A real-life illustration of the maxim that when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

The neighbor is reportedly worried that he’s in legal trouble. Are you serious, bro? Section 733 of the Oklahoma criminal code:

A. Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases:…

2. When committed in the lawful defense of such person or of another, when the person using force reasonably believes such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to terminate or prevent the commission of a forcible felony

At least two other people at the scene thought the guy’s actions were reasonable. Unless there’s a history of bad blood between the neighbor and the “victim,” i.e. the dad who was trying to drown his children, there’s not a jury in Oklahoma that’ll convict him. In fact, assuming the facts really are as stated below, it’s a bit of a puzzle why this story has gotten the national press that it has over the last few days. Is it because the morality of it is so clear-cut, with the hero arriving in the nick of time to save two children from the evil villain? Or is it because it’s such an obvious example of the benefits of Second Amendment rights?

Imagine walking in on this scene and having to decide within a few seconds whether to gun someone down to stop a crime from being committed, knowing that if you’ve assessed the situation incorrectly in any way it’s you who’ll be going away to prison for decades.