re: Gut feeling, I feel like Will might have had a gun

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What changes? It's his right to have a gun as well as to inform someone who he perceives to be threatening him of this. Until he pulls there is not reason for Hayes, the aggressor, to be shooting him. The right thing at that time would be for Hayes to walk away from the scene.

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The threat doesn't have to be real in order to claim self defense. It only has to be reasonably perceived. Would it be reasonable to think that someone saying "I have a gun" followed by the act of going into his car for something would constitute a legitimately perceived threat?

Even if you label Hayes as the aggressor, he would still have the right to meet force with force. If Hayes said, "I have a gun, too,' then that would seemingly indicate that Smith mentioned having a gun first and thus escalated the situation into one that then involved deadly weapons.

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That's an assumption. He may or may not have.

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If the gun was in plan view to the shooter, Police would've said there was a 2nd gun, IMO.

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Guys. I get it. There's still no excuse for Will to have been murdered.

But to say the presence of a second gun doesn't complicate the situation. Get real.

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We don't know yet if there was a legitimate excuse or not. Do you honestly think that the Internet has solved this case and tied it up neatly with a bow?

How in the world did you get that the presence of a second gun doesn't complicate things from my post?

Will smith simply saying "I have a gun" means noting. Nor does him actually returning to his vehicle. A veiled threat means nothing. The other guy shoots him in the back as smith is walking away. Super he gets into that car and his wife says will just leave it be. So many actions up to interpretations. The fact is one guy had a gun and shot a man in his back as he was walking away from him. Possible that he gets manslaughter instead of murder, but the arrested is clearly guilty.

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I'm just trying to understand what possibly could have been going through his mind when he pulled the trigger

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maybe "oh shite dude that just hit and run me about to shoot me too"

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there is a difference there between the self defense law of Florida (the Zimmerman case) and that of Louisiana.

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There's a difference between every single state. we're actually talking about stand your ground laws and for some states when there is a vehicle, we're also talking about castle laws. Smith had a right to retreat within his vehicle for safety. Hayes has no legal right to pursue or fire into the vehicle. Hayes has no chance except for a plea deal or hope blacks on a jury sympathize. The law is not on his side at all.

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That sounds like Will was trying to scare Hayes off with the threat of a gun and it backfired (no pun intended).

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Well, then Hayes murdered him and a self-defense gambit won't work.

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Gut feeling, I feel like Will might have had a gun

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SO, No way I go to NOLA with out mine. Or much of anywhere else for that matter.

Doesn't matter if will pulled out a gun, if he's shot in the back Dude is fricked.

No way no how you claim self defense if you shoot a guy in the back. period.

Guy breaks into your house, fricks your wife and you shoot him in the back as he's running out the door. You're guilty.

Loaded gun found in Will's car.

Doesn't matter he was shot in the back 7 times. Even if it was self defense that's overkill. No excuse for that