NRA spokeswoman cheers firing of Dallas police officer who shot her neighbor in his home

National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch on Monday welcomed the firing of a Dallas police officer who fatally shot her neighbor in his own apartment.

Amber Guyger was fired after an internal review of an incident where she was accused of entering the apartment of Botham Jean, apparently mistaking it for her own, and shot and killed him.

Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall fired Guyger during a disciplinary hearing, the department said in a statement. Guyger, who was hired in November 2013, can appeal the decision, it added.

{mosads}An internal affairs investigation found that Guyger, who is white, “engaged in adverse conduct” when she fatally shot Jean, who is black, earlier this month. Guyger was charged with manslaughter in the shooting.

Guyger said she believed Jean to be an intruder in her home and shot him.

Loesch sparked controversy following the shooting by saying Jean might be alive if he were a gun owner.

“I mean, if I see somebody coming into my house, and I’m not expecting them, and they’re walking in like they own the place, I mean — I would, I would act to defend myself. And this could have [gone] very differently had he actually had a firearm on him,” she said on an NRA TV broadcast.

Critics noted that in multiple police shootings in recent years, officers have shot unarmed individuals because they were thought to be reaching for a weapon.

Some also pointed to the case of Philando Castille, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Minnesota. Castille, who had a permit to legally carry a weapon, told the police officer he had a gun in the car in an effort to avoid a misunderstanding before he was shot.

Updated at 2:27 p.m.

 

Tags Amber Guyger Botham Jean Dallas Police Department Dana Loesch National Rifle Association NRA

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