Personal defense trainers teach their students to aim for center mass when firing on an attacker. It’s a large target — that makes it easier to hit when you’re moving, the attacker is moving, and you’re shooting under stress — and happens to be where the body’s vital organs are located.
Aiming for center mass also gives you some room for error. That may have been what happened Saturday night when a South Carolina homeowner confronted a home invader.
From msn.com . . .
According to police, residents said the man kicked in the back door of the home brandishing a handgun, there was a confrontation and one of the residents shot him.
According to police, he was shot in the neck and died at the hospital. The coroner’s office identified the man as Damion Quintel Henderson, 29.
Who knows? Maybe the homeowner was aiming for center mass, but in an anxious situation, he shot a little high. With adrenaline dumping into the bloodstream due to the stress of that kind of encounter – along with impaired fine motor skills and tunnel vision — most people find accuracy a challenge.
Fortunately, no one will ever have to face that situation again, at least not because of Damion Quintel Henderson. He has assumed ambient temperature and won’t be kicking in any more doors.
In the mean time, there are more Hendersons out there, so training and range time are still important. Invest the money in a couple of boxes of ammo and get out there, OK?
