This is just genius!
shoot first look and ask later.
dont fire into the air or something so that the thief notice that you see him and cant tell your location (wow the upper hand without killing him) . Dont scream out a warning from a covered space. dont be smart just fucking shoot and aim for the head! and the time when it is your own son who just wanted to go for a midnight test-drive even if he is not allowed... fuq it shoot him to death then ask questions. then ask yourself if you were right
This is how people who are afraid of guns, think. Home is castle. That is unless you are not from the USA. Here, home is castle, We are the Lord of the Manor. You can think of all these silly ideas, I see them all as a road to getting your family raped and burned in the bed.
What if there is another guy? A center shot to body mass just increased my odds of saving my family. What if he was actually in the final moments of torching your garage? What if he will use your tools to break down your security door, from inside the garage.
You think home owners should try for a wound? Have you even shot a gun? You know every wound has an artery right next to it? You know that every wound can kill? What is some asshole doing in my garage? I will find out that without panic and fear. I will thoughtfully assess as I move into a position of cover and concealment. I won't be confronting or warning. He lost that chance.
Firing in the air, is illegal and stupid. Inside the garage?? Are you daft? The ricochet could hit anything including myself, the gas tank, the wife. If he is just an unarmed kid, alone, I take a big chance, but probably won't shoot him. That would not be very plausible, would it?
If he is not alone or seems threatening in any form, I open fire from cover, that's it. Too much is at stake. You can assume they aren't after your family. But, why? If they are in my house or garage, they are a clear and present danger. You have never felt this fear, I can tell.
If my son breaks into a garage, for any reason, he is putting his life at risk. He knows that.
BTW, there is story in the CA gun owners legal guide. Guy at a party, ended up barricaded in a bedroom with 6 or 7 people and a bunch of angry, drunks outside the door, trying to break in to get at some girl.
Guy has a gun, fired it above their heads though the door. Fine. That calmed them down. Drunks left, girl saved. Who was arrested for wanton disregard of public safety? That's right, the one who fired in the air.