A North Carolina woman who feared for her life as a man attempted to get in her car used her firearm to defend herself, fatally wounding him. The incident is being described as road rage by the local media reports. The area's district attorney said the man followed the woman into a grocery store parking lot, got out of his car, approached her car and attempted to enter her vehicle. “She, acting in self-defense, shot and killed him," the D.A. said.
"I think what's really important here for people to understand is that provision in our law is not an invitation to vigilante justice, but it does allow when someone has a reasonable fear for imminent death or bodily injury that you're allowed to protect yourself," Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told ABC 11.
The aggressor was a 49-year-old man who tried to pry open the woman's car doors before she fired at him. The D.A. said police were able to corroborate the story by viewing video footage of the scene and interview witnesses.
"We were fortunate to have access to various video. Also, there were witnesses in the area that were able to give a pretty clear image as to what happened here," Freeman said.
The woman was legally armed and has no prior criminal history, according to reports.
Under North Carolina law, individuals are permitted "to use force to protect themselves when there is a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily harm," Freeman told the local press. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. (foxnews.com; Raleigh, N.C.; 8/7/23)
