What would YOU do?

[DSARGE]

Personally, I'd rather be judged on earth for doing what I thought was saving someone's life, than judged by the Lord for doing nothing.

[NguyenVanDon]

Two of my uncles just took their CHL course yesterday. We were talking at the dinner table and I brought up this situation. Both of my uncles said they will not shoot. They would retreat and hide behind the counter and dialed 911. Unless the BG points the gun at him, or their family if they were with him, then he'll will shoot. They said they will not play as a cop in this situation.

I then made a twist in this situation and said, what happen if the BG shot the cashier? would you still pull your handgun out and shoot him? They also said no.

Reason why my uncles would not to save a third party is because they are scared going to court and charge for murder or some sort.

What do you guys think about this?

[Venus Pax]

There are other variables than robber-with-a-gun-pointed-at-clerk.

How close are you to the situation?

Are you behind or near cover?

Are there accomplices? (There likely are, so you should try to pinpoint them.)

Do you have family with you, and if so, where are they? Do they know what to do?

[NguyenVanDon]

There are other variables than robber-with-a-gun-pointed-at-clerk.

How close are you to the situation?

Are you behind or near cover?

Are there accomplices? (There likely are, so you should try to pinpoint them.)

Do you have family with you, and if so, where are they? Do they know what to do?

I'm just going with the story that the original poster mentioned. It's easier said than done when this happens to anyone at that random moment.

[frankie_the_yankee]

The second the BG showed a weapon he became a legitimate target.

But just because you CAN shoot someone, doesn't necessarily mean that you SHOULD shoot them.

Watching the video, it did not appear to me that the BG in this case intended to shoot the clerk. That's just my opinion and personal assessment of what I could see in the securoty camera footage.

In general, I would use deadly force to protect innocent life, even that of a third party if I was sure of the situation and if there were reasonable chances of success, but it's a real stretch for me to use deadly force to protect property - especially someone else's property. The main reason is that a whole boatload of my property will be in jeopardy in the aftermath, and the owner of the property I protected is unlikely to come to my aid.

[HankB]

Given this specific situation, I wouldn't have acted with my weapon. It would all come down to perception of the events as they unfold. Given the description of the events, it doesn't seem likely that the guy was out to shoot the cashier. <emphasis added>

For the situation as described, my thinking runs this way: Wal-Mart has a lot more money than I do, and if they don't see fit to hire armed security, I am not going to volunteer to provide it at my own risk.

My inclination would be to fade back and avoid drawing attention to myself, and try to put some cover between myself and the apparent bad guy . . . I'd be prepared to draw, but wouldn't unless the situation worsened.

And I sure as hades would not join those chasing the BG out of the store.

[NguyenVanDon]

Given this specific situation, I wouldn't have acted with my weapon. It would all come down to perception of the events as they unfold. Given the description of the events, it doesn't seem likely that the guy was out to shoot the cashier. <emphasis added>

For the situation as described, my thinking runs this way: Wal-Mart has a lot more money than I do, and if they don't see fit to hire armed security, I am not going to volunteer to provide it at my own risk.

My inclination would be to fade back and avoid drawing attention to myself, and try to put some cover between myself and the apparent bad guy . . . I'd be prepared to draw, but wouldn't unless the situation worsened.

And I sure as hades would not join those chasing the BG out of the store.

Agree

[Paladin]

And I sure as hades would not join those chasing the BG out of the store.

+2 to this

Running after a guy with a gun, especially if you didn't have one of your own, is not so smart.

I certainly wouldn't have a problem with anyone shooting the robber outright. It would have been clear cut.

Of course I couldn't blame anyone from taking a more defensive posture either.

[austin]

The wife and I just got back from Gunsite Pistol 350.

We ran through a lot of these scenarios.

The final force on force at 350 was very humbling as you were startled, then had the upper hand, then lost your upper hand, then had to shoot, sometimes under the threat of a pistol acquiring you, sometimes with rounds being fired at you.

The two people in the class who had been targets of gunmen in the past immediately shot the attacker on sight. Everyone else attempted to talk the attacker into compliance and that did not work.

It usually takes 2-3 seconds to process the situation and decide to act.

The usually correct action is to create distance and seek cover.

But even then you may not have time to seek cover. You can only respond.

And - the act of seeking cover can make you a target and because you are not on target and cannot respond before the shooter can acquire you, you are basically defenseless.

So its best to respond while you still have options but in a way to control the situation.

Whatever you do, you must not lose sight of the threat and you must have more options than when you started.

I can't say for sure what I would do because I was not there, but my first take is to drop to a knee using a checkout counter/corner as cover, draw to guard, and observe the situation.

I am then 2/10 of a second away from engaging the gunman and my rounds will not be a threat to anyone else.

If he sees me he will then turn to engage and that will take the clerk out of the threat zone.

The "if he" point is any pressure on the trigger or pointing the gun at anyone else including me.

Calling 911 takes away your gun hand. Turning away loses sight of the gunman. You always face the threat. If I was with family, then I would tell them to get down and then proceed as before.

[para driver]

the audio to this clip would add a lot to the 'tone' of the situation, especially if the perp mentions 'kill' , 'waste' , 'pop' , 'cap' , 'blow away' , or something that would increase your fearing he would actually shoot. Your intangible intuition is going to play a large role trying to read his mind.

utilize cover, draw weapon, pray for guidance..act if escalated.
99% of these clowns just want the money, and Wal-Mart has plenty.. the remaining 1% are a different can of worms..

remember, the bad guy DOESN'T always lose in this situation..