What is the intent of a 'warning shot'? It's a threat isn't it. It says that if you do not comply we will do whatever is necessary to make you comply. It would have been the same with the "accidental" shot by the confederate gun crew that did not know their gun was loaded and bounced a shell off of Fort Sumter's Wharf. That incident could have been taken as a "Warning Shot" with the same meaning.