Ms. Duva-Rodriguez entered a plea of no contest to the charge on Oct. 26. On Wednesday, she appeared in a Rochester Hills courtroom and was granted 18 months’ probation. Her permit to carry a concealed weapon was revoked until at least 2023.
“I made a decision in a split second,” Ms. Duva-Rodriguez said in court, according to The Associated Press. “Maybe it was not the right one, but I was trying to help.” One of her shots flattened a tire on the fleeing vehicle. Her defense lawyer called her a sharpshooter.
After the court session, she spoke to reporters.
“I tried to help,” she said. “And I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/u...one-again.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
In October, the 46-year old Michigan woman, Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, fired several shots with her licensed 9-millimeter handgun at the sport-utility vehicle of two suspected shoplifters in a store parking lot in Auburn Hills, Mich. The men drove away but were later arrested.
Ms. Duva-Rodriguez, who had been a passer-by when she noticed the commotion, found herself on the opposite side of the law too. She was charged with one count of reckless use, handling or discharge of a firearm.
Her case became an example of incidents in the United States that highlight the debate over the proper response by armed bystanders to violence or crime, one that often resurfaces after mass shootings like the ones in San Bernardino and Colorado Springs.
Ms. Duva-Rodriguez entered a plea of no contest to the charge on Oct. 26. On Wednesday, she appeared in a Rochester Hills courtroom and was granted 18 months’ probation. Her permit to carry a concealed weapon was revoked until at least 2023.
“I made a decision in a split second,” Ms. Duva-Rodriguez said in court, according to The Associated Press. “Maybe it was not the right one, but I was trying to help.” One of her shots flattened a tire on the fleeing vehicle. Her defense lawyer called her a sharpshooter.
After the court session, she spoke to reporters.
“I tried to help,” she said. “And I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/u...one-again.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
