Ruined My Lunch

[BradL]

Unless Mr. Meth Head produced a gun and shot Mr. Man Purse and started killing innocent bystanders I wouldn't draw my gun at all. I would evade by finding cover behind parked cars, behind buildings or anything to get me out of harms way. I would call 911 and report a shooting and stick around as a witness.

But if he was targeting a member of my family then yes, I would shoot him until the shooter is down and out. I carry for my family's safety and don't have any illusions of being a hero or anything like that. Of coarse I would feel bad if the shooter shot innocent people.

Thanks, I got that answer from someone else also. Unless I'm being directly being threatened, just stay out of the way and be a good witness.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[TedBeau]

I don't think you would be justified in stopping Mr Meth Head from shooting the other guy. The other guy was not innocent, so he has no claim for self-defense and therefor you have no claim for defense of him.

If Mr Meth Head looks like he's coming for YOU, then you'd probably be legally justified in firing on him, but you probably run the risk of being mistaken for the BG by the cops. If Mr Meth Head isn't paying any attention to you when he pulls the gun, then the best response is to probably get your head down and wait for the cops.

I don't really fully agree with this statement that is in bold. While Mr ManPurse was escalating the situation, that doesn't give Methguy the right to shoot him. If you wanted to roll the dice and shoot the guy with the gun and you live in a state that has a law with wording saying that you can come to the defense of another as if you were the one being threatened then you MIGHT bu OK to drop the guy with the gun. Is it worth thousands of dollars in legal fees and loss time off from work to go to court, have your gun confinscated and have to spend more time and money to have it returned, to save a guy that was being a jerk anyways? Only you can decide that.

[Billb1960]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but as a CC newbie I have to ask the question. What if Mr. Meth Head would have produced a gun from his truck? What should you do? Do you wait until he points it at Mr. Man Purse? Wait until he actually fires? I understand what you did was correct, I would have done the same thing, but if it would have esculated to him having a firearm, and the police hadn't arrived yet, when are you justified in dropping the guy with the gun?

I don't think you would be justified in stopping Mr Meth Head from shooting the other guy. The other guy was not innocent, so he has no claim for self-defense and therefor you have no claim for defense of him.

If Mr Meth Head looks like he's coming for YOU, then you'd probably be legally justified in firing on him, but you probably run the risk of being mistaken for the BG by the cops. If Mr Meth Head isn't paying any attention to you when he pulls the gun, then the best response is to probably get your head down and wait for the cops.

Unless Mr. Meth Head produced a gun and shot Mr. Man Purse and started killing innocent bystanders I wouldn't draw my gun at all. I would evade by finding cover behind parked cars, behind buildings or anything to get me out of harms way. I would call 911 and report a shooting and stick around as a witness.

But if he was targeting a member of my family then yes, I would shoot him until the shooter is down and out. I carry for my family's safety and don't have any illusions of being a hero or anything like that. Of coarse I would feel bad if the shooter shot innocent people.

Sorry but I strongly disagree with these opinions. If MH produces a firearm then he has successfully demonstrated A/O/J and you would be fully justified in using deadly force against him regardless of whether or not he was actually threatening you. Now I'm not suggesting that you are compelled to use it, that's your decision but from purely a justification standpoint I don't think you have a problem.

Definition of civilian use of deadly force is as follows:

In the United States, a civilian may legally use deadly force when it is considered justifiable homicide, that is to say when the civilian feels that their own life, the lives of their family, or those around them are in legitimate and imminent danger.

As far as the OP goes, that was a textbook case of excellent judgement and keeping your wits about you in a stressful situation.

[RevolvingMag]

I had my lunch ruined the other day...

I grabbed some 'drive through' lunch and was sitting in an adjacent parking lot before rushing back to work when I saw it- a Porsche Panamera. ...almost lost my drive through lunch on the spot...

[Spec]

+1 on the JEEP!

Learn from the adrenalin dump... how were those fine motor skills? Getting a key to unlock your Jeep? Opening your center console? Getting you Gun? Calling 911... That's what I'd take out of this event. Trying to calm myself so I could logically think and focus on what I need to do.