Argument over handicap parking led to fatal shooting

“Unarmed man shot and killed in front of five-year-old son”

“47-year-old man forced to shoot younger man who attacked him”

Both could have been headlines for a recent Florida incident and either one shows a valid point of view.

The sheriff in charge of the investigation says he won’t seek charges against the older man because of his state’s Stand Your Ground law, but will forward the information in the case to prosecutors for further review.

According to the New York Times, Britany Jacobs, 25, was sitting in a car parked in a handicapped parking space at a convenience store when Michael Drejka, the 47-year-old man, confronted her about using the space without a permit.

They began arguing and soon her boyfriend, Markeis McGlockton, and their 5-year-old son, walked out of the store.

Things escalated, McGlockton pushed Drejka to the ground and then Drejka, who has a concealed carry permit, pulled out his gun and shot McGlockton, who had taken a few steps backward, in the chest. The younger man went back into the store, clutching his chest, and later died at a hospital.

The case is especially notable because Florida’s Stand Your Ground law was the center of the controversy over George Zimmerman’s fatal shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin.

The argument could certainly be made that it wasn’t necessary for Drejka to shoot McGlockton, who was already retreating. The other side is, Drejka had every reason to believe shooting was necessary “to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm,” as the law requires.

The case, and many others like it, are a good reminder to be polite and avoid violent confrontations whenever possible. You never know who’s packin’.