Lynnwood Library woman w/shotgun (active shooter)

[salmonriverjohn]

Don't think for a second that anyone who is forced to use their weapon in a claimed self defense situation and taken into a court of law to face charges, that any postings placed by said defendant in a public forum (such as this fine site or others) can't or won't be used against them to show mental state or premeditation, because they can and will be!

As 41slinger said,,,be veeweee careful. Just saying.

 

[David Bowman]

Mr. Bowman, if you followed through on your original posting of your actions you will be in prison. The firearm you carry can only be used in self defense, only in self defense, you must be in fear for your life. If you are in a store, a perp comes in and points his gun at the clerk, you shoot him in the back, his gun discharges and kills the clerk, you are F---ed. If you expose your firearm, you can be arrested for brandishing, lose you CCL and pay a nice fine. Be veeweee careful.

People who walk around the library muttering crazily about "people out to get them" while carrying a shotgun aren't there to check out the antique book section. Dirt-bags who point guns at the Plaid Pantry clerk aren't there to argue the merits of filtered versus unfiltered cigarettes.

Would the same thing happen to a police officer? Would they be in prison? In your scenario, would it be reasonable for a police officer to shoot that perp in order to defend the life of himself or the clerk's life because one or both of you are in fear of your life, regardless of what happens after the shot is fired?

You cannot be responsible for the actions of someone else in this situation. You can only control you. You cannot read minds (at least I can't), so you have to make some inferences about what is going on and make decisions as to what you will do. I would suggest different tactics that give more assurance of instant incapacitation.

Civilians are judged on the same standard of "reasonable-ness" when they shoot someone as a Police officers. Their training, as well as the training of the police officers will be in question. Their actions and why they took them will still be in question. The key will be answering the "why" of what you did and the actions you took, just like the police officer must do.