A 19-year-old Michigan man who fatally shot an armed attacker inside a shopping mall has been sentenced to two years of probation, even though prosecutors concluded that the shooting itself was justified as defense of himself and others.
Martinez Long appeared in court Tuesday following the July 3 shooting at Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Michigan. His conviction was not for killing 19-year-old Cameron Watkins. Instead, Long was sentenced for carrying a concealed weapon illegally.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office account quoted in the provided material, the violence began during an altercation involving Watkins and 19-year-old Keonte Seaborn. Prosecutors said both men produced weapons during the confrontation.
Watkins shot Seaborn after taking a firearm from another person’s purse, according to prosecutors. Watkins then continued firing inside the mall and shot another individual during a struggle, causing a non-life-threatening injury.
Long subsequently shot Watkins.
“Prosecutors determined Long’s actions were carried out in defense of self and others,” the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.
That determination meant Long was not prosecuted for killing Watkins. But authorities separately charged him with carrying a concealed weapon because he did not have a concealed pistol license.
During sentencing, the judge focused directly on that decision.
“Fortunately, you weren’t injured, but nonetheless, you had a gun there in the first place, which was poor judgment,” the judge said, according to the provided reporting. “And what do you need a gun for protection in a mall, in the first place?”
The comment has drawn criticism from gun-rights advocates, particularly because Long’s firearm became relevant during an actual deadly shooting inside the mall.
The National Association for Gun Rights argued that the case demonstrates problems with restrictions preventing people under 21 from obtaining concealed carry licenses. Michigan generally requires concealed pistol license applicants to be at least 21 years old, meaning Long, at 19, could not have obtained the standard license referenced in the case.
There are competing legal and policy questions wrapped into the unusual case. Prosecutors distinguished between Long’s possession of the concealed firearm, which violated Michigan law, and his subsequent use of the firearm during the shooting, which they determined was lawful self-defense and defense of others.
The sentence reportedly includes two years of probation. The judge also noted that Long had no prior criminal record and indicated that the conviction could ultimately be removed from his record if he successfully completes the applicable requirements.
The case therefore produced an outcome that can sound contradictory without the legal distinction: Long was not punished for shooting Watkins. Authorities concluded that action was justified.
He was punished for illegally carrying the gun before the shooting ever began.
For critics of concealed-carry restrictions, that distinction is precisely why the case has generated outrage. Supporters of permitting requirements, meanwhile, can point to the fact that authorities applied the firearm law separately from their assessment of Long’s justified use of force.
Either way, the circumstances are extraordinary. A teenager illegally carried a firearm into a mall, encountered a deadly shooting, used that firearm against the shooter, and was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing for the shooting while being convicted over possessing the weapon that allowed him to intervene.
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