Black woman won't be charged for fatal shooting of firefighter

Source: Vesnaandjic / Getty

As crazy as this might sound to some of you, the “stand your ground” law sometimes works in our favor at times.

An off-duty firefighter named Anthony Santi was shot dead by an unnamed Black woman who was trying to stop him from choking the life out of her 23-year-old friend Ja’Von Taylor during a fight at a Kansas City, Missouri gas station. According to KCTV5, Santi overheard Taylor cursing at the cashier and intervened to defend her against the harassment. That confrontation led to a physical altercation outside the store where Santi was recorded putting Taylor in an extended headlock that appeared to be rendering him unconscious. The woman who was sitting in Taylor’s car was unaware of how the fight started and only knew that her man is being attacked.

As you will see in the video, despite taking possession of Taylor’s pistol, she tries several times to physically and verbally get Santi to release his hold from around Taylor’s neck. When none of her previous methods of engagement work, she fires a round into Santi’s back. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office declined to press charges against the woman or Taylor for Santi’s death, citing the self-defense statute that is currently on Missouri’s books. That statute is explained in the video below.

Taylor was later charged with the possession of a firearm as a felon which will likely land him in prison for quite some time. What say you? Would you have shot Santi? Do you agree with the prosecutor’s assessment that this is a self-defense shooting? Hit the comments section and drop your thoughts.