Re: Assault or Self Defense
The entire set of circumstances would have to be taken into consideration including the relevant laws of your state. If he were making such a threat and you "subdued" him for the police and made a private person's arrest for the threats, then you would probably be okay, but it all depends on the entirety of the circumstances. If you had started by threatening HIM, and he did that to scare you off to protect himself, that would backfire on you.
It all depends.
- Carl
Re: Assault or Self Defense
In nearly every state in the US, if a person tells you he has a gun and is going to kill you while apparently reaching for a weapon, you have the legal right to defend yourself. For example, the law in Florida states:
a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony
The key issue here is reasonably believes. I would say that the circumstances you provided, absent any other extenuating circumstances (like the person is a 6 year old, or that you were raping his wife at the time he threatened you) you would be reasonable if you believed that you were facing imminent death or bodily harm.
Since deadly force is the greatest amount of force that the law recognizes, you would be within your rights to detain such a person. However, since you are facing an imminent threat, I would be careful. After all, he may just be armed.
That is why I regularly carry a gun, and in such a situation I would shoot to defend my life.