Juniata County Man Shoots Relative Who Broke Down His Door, Stood in the Threshold With Fists Clenched, and Threatened to ‘Teach You a Lesson’
A Pennsylvania State Police affidavit describes an incident in Tuscarora Township where a resident shot his relative, 45-year-old Terry Burdge, in the chest after Burdge broke through the front door, stood in the threshold with clenched fists, and threatened to “teach him a lesson.” The resident armed himself upon hearing shouting and banging, then fired once when Burdge stepped toward him.
Burdge was hospitalized and later allegedly struck an EMS worker while being treated. He faces unarraigned charges including aggravated assault, burglary, simple assault, and criminal mischief, and is presumed innocent. The resident, who remained at the scene and cooperated with troopers, has not been publicly identified, and no charges against him have been reported.
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TUSCARORA TOWNSHIP, PA — A Juniata County man shot a relative in the chest Tuesday night after the man broke through his door, stood in the threshold with his fists clenched, and told him he was going to “teach you a lesson,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police.
The resident told troopers he believed the man, identified as 45-year-old Terry Burdge of East Waterford, “would have beat the hell out of me. Or worse,” according to the affidavit, as reported by WHTM.
The first call to PSP came from a neighbor who reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot somewhere near their home. Shortly after, Juniata County 911 contacted PSP with a report that Burdge had been shot. By the time troopers reached the home on Laughlin Lane, EMS was already treating him.
Investigators found a damaged doorway that looked like it had been broken into, state police said. The resident directed them to a firearm on the living room couch and told them he and Burdge are related, with family issues between them.
His account, as laid out in the affidavit, is short. He was on the couch when he heard shouting and banging on the door. He grabbed a firearm. He walked toward the door. The door was broken. Burdge was standing in the threshold. Burdge took a step toward him. The resident fired a single shot. The round struck Burdge in the chest.
Note the order. He armed himself before he went to find out who was on the other side of that door, not after. That is the mindset that matters when shouting and banging turn into a broken door frame, because the decision had already been made by the time Burdge took his step.
No weapon in Burdge’s hands is mentioned anywhere in the reporting. That is the part some readers will stick on, so I will address it directly. Deadly force is justified only against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm, and a man with nothing but his fists can deliver both. This one had already broken a door to get inside, planted himself in the threshold, clenched his fists, and announced what he intended to do. The threat was fully formed before he moved. The step toward the resident did not create it; it erased whatever doubt was left about what “teach you a lesson” meant. “Or worse” is the honest version of the question anyone in that living room would be asking. A beating has no guaranteed stopping point, and nobody is required to absorb the first few blows to find out.
The resident stayed, pointed troopers to the gun, and gave his account on the spot. That put his version of the doorway on the record from the first minutes, which is exactly where you want it when the only other witness is the man you shot.
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Burdge was flown to the hospital. While a Lack-Tuscarora EMS employee was treating him, Burdge allegedly hit them in the face, state police said. That is the same man who had been standing in the doorway minutes earlier.
Online court records show Burdge has not yet been arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, burglary, simple assault, and criminal mischief. Those charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted. The resident has not been publicly identified, and nothing in the reporting indicates that any charging decision regarding him has been announced.
Read the original story: Juniata County Man Shoots Relative Who Broke Down His Door, Stood in the Threshold With Fists Clenched, and Threatened to ‘Teach You a Lesson’