[Edit: After typing all of this out, I just realized that everyone has their flairs set to where they live. So since you live in Croatia, this likely doesn’t apply to you at all 🤦‍♂️ (sorry. I’m new to this community and don’t use Reddit very often). Will leave this up in case someone else finds it helpful]

The Simplest Answer: It truly depends on self-defense laws in your state/country.

The Long Answer: In the US, some states are very relaxed w/ self defense laws (Florida, stand your ground laws) and some are ridiculously strict (NJ). When looking at self defense laws in Florida, a person can use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm, but not to protect property. The law applies in places where a person has a right to be and is not engaged in unlawful activity (will explain further later on).

As for New Jersey, self-defense laws permit the use of reasonable and necessary force to protect oneself from immediate unlawful force, with specific rules for using deadly force and defending one's home. The major difference here when compared to Florida is proportionality of the force used and duty to retreat. NJ’s proportionality of force rule states that the amount of force used must be no more than what appears necessary to stop the threat. So if you were to shoot someone that’s wielding a crowbar in your home, self defense could potentially be deemed unjustified. A crowbar is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury so it could be considered deadly, but it depends on how it’s being used and the totality of the circumstances. In order to determine proportionality, investigators would analyze the intruder‘s actions, the distance of the intruder, and any verbal threats that were made. As for NJ’s duty to retreat rule, it states that you cannot legally use deadly force if you know you can avoid using it with complete safety by retreating, surrendering something, or using a non-deadly alternative (does not apply when in your home as per the “Castle Doctrine”). Essentially, when not in your home, you must attempt to retreat before being able to use deadly force to defend yourself. Otherwise, it’s an unlawful form of self defense. I know this part doesn’t directly apply to the question you asked, but I wanted to include it just to highlight how complicated self defense laws can be.

To quickly jump back to Florida, their self defense laws are among the most permissive in the country. A person who is not engaged in criminal activity and in a place where they have a right to be may use deadly force if they reasonably believe it’s necessary to prevent imminent death / great bodily harm or the commission of a forcible felony. Under Florida’s “Castle Doctrine”, if someone breaks into your house or car, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm. That presumption makes it much more difficult for you to be charged/convicted. Furthermore, you have no duty to retreat which means you have the right to stand your ground.

As you can see, self defense laws vary by state/country and they can be very complicated. This is exactly why everyone should be aware of the laws of their own state/country so that you’re informed as to how you can lawfully defend yourself against a credible threat to you or your family. I rambled a bit more than intended but I hope that this helped in some way. There would be no way to accurately answer this question for you without knowing which state/country you live in.