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by Kyle Brown
Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:32 am
Forum: Instructors' Corner
Topic: If involved in a shooting
Replies: 9
Views: 5353

I consider this the most difficult topic of instruction. In stead of telling the students "what" to do, I ask them to tell me what they believe they will do should this situation arise. The majority say they will follow a course of action simular to that outlined by CXM. During the course of discussion, most admit the plan is not original. In short, their plan has been developed based on TV shows such as LA Law or, more recently, Boston Legal.

Several months ago, I had a renewal student who spoke from experience. He was the first licensed person in this county to defend himself and his property with the use of deadly force. This individual is a physically handicaped, white male and at the time of the shooting, he was in is mid-sixties.

The evening before the incident, he packed his car in preparation for a trip to Houston. He plannned to leave "at first light."

About 4AM, he heard an unusual noise outside of the stand alone warehouse he had converted into his workshop/residence. He got up, dressed, raised the garage door, backed his van onto the street, and drove (traveled ?) around the corner to the opposite side of the building where he hoped determine the source of the noise.

There, he saw a large, younger man lifting his AC unit into the covered trailer of a large truck parked on the street. He lowered the driver's side window of his van, pointed his gun at the perp and yelled to the perp instructing him to place the AC unit on the street and go away. The perp never spoke but started walking toward the van. He told the perp to not come closer or he would shoot. The perp continued his walk toward the van. He again told the perp to stop or he would shoot. Again, the perp ignored the warning and continued his silent walk toward the van.

The single shot he fired from his .380 struck the perp in the upper left chest. The bullet exited the perp's chest and lodged in the rear of the covered trailer. (Ball ammo.) The perp fell to the ground and stated he thought he was dying. He yelled to the perp to shut up or he would shoot him again. He then called the police from his cell phone at which time he gives a not so short version of what has occured.

The first officer on the scene takes his weapon at gun point. When the other officers arrive, he gives a statement to the officer in charge who determines no arrest will be made. However, the officer tells him to not leave the city "for a while."

He tells the officer he leaving for Houston in "a few minutes" and will return to Abilene "in three or four days." The officer takes phone numbers, etc and then apologizes for having to keep his gun. He tells the officer not to worry because he has "several others" in the house.

Now, my written recount is not near as "entertaining" as his telling of the story.

BTW, the perp did not die and was not prosecuted. The perp was employed by a large trucking company in OK. His dispatcher had put the wrong address on a work order.

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