Besides being stupid, are "warning shots" de-facto reckless discharges?

[Alea]

6. "I was in fear for my life. I thought they were going to kill me

but when I pulled out the gun it went off striking the ground before i could aim. I can't say anything else without talking to my lawyer."

Even if it truly was a warning shot, I would never admit it. I really can't think of a situation where a warning shot would be a good idea. Maybe if I woke up at night hearing someone rummaging through living room, and living alone and knowing no one should be in the house, might fire a shot through my floor as I yelled to get the hell out. I'm not going to sweep the house looking for them and it might be a better option than waiting for them to finally come to my bedroom, and thinking most burglars would haul butt after hearing me yell and fire, but I don't know. That's maybe a scenario I might fire a warning shot hoping they would run out of the house. Even then I would tell the police the gun accidentally went off. I would never admit to it being a warning shot.