[500mag_guy]

i carry for one reason and thats to protect myself and others around me in time of a situation.

[RJMercer]

Local rookie cops are advised that lawyers and judges will have years and months to pick apart decisions the officer had a few precious seconds to make.

I would imagine a civilian would have a harder time justifying taking a life to save a life. Life changing and life ending decisions happen as fast as the muzzle flash burns off. You just have to use a centered moral compass to make the decision to use lethal force.
You might get arrested. You might get sued. At the moment you did the best you could where you were at with what you had.
As far as being judged by 12 men or carried by 6? I'll take the 12.

[c3shooter]

Amazing how many people in gun shops have law degrees.

[JTJ]

I live in AZ. I would have shot him. Any idiot prosecutor that filed charges would be run out of town and probably sued for malicious prosecution. The biggest risk would be over penetration and hitting a bystander. Something to think about if you ever have to shoot someone. You are responsible for every round that you fire and any damage it does. A lot to be said for less powerful rounds like the 380.

[BigByrd47119]

For me, its all about the particular situation at the particular time. If there are others in close proximity (we are talking >3 feet) there is likely no way I would take the shot. It doesn't justify shooting one BG to end a threat if I hit one or two bystanders.

There are a number of factors, this is just the first one that came to mind.

As far as the legality and I don't know your state law, but in Ohio I believe you would be A-OK. You may not be fearing for your own life (or maybe you are) but you are certainly fearing for the life of the person he has the barrel pointed at! All others aspects of a defensive shooting included, it would be justifiable aside from my biggest concern listed at the top.

[skullcrusher]

Look, unless you were there and experiencing the they mayhem and panic then you can't say if you would shoot or not. Perhaps the hero in this case did not feel that he was close enough to take a shot with certainty. Perhaps his reflexes told him to run and tackle instead of shooting. Either way, he stopped the threat. If you wanna have a debate about if it is better to shoot or put hands on the assailant, then that is another thread.

Bottom line, not there at the time so I can't say what my reflexes would tell me to do. Those trained to take out such a threat know what their reflexes would tell them to do. Like SS or LEO. Average person with CC and some training, well...

[DrumJunkie]

Originally Posted by skullcrusher

Look, unless you were there and experiencing the they mayhem and panic then you can't say if you would shoot or not. Perhaps the hero in this case did not feel that he was close enough to take a shot with certainty. Perhaps his reflexes told him to run and tackle instead of shooting. Either way, he stopped the threat. If you wanna have a debate about if it is better to shoot or put hands on the assailant, then that is another thread.

Bottom line, not there at the time so I can't say what my reflexes would tell me to do. Those trained to take out such a threat know what their reflexes would tell them to do. Like SS or LEO. Average person with CC and some training, well...

Very true. We do not know if the CCW guy even had a good shot. what if he took that shot and missed and struck another. There is no way to really know what you would dop until you have the situation presented to you. I'd like to think I'd of taken the guy out but given where it was I do not know if the shot could have even been made in a safe manner. And I would not want to share a cell with Mr. Loony McToons. THe man might have done what he thought was best. Did a life end because of his inaction? I don't know. I'm sure the person that made that choice knows all too well. But it's pretty safe to say that grabbing him probably did save someone's life..Maybe more than one. For that alone I don't think hero os a misused word for him.

[Mark F]

Apparently, opportunity presented its self to take the guy down without deadly force. IE: someone was already struggling with the guy. You can't shoot the BG with a Samaritan in the middle of the situation. I wasn't there, and I have no idea what actually transpired but I do know the situation was controlled. Why to people continue to pick this to death? This event has been cast in stone and there's nothing you, me or anyone else can do to change it. As far as what you would have done... well, we''ll never really know, now will we.

[pabstman]

I would take the shot. I would rather spend time and money defending what I did then let a mad man kill someone! The answer comes easy if you step back and look at the situation. Every single person that was harmed had a family that will most likely never recover completely.

[c3shooter]

In cases like this one, you will always hear about the woman that was there.

IDA DUNN