the wife was shot in the house, from long range.
No way she could have posed an immediate threat to anyone's life, even if a case could be made for the boy, who was carrying a rifle when he was shot.
Relevantly similar, I'd say.
And... how long did it take for their to be a hue and cry? Quite a while, IIRC, but it did show up (and rightly so, imho).
You've got to expect that to take a wee bit of time in Merrie Olde England as well.