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

[poppy37]

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?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mlkx4]

You did just fine, your not a cop and the destruction of Walmarts property is not your concern. Sounds like he was just trying to find a way out and its best to let him go and be a good witness.

[nedrgr21]

911 and try to keep kids out of the way

[GoBigOrange]

not your problem. Don't get involved unless he displays a weapon and tries to injure someone. Yelling and running are not ground for you to use or draw you weapon. You are not a LEO. just my .02

[Janq]

Agreed with the others; Not your problem and not justifiable reason to use _any_ force regardless of what your oh this or that could happen imaginations might be.

I do find it interesting that you thought to video tape this person of all things.
What was your thought process here as in the way of reasoning...When dialing 911 is much quicker and potentially beneficial for everyone, who is not connected to YouTube?

One thing you could have done though is go outside, hop into your truck and wait for dude to exit to which you then could ram his car with hope to 'stop' him...After the fact tht nobody is being harmed or in danger by him.
That latter part I kid. : p

- Janq would have done nothing because walking fast/running through WalMart talking out loudly to ones self is not unlawful in MA, yet

[ppkheat]

If I had been in there alone, I would have probably tried to be a decent witness; had I been in there with kids I'd found the quickest exit and got them out and away.

Every so often I get out my cell phone and challenge myself to put it in camcorder mode as quick as I can.

[poppy37]

Thank you, I am not a LEO, I'm just Joe Citizen. just like everyone else. My main concern was he had a weapon I didnt see when he ran by me and might use it.

[poppy37]

now i can put mine into camcorder mode pretty quick,I got the instruction book out and read it again.

[bunkiefd4]

Honestly, not to much you can do. I guess just keep a eye on him, who knows, he might have been from some type of home that houses people who are slow and he got away. Theres a number of things that could have happend.

[Guantes]

I agree with the above posts, not a level of activity to justify intervention.

A couple added points. I keep my cell phone so one touch allows proceeding with photo or video activity. In situations of violence, such as an active shooter, if an exit is close it is a good option. If not, put family in a restroom and guard the approach. They usually have nitches and alcoves leading to same that compliment such activity.

[poppy37]

I didnt dial 911 because often it takes our officers several minutes to respond as the PD is across town from the store,and I was halfway expecting walmart security to do something any second.

[retsupt99]

Call 911, watch and record the events as they unfold.

[AZ Husker]

I question your sanity for going to WalMart for enjoyment!

[satori59]

I used to work with mentally disabled adults. Sometimes, if they got excited or upset, they would act out in various ways. The "turn right", "turn left" reminds me of how many of those folks would respond to stressful situations. I wouldn't assume meth, or any other kind of drug thing, if I saw behavior like that. I think you did the right thing by doing nothing.

[BugDude]

Wal Mart is full of surveilance cameras and I'm sure they had it all on tape from various angles. Call 911 and report a person acting irradically and keep your eyes peeled.