Firearms are potentially lethal defensive tools, not signaling devices. Firing “warning shots” in the hopes that you scare someone away is not a recommended defensive tactic and could result in the injury of a bystander or even someone who is far from the scene of your incident. While it is true that many attackers are stopped because they are afraid of being shot, purposely firing a gun without intending to hit your threat is a miss-use of your defensive tool.