Once Again, We’re Begging You Not To Shoot Lost Drivers Simply Turning Around Or Asking For Directions

State Police arrested Chester, Latest York highway superintendent John J. Reilly — relationship to actor John C. Reilly unknown — on Saturday for allegedly shooting a lost DoorDash driver who had simply been in search of directions. Thankfully, the motive force is anticipated to survive, although the shooting left him with “serious physical injuries,” the Times Union reports. Reilly now faces three felonies, including first-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. 

In response to a release from the State Police, the shooting took place on Friday night when the motive force got lost and had issues with the app. He then tried to get directions from multiple homes within the neighborhood before trying Reilly’s house. Reilly told the motive force to get off his property, but despite the fact that the motive force attempted to do exactly that, Reilly fired multiple shots, certainly one of which hit him within the back. The discharge also notes that, along with being the Town of Chester Highway Superintendent, Reilly can be a federally licensed firearms dealer. He stays within the Orange County jail in lieu of $250,000 money, a $500,000 bond, or a $750,000 partially secured bond.

As previously mentioned, the motive force is anticipated to survive, but he also never should’ve been shot in the primary place because getting lost and asking for directions shouldn’t be a criminal offense. And if this had been a one-off incident, that may have been one thing. Sadly, it’s not, leaving us once more begging you to not shoot lost or stranded drivers simply asking for help. You do not have to do it. I promise. They’ll be higher off, and so will you. In Reilly’s case, first-degree assault is a Class B felony in Latest York and carries a five-to-25-year sentence if convicted.

Nobody’s perfect. People make mistakes. Sometimes, they miss the sign raising the speed limit. Sometimes, they must brake hard to avoid missing their turn. And sometimes, they go to the incorrect house. None of those is remotely price escalating with physical violence, and yet, people do. Two years ago, we saw so many similar situations in such a brief time frame, as a substitute of covering those stories individually, I needed to roll 4 of them into one post. While many of the victims, including 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who was shot in the top, survived, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis didn’t. 

Kevin Monahan, the 65-year-old man who killed Gillis, didn’t just senselessly murder an innocent young woman who by accident pulled into the incorrect driveway. He also ruined his own life and can likely die in prison. The Times Union reports he was found guilty in March 2024 and sentenced to 26.33 years to life, the utmost possible sentence. Even worse, Monahan appeared convinced he did nothing incorrect, prompting Judge Adam Michelini to notice that, despite the low recidivism rates for convicted murderers, he believed Monahan would do the identical thing again if given the prospect. “It’s obvious to me that you are feeling justified. You do not take any responsibility for the final result of your actions. You simply do not get it,” Michelini told Monahan when handing out his sentence.

It is also price noting that each the Gillis murder and the Reilly case took place in Latest York, not the South. The depraved desire to seek out any opportunity or excuse to shoot someone is not exclusive to at least one region of the country, regardless of how much most of the people I knew in Boston would probably wish to consider. Nor are senseless shootings limited to “Democrat cities,” like lots of my neighbors here in Georgia would probably like to consider. 

While it’s hard to wrap our minds around Monahan’s lack of remorse over killing an innocent young woman, it’s no secret where this attitude comes from. It is the inevitable results of the right-wing media’s obsession with stoking paranoia and spreading lies about an “invasion” of immigrants and gang members, in addition to its obsession with crime supposedly being uncontrolled, despite the target indisputable fact that violent crime rates are only a fraction of what they were within the Nineties. 

And regardless of what the web sea lions would love you to consider, it’s not normal to shoot someone who simply pulls into the incorrect driveway or asks for directions, even in case you saw one story on Facebook sometime about someone pretending to be lost in order that they could do crimes.

This is not even about owning guns, either. I could also be certainly one of those “libtards” who believes germs are real and that everybody accused of a criminal offense deserves a good trial, but I’m also incredibly pro-hunting and genuinely enjoy shooting. I used to be just taught gun safety at a time after we were still more concerned about not hurting innocent people than fantasizing about holding off a complete army of home invaders while beating it to a poster of John Wayne. My dad’s cousin didn’t die because a foreign gang tried to interrupt in. He died from a negligent discharge. And while I do not know anyone who was murdered with a gun, I actually have known several who used one to take their very own lives. 

If you happen to think MS-13 is more of a threat to your loved ones than a youngster with depression getting access to a loaded firearm, I do not know what to let you know. The statistics on gun deaths simply aren’t in your side. I suppose delete Facebook, stop watching the news and go touch grass? Threats aren’t looming around every corner, especially in your rural suburb. I’ve spent most of my adult life living in cities which can be allegedly overrun with crime, and nobody has once broken into my apartment and even mugged me, an objectively very muggable person. 

The more you purchase into the delusion that you just’re always one moment away from things turning into the shootout on the Golden OK Corral, the more likely it’s that you will find yourself like Reilly or Monahan, facing a long time in prison for shooting someone who simply pulled into the incorrect driveway. If you happen to want real advice, though, keep on with the three-part test for using deadly force that former SWAT officer Coach Gooch (yes, that was his real name, and no, I’m not making that up) taught me in highschool

In response to the Gooch, a justified shooting requires the person in query to have demonstrated the power to significantly injure or kill you or another person and the intent to achieve this, in addition to being in close enough proximity to do harm. So, an individual threatening you with a gun meets that standard, while someone outside your own home with a knife doesn’t. A lost delivery driver asking for directions or a stranger knocking in your door? Absolutely not. And in case you disagree, you possibly can take it up with Coach Gooch.