Am I within my rights to shoot a prowler on my property with a tranquilizer gun?

Our neighborhood has been dealing with a sharp increase in break-ins and pilfering of items left in garages and back yards. My property is partially fenced in with a 6 foot privacy fence in the back yard, in which burglars have broken through some boards to gain access to my property.
If I were to catch one of these thieves ransacking my property, I would like to make sure they were caught, rather than just run off. Would I be legally allowed to shoot a robber with a tranquilizer gun to subdue him until the police arrived, or would this make me liable for assault?

James R

If the person burglarizing your house has some type of weapon and is threatening you with it, then you have grounds to defend yourself in whatever means necessary. However, if you do not see a weapon and he is not threatening you then you could possibly run into some legal problems if you shoot him with a tranquilizer gun.

Also, sometimes tranquilizer guns can cause a lot of damage to some people, so I would recommend getting a civilian taser if you're going to use a non-lethal weapon.

Dan B

As you read the responses, you're finding out that criminals have more rights than homeowners. If the situation is serious enough to shoot, it's serious enough to shoot to kill. And your 'criminal victim' better have a gun in his hands. Tazer the SOB.

Citicop

That would make you liable for assault.

And if it is a small person (young teen) doing it, and the dose of tranquilizer is lethal, you just committed murder.

jamie

you have the right to shoot him if he is threatening to do physical harm to you or he has a weapon that he is pointing at you
if you just catch him in the house with no weapon you can threaten to shoot him and keep him there till you call cops

sirbobby98121

An important piece of information is what your state permits insofar as "castle doctrine" is concerned.

That said, a tranquilizer gun would be most inappropriate as a defensive choice. Too many variables come into play once you use it.

telwidit

If they're merely trespassing no, don't shoot. Call the police and hope they get there and protect you before your killed by the bandits.

By the way. I don't really know how a tranquilizer gun works in an immediate need situation. I think I'd rather have a sawed off shotgun to deter criminals who have broken into my residence. I wouldn't trust a tranquilizer gun.
thanks

Pojo

Inside or outside? Outside forget it, inside is also very questionable depending on what was being done.

The tragedy is that if you were to shoot someone like that and they had a reaction to the tranquilizer they cound end up owning YOUR house! Unbelievable but true.

Mithaniel Marr

I got fined once for using fire powder on a burglar. So no your not allowed to use any illegal weapons on a burglar without recourse. If you don't know what fire powder is, its basically a powdered form of pepper spray you can blow in an opponents face or rub on your hands before combat to make your strikes burn someones eyes or cuts you might open. Its commonly used by secret agents and in the past by Shinobi or Ninjas. Its easy to conceal and can get through most weapons searches thus illegal to possess in most states.

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