Reasonableness is one of the key considerations in cases of self-defence. But how do we determine what is reasonable under the circumstances? The scenario below gives you an opportunity to step in the shoes of a judge and grapple which this challenging question.

Peter awoke at night due to some loud noise outside. From the window he saw that the dashboard of his truck was lit up, so he assumed someone broke into this truck. He loaded a shotgun (he had a license for the shotgun) and went outside to investigate.

Peter had received training as an army reservist several years earlier. This training taught him to assess threat situations and respond to those situations proactively. Using this training, Peter stealthily made his way through his house, ending up at the front door of the breezeway connecting the house to the garage. Then he quietly made his way to the back of the passenger's side of the truck. The passenger door was open. Peter saw the silhouette of a person leaning into the front seat of the truck from the passenger door. It was the intruder - Jonathan - who was trying to steal the truck or the contents in the front cab of the truck.

Peter said in a loud voice, "Hey, hands up." Jonathan who apparently had not seen Peter began to rise and turn toward him. Peter had been taught to focus on the target's hands. He saw Jonathan's hands moving in unison downward toward his waist and coming together at the waist and pointing toward Peter. Based on these movements and his army training, Peter believed that Jonathan had a gun and was turning to point it at Peter. Peter claimed that he believed that he had no choice but to shoot Jonathan. He fired two shots at Jonathan and Jonathan died almost immediately. It later turned out that Jonathan did not have a gun or any other weapon.

Peter was charged with second-degree murder. In your opinion, would he be able to establish the defence of self-defence? Please make sure to outline and briefly explain each criterion for self-defence, particularly focusing on why you think that Peter's belief in a threat and his actions were or were not reasonable under the circumstances.