TEMPLE, Texas — A man that was shot multiple times and was killed in Temple by a homeowner Wednesday evening after he reportedly entered his yard has raised questions about a rule about property owners being able to defend their land in the context of the recent incident.
Around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday evening, officers were made aware of a shooting that occurred on Luna Lane. There, officers found a man had been shot multiple times by a homeowner. The man was taken to the hospital in critical condition but later died.
In their initial report from Wednesday, police said that no other injuries came from the incident, and that there is no danger to the public.
6 News tried to get clarity from Temple Police on the Luna Lane shooting and to learn if charges will be brought upon anyone, but they aren't able to answer many questions as they still investigate.
At this time it is hard to say if the Luna Lane shooting will have any ties to the Castle Doctrine, but rightfully it does raise questions.
The Castle Doctrine--sometimes referred to as the Castle Law or Defense of Habitation Law--in effect, but the specific details about how the rule functions isn't as clear cut as some may think, not giving homeowners an automatic green light to use means like shooting at people just to get them off their property when certain simple conditions are met.
"There is a common misconception that the Castle Law is a free path to shoot anyone who steps foot on your property," said 6 News Legal Analyst Liz Mitchell. "And the law is very clearly not a Get Out of Jail Free Card to shoot anyone who's simply trespassing."
Mitchell tells 6 News that there's a fine line between self-defense and criminal force.
"The law is always going to look at your actions and whether or not they were reasonable. Did the person reasonably believe that their life was in imminent danger, immediate danger?"
Texas is one of the 45 states that has a form of the Castle Doctrine which allows a person to use a reasonable amount of force to protect themselves and their property, meaning that given the circumstance, deadly force can be justified.
"Whether or not someone was entering your home, your habitation? your workplace, your vehicle with force where they are breaking a window where they picking a lock where they forcibly trying to enter your property? All of those things are going to justify matching that force with the use of deadly force."
With this ability comes a responsibility of homeowners to understand where the line is also drawn for them as well.
"Big difference if someone is simply criminally trespassing, walking across your lawn, jumping your fence in the middle of the day did you feel in that situation that you're in immediate imminent danger? More than likely not."
As it pertains to the incident on Luna Lane, those who live in the neighborhood tell 6 News then man was always around and was a nice guy.
Additional updates and information will be provided as it becomes available.