text: what would happen if? i saw a child in danger. and it was too late to call the police. i have a permit for a handgun. and i decide to take out the sick discusting motherfucker myself? i have no entention of doing this. but if it was a life and death situation, i'm gonna protect that child! i guess there would be one less pedophile and child murderer on our streets! but would i be severely punished? because i would have killed someone! most states have a penal code section for justifiable homicide.  you would be commiting homicide, you would just have to explain why you did it.  i am sure the kid would be a witness for you. officers commit justifiable homicide when they kill someone in an officer involved shooting incident.  the issue you have however, is you're not a cop, therein you would have a harder time justifying why you used the amount of force you used.  i say, "you would have a harder time," because police officers are in use of force situations daily, therein, they deal with the use of force more often and can articulate their reasons for shooting a bad guy.  nonetheless, even the officer would be represented by extremely well-trained council.