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My bad situation at Walmart,what would you have done?

13K views 56 replies 46 participants last post by  MadMac 
#1 ·
Yesterday afternoon about 3 p.m, I decided to go to Walmart to pick up a couple smalll items and mostly just to get out of the house for a while.
I was in the grocery section picking up a few snacks and decided to walk over to electronics and see the new laptops, as my daughter will be needing one for school soon.
Just about the time I reach the electronics department I hear someone yelling very, very loudly "turn left!","turn right!","keep going!"
I thought... what the heck?
I step out of the main isle about the time the person doing the yelling shot past me.
He was about 6'2 or so maybe 220 pounds, tan dress pants, & a red polo shirt.
Overall he was clean-cut, short, & w/ straight brown hair.
At this point its clear he's on meth or something. He runs past me at full speed, the store is packed, he's charging straight toward several small children (maybe 3 years old) who are walking next to their mothers side.
And also some elderly people who are using canes and barely able to move.
Now the guy doing the running, jumping and yelling is running into displays, shoving people out of hiis way, and seems totally oblivious to anything going on around him.
He's still yelling at the top of his lungs & at this point about 15 to 20 people have seen him and were frozen in place not knowing what to do.
He was on a collision course with the group of kids who he could have easily injured or killed along with their parents.
I'm still watching him from behind a display & wondering what I shoud do.
After a few seconds I realize maybe I should get my phone and start video recording all of this in case someone is injured by him.
But, I'm not as skilled as some at finding certain functions on my phone in a split second.
Why I decided to do what I did when i couldnt get to video record on my phone is beyond me but, I decided to follow him
Why,? I really couldn't tell you.
Maybe I was concerned for the other peoples safety.
Also knowing that I had my gun with me at the time and could defend myself or someone else if this guy decided to use a weapon.
Now he runs down an isle with fishing tackle (missing the kids thankfully) and through a set of metal doors.
I'm guessing into the store's stock room or break room and he doesnt return.
I'm expecting Walmart Security to respond but nobody shows up.
A couple minutes later I see about 3 or 4 Walmart employees walking among the crowd.
I'm not sure if they were just trying to manage the large crowd or were actually investigating what this guy did.
Other Walmart employees saw this happen but didn't do anything except watch.
Now I'm wondering what should I have done?
My state allows for the defense of another person, but he did not appear to have a weapon. So what were my options?
I'm only about 5'7" this guy had a good 7 or more inches on me in addition to about 40 pounds.
There was no way that I could have restrained him physically and he had as much legal right to be in the store as i did.
Walmart didn't send anyone to deal with him.
What would you all have done or done differently?
 
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#30 ·
On meth? Maybe he was just plain nuts.

I'm not a cop; I do my best to stay out of trouble, not get into it. Unless he was actually committing an assault on someone, I'm steering clear and using the 911 function.
 
#34 ·
In this day and age of cell phones and Blue Tooth it is never safe to assume somebody is talking to themselves. From your description I would hazard a guess that he was on the phone to somebody outside driving and was giving directions to his location. he was in a rush to get outside to meet them. as far as aggressiveness, I find a lot of bigger people (I am 5'5" tall) "bully" their way through people and don't even realize it. From the description and behavior you accounted, I would further hazard a guess that he was probably a High School Coach or an off duty cop, used to aggressive behavior as a norm and meant no harm by it.

Not all aggressive behavior and disregard for others is meant as aggression. For some, it is just their normal behavior. Even an LEO would have done nothing about it as long as the subject exited the store without actually making contact with anybody. He would probably have had a few choice words about the guy though. Really, that is about all you can do, there is no law against acting like an a*****e.
 
#36 ·
Like others have said you did just fine. You are not a law enforcement officer so you have absolutely no legal duty to act. The only additional things I would have done would have been to call 911 and notify the store manager. The manager may have been able to give you an explanation if he knew what was going on. Most likely though he would say something like the situation is under control.
 
#39 ·
I agree with most here, become a witness for the authorities. Never assume one is on meths, pcp, etc. Many have mental issues and when off their medication, strange behavior occurs. Besides, if you were to injury yourself, good luck trying to file a claim from Walmart or any other business. You might miss work, require surgery, the list could be ugly for you.
 
#46 ·
, I decided to follow him
Why,? I really couldn't tell you.
Maybe I was concerned for the other peoples safety.
Also knowing that I had my gun with me at the time and could defend myself or someone else if this guy decided to use a weapon.
I would not have done this part. What if something had happened which required you to use your weapon? At some time during your defense the question would have come up "why did you intentionally put yourself in a dangerous situation"? Maybe it's just me but I would not have followed him.
 
#47 ·
what happened was, someone updated the "things to do at wal-mart" list and failed to inform the rest of us :rofl:

I honestly couldn't tell someone the last time I set foot in a wal-mart, there is a brand spankin new super-center here and I've yet to go in it.
 
#48 ·
Sounds like "just another day at Walmart." :smile:

You did the right thing. Without further in-put, for all you know he could have been a wal mart employee or security chasing someone, while yelling directions to another security guy. Video-ing him is not a bad idea, Youtube comment notwithstanding. If it had been a crime in progress and someone was seriously injured, the video would be valuable evidence for the police.

As pointed out by others, concealed carry does not make us a LEO.
 
#50 ·
Why would you all call 911. Exactly what did this guy do other then shout left,right and run down an isle into a supply room. There enough real worries in the world without creating them. Maybe I am missing something here but all the scenarios people come up with seem somewhat paranoid to me. Flame on.....
 
#52 ·
Did everybody miss this part - "Now the guy doing the running, jumping and yelling is running into displays, shoving people out of hiis way....."
The guy WAS assaulting people if he was running into them, and shoving them out of his way. I can only interpret this incident the way you wrote it.
I would have yelled to everyone in earshot to call 911 and followed him with my hand on my weapon, still holstered. Until he was clear of bystanders, I would have kept him in sight.
And, frankly, I would do the same if I was unarmed.
I can't preach to you what to do, I can only tell you what I would do and what I expect of other men.
And please, I don't need to be reminded that I'm not a LEO. But to brush it off by saying it's "not my problem"?
 
#53 ·
To the OP, I can't see anything WRONG with what you did, it's just not something I would have done. As long as me and mine and you and yours are safe, neither of us are duty bound to get involved.

But sixsccw, how are you improving the situation by yelling and running around with your hand on your gun? Now, for all anybody else knows, there are two wackos running around yelling and ONE HAS A GUN!

How exactly would it be your problem? He hasn't assaulted you, you don't know what is going on, and when you do decide to get involved, consider this: You are introducing a gun into a situation you know nothing about and could easily make it worse.
 
#55 ·
Points taken, gentlemen. And I am in earnest.
I really should rephrase -
If you shove or otherwise rough up a fellow human being, you do it to me. As I said, the gun stays holstered, unless the situation becomes so desperate that any of you would reach for yours, too.
The authorities needed to be alerted, and since I would likely have been the only one to try to keep this guy in sight, I wouldn't be able to call them myself - hence the "call 911".
As I said, I would do the same if I were unarmed; I did not mean to make it sound like my first reaction would be draw my weapon. As everyone here knows, that is the final reaction only.
The only time I would give up and let him run off is if I were sure he was clear of bystanders, as I stated.
Crabbys44, thank you for your classy and well-worded reply.
Six
 
#56 ·
I'd say the wise choice would be to forget about being the camera man, because if the nut sees you doing it, you can be pretty sure that YOU will become the focus of his insanity. You should head in the exact opposite direction of the deranged individual. It's more important that you go home safely to your wife and children than it is to position yourself for an opportunity save the day at Wal Mart.

Choosing to put your family first does not make you a coward. I do not buy into the ridiculous "sheepdog" mind-set that I see becoming so popular these days. If the person in danger is my family or friend, I'll do what ever it takes to help them, no matter what the cost. Otherwise, I'll leave it to the professionals.
 
#57 · (Edited)
+1 This is what I do as well.

A couple of times in the past (long before ccw), I've been near some whackadoodle when they have flipped out, or found myself near a gang of "yoots" being a bit too rowdy, and I simply shepherd my family (or myself, if I'm alone) away from the fracas. Why would you want to play cop and start chasing this nutbar while ordering random people to call 911? Not only are you risking your own safety, but you may be escalating the situation.

I was amused by sixsccw other comment about what you expect "men" to do. Are you some type of misogynist? Why is this simply a guy thing? Or was this your way of saying that it's expected of males to play the role of the civilian cop/sheepdoggie when they see unruly behavior? Perhaps you feel the requirements for a man-card include playing the Batman role around town.

It's not cowardice to avoid trouble. It's all about being street smart.
 
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