Legitimate Use of Force

A 12-year-old boy heard his mother cry out from another room. Upon investigating the reason for the alarm, he discovered an intruder choking her. The boy hollered repeatedly for the man to cease; the assailant refused and continued with his attack. The boy grabbed a knife from the kitchen and inflicted a wound that resulted in the eventual demise of the attacker. It is unfortunate that a life was lost but one must acknowledge in this situation that the young lad responded correctly. Talk of filing charges against the boy represents an absurdity. These are the harsh realities of the world in which we live. What would a pacifist say about the vignette?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040101090_pf.html