California Prosecutor Press Charges for Carrying a Firearm In Self-Defense Incident
Jose Nino
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Sergio Carranza Ramos, a man who shot and killed two individuals in self-defense at a bar in California, is now facing a felony charge of carrying a loaded gun in public.
This charge came even after the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office declared that he had acted in self-defense on November 28, 2023.
The shooting incident took place at El Torero Bar, where an adult male and three women were shot around 1 a.m. on November 21, per the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. The man was later identified as Gerardo Hernandez Herrera. He later died at the bar. A woman, Carolina Martinez, died at the hospital. Two other women were wounded in the shooting exchange.
Carranza then turned himself in to police less than 24 hours following the shooting. The District Attorney’s Office reported that Herrera entered the bar with a firearm and confronted Carranza. Herrera would shoot first, with Carranza firing back in self-defense
“All shots were fired within three-and-a-half seconds,” the DA’s office recounted.
“Under the legal doctrine of transferred intent, if a person fires justifiably in self-defense and inadvertently injures or kills an innocent bystander, the law of self-defense applies, and the person does not commit a criminal act. Under this law, the person who initiated the gunfire is responsible for all injuries or deaths that result,” the DA’s office noted.
It remains to be seen what will happen in this case. California is one of the most anti-gun states in the nation. It’s ranked in 48th place according to Guns & Ammo magazine, thereby making the right to self-defense a practically non-existence factor in the state.
If we’re being honest here, Carranza may end up getting punished simply for exercising his supposed right to self-defense. One thing is clear, had Carranza been disarmed, he likely would have been killed. This is the harsh reality that many people face in gun-controlled jurisdictions.
At the end of the day, the best way to promote public safety is by allowing for lawful individuals to be armed.
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