Printable View
I hope to never be placed in that situation but if it looked like no other option, I\'d most likely make the shot. I think I\'d stall as long as possible and try to talk them into just fleeing without the hostage. Taking the shot would be last ditch after nothing else tried worked. :(
Regardles of what the distance involved was, the man is a true hero. Congratulations to him for both saving the lives of his wife and himself, and sending another waste of space on a well-deserved trip to the morgue. :kay:
As far as what I would do in that same situation, I\'d take the shot. My attitude is the same as Detective Murtaugh(Danny Glover) in Lethal Weapon when he said, \"If she\'s gonna die, it will be by my hand.\" Or something like that)
My grilfirend and I have agreed that in such a situtation I should take the shot. We also have a code word that when I say she hits the floor and I shoot. This was recommended by an instructor of mine and I think its a pretty good idea for all couples to have a plan like this.
tim oliver instructs in columbia,mo ......and if he can not get range time in columbia he goes to a range near branson,mo.....he offers advanced courses as well as basic...does he teach you how to run and shoot now its not really safe to do at a range that i know....but he teaches tactical situations in the advanced classes....
Anybody know what kind of sidearm was used? 5\" 1911, 2\" snubie...:question:
no info was given other that what is found in the article.
~A
Something to keep in mind is recent research that has shown once you start the process of taking that head shot the BG/hostage can move significantly before your mind will process the fact that there has been a change in the scenario. And the more you are concentrating on making that perfect shot, the longer it will take for the change to register. Kind of frightening, no?
David, what is the source of this info/research??
~A
Read the possibilities:
Don\'t shoot, lay down your weapon: you both probably die!
Shoot and miss altogether: bg knows you are after him and if his self preservation skills kick in, . . . he is out the door and out of your situation.
Shoot and hit bg: problem solved.
Shoot and hit wife: out of sheer anger, disgust, you most likely will empty the weapon in the bg.
Three out of four are bad for the bg, two out of four are bad for you & your wife: (excuse me while I digress a moment) you just have to remember that once he pulls the knife, you are put in control. You own the situation. Whatever happens, you will make it happen. This is where all those cold days shooting out in the snow, shooting when you were a tad sick, shooting when you didn\'t feel like it, and all the other times you grumbled about the three most important points that make accuracy: practice, practice, practice; this is where the practice kicks in.
Yes, by all means, if you can stall until LEO gets there, do it!
Yes, if he seems to be listening to deals: \"I\'ll put the money here, come get the money, release my wife, walk out a free man!\", do it!
But ultimately, you need to train physically, mentally, and emotionally to do what you will have to do however the situation turns.
In answer to the question: I would simply have advised him of his rights-You have the right to go on living so long as you let my wife go and head right out the door you came in. If you choose to ignore that right, I have 8 each, 240 grain, FMJ, .45 ACP rounds I am going to put into your head, heart, lungs, and other parts of your sorry body just as fast as I can pull the trigger starting right now, bang, bang, bang, etc.
I trust my ability in 50/50 odds.
May God bless,
Dwight
Various sources out there talk about the mental time lag that people have. Ayoob has discussed some of it, as it is a somewhat common situation in shootings. A good recent discussion of it is a book by Malcolm Gladwell titled \"Blink: The power of Thinking Without Thinking\".Quote:
Originally posted by APachon
David, what is the source of this info/research??
~A
>>Read the possibilities<<
You left out some possibilities, such as giving the robber the money, in which case the most likely outcome is that nobody gets hurt. You also left out a rather obvious \"shoot at BG and miss, causing a reflexive movement that slits wife\'s throat.\" Why do so many people want to start a gunfight as the initial response? Relatively few armed robberies result in escalation to a major injury. Save the shooting for a last response, not a first.
Let\'s not get too preachy huh?? Lethal force worked pretty well in the scenario that prompted the thread, and moreover, the story mentions that the shot was taken after repeated demands for the robber to release his hostage. It wasn\'t the first response by any means.Quote:
Originally posted by David Armstrong
>>Read the possibilities<<
You left out some possibilities, such as giving the robber the money, in which case the most likely outcome is that nobody gets hurt. You also left out a rather obvious \"shoot at BG and miss, causing a reflexive movement that slits wife\'s throat.\" Why do so many people want to start a gunfight as the initial response? Relatively few armed robberies result in escalation to a major injury. Save the shooting for a last response, not a first.
Other members agreeing with the shopowners actions and/or saying they too would take the shot in similar circumstances is hardly an example of people eager to get in a gunfight. If my beloved Mil or another loved one was in danger, I\'d take whatever action I deemed prudent to keep her safe, including dumping the dirtbag with my USP if that was practical. A deadly threat many times warrants and/or requires a deadly response, and there is nothing wrong with most if not all of the member responses here.
Lastly, this wouldn\'t exactly be a gunfight. The robber had a knife....it\'d be a pretty one-sided gunfight.
I have noted to myself that even at 10 to 15 feet on paper I had to slow down to take a \'head shot\', sometimes it would be a little low. I would speculate that I would be taking very careful aim and applying the best trigger control of my life to pull it off if I had to shot. There is no doubt about it if my wife were hurt it would be world war lll right now, knife, gun whatever it takes.
I agree. This is absolutely not an initial response. The BG was not responding to his demands. I would shoot to protect the life of my wife and kids and in this particular scenario, I would also take the shot if the victim was a complete stranger. I would not make that shot lightly as I believe my previous post expressed, but I am 99.9% confident that I could succeed in making that shot count at that distance.Quote:
Originally posted by SGeringer
Lethal force worked pretty well in the scenario that prompted the thread, and moreover, the story mentions that the shot was taken after repeated demands for the robber to release his hostage. It wasn\'t the first response by any means.
Other members agreeing with the shopowners actions and/or saying they too would take the shot in similar circumstances is hardly an example of people eager to get in a gunfight. If my beloved Mil or another loved one was in danger, I\'d take whatever action I deemed prudent to keep her safe, including dumping the dirtbag with my USP if that was practical. A deadly threat many times warrants and/or requires a deadly response, and there is nothing wrong with most if not all of the member responses here.
Lastly, this wouldn\'t exactly be a gunfight. The robber had a knife....it\'d be a pretty one-sided gunfight.
I believe the test is:
\"Is lethal force justified in this scenario?\" The answer is yes.
\"Am I confident I can make this shot?\" The answer is yes.
End of bad guy. Period.
I would regret having to another life later, but if I was not willing, in this scenario, to take a shot that I am confident that I could make, why am I carrying?
I would take the shot also.Quote:
Originally posted by Bumper
\"Is lethal force justified in this scenario?\" The answer is yes.
\"Am I confident I can make this shot?\" The answer is yes.