Yet again, an armed citizen stopped a criminal dead in their tracks — literally.
Police were called to a Lake County, Florida, home on Monday after an alleged intruder entered the residence through a window. The suspect, identified by WFTV as 35-year-old Ryan Michael Baldasare, was shot dead by the homeowner.
Deputies arrived at the residence on Lakeview Street after receiving a 911 call concerning a home invasion and found Baldasare, who was pronounced dead on the scene. The sheriff’s office said that the deceased “forcefully” entered the home before being confronted by the homeowner.
The defender is cooperating with authorities, who said “based on the evidence gathered so far, the shooting appears to be a case of self-defense.”
Baldasare was reportedly arrested last July after a violent incident at a nearby apartment complex. Police said he punched a man who was there with his girlfriend, causing a bloody nose and swollen eye. The suspect fled on foot when police arrived and was captured shortly thereafter.
Authorities reported that he appeared to have been drinking and was in possession of 1.31 grams of methamphetamine when arrested.
Sometimes it’s not difficult to blame the average person who falls for the media narrative that guns are the root of all evil. After all, they are subjected to daily reports of violence targeting the unarmed and unprepared, and what are they to believe?
What mainstream outlets fail to report — much to their disgrace — is the prevalence of law-abiding citizens who are armed and who refuse to be victims.
Biologists tell us that all living beings are ingrained with instincts of “fight or flight.” And while flight may be the natural reaction of some, it is impossible to expect everyone, including this Florida homeowner, to refuse to stand their ground.
Instead, this would-be victim defended both their property and their life. It was unclear if the home invader was armed, but that is not a chance most intelligent people are willing to take. A person who has the nerve to break a window and enter an occupied residence must be assumed to be ready to attack.
Baldasare doubtlessly expected to encounter little or no resistance, and he certainly did not anticipate the prospect of being confronted by an armed and ready homeowner. That was his mistake.
No one’s death is a cause for celebration, but in this case and many others like it, it is an event that should be noted and popularized. The more that violent criminals fear potential victims who are armed and ready to defend themselves, the less likely they will be to attack in the first place.
The stakes are then much higher, and the consequences may be deadly.
Fortunately for the homeowner, the incident occurred in Florida. The Sunshine State is well known for respecting the rights of its citizens to protect themselves against that element of society that thinks nothing of doing them grave harm.
Other areas of the country would rather for the homeowner to cower in fear, attempt to flee, or otherwise give in to the home invader’s demands. That is a surefire way to guarantee more violent crime and therefore more victims.
The Second Amendment guarantees the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms. The founding fathers were hardly considering squirrel hunters when this all-important component of the Bill of Rights was made.
It would have been unthinkable in 1787 to expect a homeowner to run at the first sign of trouble instead of defending themselves.
And it is unthinkable in 2023.
