Quote:
Originally Posted by k2at
That guy is crazy. If he had shot an innocent bystander he could lose all he has and maybe more. One does not just go ahead and spray the area with bullets. He should have let them run and called the cops. As they were fleeing, they presented no threat to him and therefore the use of deadly force was not justified. By the way, I am not a tree hugger, am a licensed concealed carry individual and I would not hesitate to use my handgun if I feared for my life. The one point stressed in class is the best defense is to run away.
OK, start flaming me.
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On this one I have to agree with you. No one was being threatened with immediate harm, especially the CWL holder from what the video clip shows. Once he fired one shot and then once the trio started running for the door the shooter and all the others where no longer under any threat and from the video evidence he chased them to the door and kept shooting. Stress and tunnel vision where in play. Under Florida law once the threat is no longer in your face and you keep shooting you can be charged with a felony crime. I really don't think that we have heard the last of this unless there is more to this that then the short clip shows, that has been posted. Have to wait for the full investigation to be completed.
Also unless you go to the range often, like more than once a year, doing what the old guy did could result in law suits from shooting bystanders. If you don't shoot under stress, and this situation would have been stressfull for sure, you develope tunnel vision and only see what is in front of you.
So, what would I have done. I would have carefully drawn my firearm, keeping it hidden from sight, then if the trio of bad guys started hurting anyone I would have then taken action, its the "stand in their shoes" rule. Google that, its interesting and tells a lot about self defense situations here in Florida.
On a side note, have you noticed that all the signs at Walmart, "No weapons allowed" have been removed. That stems from an incident in Albuquerque, NW, where a 70 plus year old gentleman killed an ex-husband of a Walmart employee who was in the act of stabbing her to death. He was justified in his actions, for if he would not have acted the women would have been killed. That is an example of "standing in their shoes" rule. It is the same as if it is happening to you, personally.
When you obtain a concealed carry permit it does not make you a "de facto" police officer. It is for your protection, the protection of your loved ones or someone who is actually being harmed, killed or likely to cause great body harm. Your best defense is aviodance, deterence and to be the best witness that you can. If you can safely grab your cell phone, call 911 and then video the incident, but be ready to protect yourself and those around you.
Now come take my class on self defense, join a shooting club and really learn how to shoot and when to shoot, then being able to actually hit the target is a benefit of all this training.
Have a happy day.