Jedediah Morgan Grant reports that Joseph fired on the mob after seeing Hyrum Smith die.
Jedediah Morgan Grant, "Three Letters to the New York Herald," in The Truth for the Mormons (n.p.: 1852), 55
But the troops formed at the other end of the landing and fired against the door, which they easily riddled. One of the first shots hit Hyram Smith between nose and eyes and entered his brain. . .
The weapons of the two Mormons, were two walking stick and a revolving pocket pistol, the worthless one with six barrels, which is the most unsure of all weapons with which a man can be provided in an emergency. As soon as he saw his brother fall, Jo. Smith took this pistol, and pulling open the door himself, commenced firing upon his assailants. The affair was then soon decided.