Jabir Kennedy pulled the trigger as fast as he could…
There wasn’t much time for “aiming”, but the 5 attackers who had him pinned into the corner of a neighbor’s front porch corner – beating his head mercilessly with brass knuckles and the butt of a gun – were close enough that getting “lead into meat”wasn’t too much of a problem.
The 5 men – 4 of them bleeding from bullet wounds – bolted back toward the car they had jumped out of to ambush the 23 y.o. Kennedy.
Though He Survived The Attack, The “Fight” Wasn’t Over!
In Fact, Kennedy’s Troubles Were Just Beginning…
Here’s How 1 Man Defeated 5 Armed Attackers
In Pure Self-Defense… And STILL Went To Jail!
It all began just a few days before Christmas after Kennedy had dropped off his 5 year old daughter at her mother’s house.
After a heated argument with the girl’s mother, he left to go back home and cool off.
But his ex-girlfriend had other plans for him…
Picking up the phone, she called relatives, claiming that Kennedy had physically assaulted her, recruiting them to go after him for “payback”.
Within moments, five of the men had piled in a car – armed – and began cruising the neighborhood in search of Kennedy.
Spotting him walking near his home, they pulled up behind him… jumped out… and without warning, all began striking him with their weapons, eventually pushing him up onto the neighbor’s porch as Kennedy tried to fight back.
Unarmed himself, he was somehow able to grab onto one of the handguns being used to strike him and wrestle it away.
And with no time to spare…
Kennedy could hear the shouts of the others in the group, crying, “Shoot him! Shoot him!”
With the gun now in his control, he pulled the trigger – again and again – desperately shooting his way out of the attack as his assailants scrambled to their car.
The men sped off into the night – 3 of them shot… and 1 dying of his wounds just hours later.
While this may sound like a clear-cut case of self-defense, Kennedy was shocked when he discovered that HE was reported as the “attacker”…
… and was later arrested for 1st Degree Murder!
The District Attorney’s argument?
That Kennedy…
… was armed
… was “skilled” enough with a gun to shoot 4 out of the 5 attackers
… and that shooting 8-10 rounds was too “excessive” to be considered self-defense!
I know… total “b.s.”, right?
Fortunately a jury felt the same way and ended up finding Kennedy “Not Guilty” – but…
You And I Both Know This Court Trial Could Have Had An Entirely Different Ending For The Responsibly-Armed Private Citizen And…
Here Are 3 Shocking Lessons From The Kennedy Case That Every Gun Owner Needs To Know…
As I always say, “It’s best to learn from other people’s mistakes – and their successes.”, right?
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways most armed citizens don’t think about…
1. Pass “The Test”
Kennedy’s argument in court focused not on Stand Your Ground or the Castle Doctrine, but instead on good old-fashioned “self-defense”.
And according to one of our finest firearm instructors in our MCS network, Massad Ayoob, Kennedy’s response was “textbook”.
Ayoob explained that, to pass the “self-defense test,” you need three elements to be present at the same time:
- Ability (your attackers have the means to hurt or kill you)
- Opportunity (the danger from your attackers is immediate and unavoidable)
- Jeopardy (your attackers express – physically or verbally – they mean to cause you harm)
How does Kennedy’s response stack up?
Well, his attackers came lethally armed… looking for a fight… and ambushed him without warning or provocation.
Check… check… and CHECK!
But if any ONE of those “tests” hadn’t been met, Kennedy could still be sitting in a prison cell today.
And one person in particular certainly pulled every dirty trick in the book to try and put him there…
2. Beware Of The District Attorney
The truth is, the DA you’ll face doesn’t always care about whether you’re innocent or not.
The prosecutor’s only job is to make you look as guilty as possible so he or she can win a conviction against you.
Why?
Because the DA’s “job performance” is based on not losing cases “which wastes the taxpayers’ money” and they’ll try to avoid an expensive trial by scaring you with the possibility of what a “guilty” verdict will mean for you if you go to court.
They’ll try to get you to plea to a lesser charge so the “bad guy” goes away… they get another notch in the “win” column… and they saved the taxpayers some moolah.
That’s why the District Attorney in Kennedy’s case offered him a deal of 17.5-34 years for a “guilty” plea.
But as we say in our “Bulletproof Defense” Certification Program, if you know that you’re innocent, our advice is:
DON’T TAKE THE DEAL!
Kennedy himself explained the reasoning for his decision best…
“I knew I was only guilty of wanting to live. I just felt like, these guys came with guns! And people were yelling, ‘Shoot him!’ and stuff like that.
I’m just glad I got out of there with my life.”
Jabir stuck to his guns, knowing that pleading to the lesser charge could still make him “guilty.”
He’d also lose his right ever to own a gun again, and his life would be forever changed as he spent years in prison as a felon.
But that brings me to the fact that…
3. You May Still Have To Pay Anyway!
While this story had a happy ending with Kennedy’s “Not Guilty” verdict, his real-life consequences was far from “happy”…
He spent almost a YEAR AND A HALF behind bars waiting for his trial and fighting to prove his innocence!
How would YOUR life change if you spent 15 months behind bars?
Would your job be waiting for you when you got out?
How many of your kids’ or grandkids’ birthdays would you miss?
Their sports games? Graduations? Weddings?
EVERYTHING about your life can change in 15 months!
And what about the actual monetary cost?
The average expense to defend yourself in court is about $40,000… and that’s even if you’re 100% INNOCENT!
A trial like this could ruin you – both financially and emotionally.
Look, Kennedy’s tragic story should be a wake-up call for every red-blooded gun-owner reading this right now…
I know it feels great to pop off a few caps down at the local gun range, but hopefully you now realize that your attacker is only ONE fight you have to “survive”.
You must also train for the biggest danger you’ll face AFTER you’re attacked…
… the loss of your FREEDOM and FINANCES!
Take the time (NOW!) to get training in “shoot – don’t shoot” decisions and use-of-force laws.
You can’t afford NOT to know what’s “legal” and what’s not.
One wrong move and YOU could be the one who ends up in the back of the responding officer’s police cruiser — even if you think you are in the right!
The law isn’t always “fair”, and this video could literally save your life… as well as your family’s “way of life”.
Where did this incident occur? If this happened in “blue” city I can see why the DA wanted to press the issue and take him to court. Their motives are not just guilt or innocence they want to control the public when it comes to guns and gun ownership. There are many jurisdictions around the country where the DAs have their own agenda when it comes to gun control and they use it to intimidate the public and scare lawful gun owners into locking up their guns. As a retired Police Officer, I have seen this first hand especially in CA
@George – incident was in Southwest Philadelphia – December 21, 2017 – not exactly “gun friendly” territory.
One issue that greatly contributed to Mr. Kennedy’s legal troubles was reported as being that he fled the scene and became the subject of a community-wide manhunt by police and the media. It’s essential that if you’re ever involved in a use of force case, you know that the initial police response is there to secure the scene of the crime, and you always start the legal process as a suspect. You’ve likely just gone through the most stressful event of your entire life, and the less you say, the better off you’ll be. Make sure that you’re in a safe location and your defensive weapon is not in your hands when police initially arrive. Start your surrender with hands clearly visible, simply saying “I was in fear for my life”. Point out your attacker(s), the weapon(s) they used, and any witnesses you believe may have seen what happened. Next, say “I need to be taken to a hospital to be medically cleared and I need to have an attorney present before I can answer any more questions.” Say nothing more until that attorney is present and able to further guide you. Investigating police are just doing their job of getting as much evidence as they possibly can, including as much verbal rambling as you’re willing to offer up. Saying something like “I took actions (like I shot him) in self-defense” is legally an admission of guilt that can come back to haunt you in certain circumstances! It’s essential that you get to the hospital to make absolutely certain your health is not at further risk following the critical incident. And it’s essential that you let your attorney do the talking for you beyond the very limited info that you initially give to first responder law enforcement. As a State licensed firearms instructor, I encourage you to add the course being offered here as a good start on part of your self-defense education. What you think you know about the law can put you in as much or more jeopardy than the critical incident attack itself!
I hope his darling ex was arrested and prosecuted for her part in the attack!