Man acquitted for shooting "prankster"

[VinnieBoomBah]

Found this

Alan Colie: Man who shot YouTube prankster at Virginia shopping centre acquitted

The shooting on 2 April in Dulles Town Center, west of Washington DC, sparked panic as shoppers fled what they feared was another mass shooting.

news.sky.com

The phone plays the phrase "Hey dip****, quit thinking about my twinkle" several times through a Google Translate app.

 

[Koda]

Found this

Alan Colie: Man who shot YouTube prankster at Virginia shopping centre acquitted

The shooting on 2 April in Dulles Town Center, west of Washington DC, sparked panic as shoppers fled what they feared was another mass shooting.

news.sky.com

The phone plays the phrase "Hey dip****, quit thinking about my twinkle" several times through a Google Translate app.

one can argue the prankster is instigating a fight.

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

one can argue the prankster is instigating a fight.

"i DiDn't kNow I wAs sCaRiNg HiM"

 

[cdmontgo]

Pepper Spray.
Yeah....imagine. A regular guy now needs to carrying around an entire belt with most everything needed, like a cop's duty belt.

A lot of people carry pepper spray. IMO, every able bodied self defender should have hand to hand combat experience, a non lethal option, as well as a lethal option.

The reason for this is because you don't know who is going to attack you, how many people will be attacking you, or what they'll attack you with. IMO, this is a reasonable way to be a self defender. It is a sliding scale based on how able bodied the defender is and how they are being attacked.

These are tools that are better to have and not need, than need and not have.

 

[Koda]

"i DiDn't kNow I wAs sCaRiNg HiM"

says the guy who makes a living pranking people....

(bonus points for using eyeroll emoji)

 

[ilikegunspdx]

if its reasonable to feel great harm coming then does one have to wait to be attacked to defend themselves from great bodily harm?

Definitely no imo. Fe you see big dude on fentanyl come at you with iron pipe saying I'm going to beat you to death, it's damn reasonable to think he is attacking you before there is physical contact.

Similarly someone pointing a fake gun at you in a robbery. A reasonable person would feel threat of death even though they found out later the gun was fake.

 

[Koda]

Definitely no imo. Fe you see big dude on fentanyl come at you with iron pipe saying I'm going to beat you to death, it's damn reasonable.

well of course but thats not what happened here.

is it reasonable to be in fear of your life being harassed by 2 unarmed sober guys bigger than you forcing a phone in your face calling you a dip****?

 

[wombatz]

Definitely no imo. Fe you see big dude on fentanyl come at you with iron pipe saying I'm going to beat you to death, it's damn reasonable.

Yup, that is the trouble here. I am pretty sure I would have simply stood my ground and loudly told him to back off, then F-off, and been ready to punch him in the nose. But I have some martial training. I don't know what the shooter can physically do here. I don't know his state of mind. If *he* felt this was like the quoted example then maybe he was "ok" to shoot. I am not sure he was, but I still think this is a hard one to be sure of.

Image the shooter being a really small old lady. Does that change it?

If so, then why? (no need for anybody to answer, just a thought experiment)

 

[ilikegunspdx]

well of course but thats not what happened here.

is it reasonable to be in fear of your life being harassed by 2 unarmed sober guys bigger than you forcing a phone in your face calling you a dip****?

I specifically said above that it doesn't rise to the level of use of deadly force (imo) due to no weapon or physical contact from perp. Guy has a right to defend himself using proportionate force. Jury may have felt number of provocateurs and size made it disproportionate possibly.

 

[Koda]

Jury may have felt number of provocateurs and size made it disproportionate possibly.

Im thinking this is what happened. And learning they were also calling him a dip**** is in fact escalating to violence.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

its still a BS charge he caught.

 

[saw2]

The pranksters want nothing but attention and views on social media. Looks like this one figured out how to get some. Why do they think f ing with people is OK for their personal attention or gain?

But yet prankster says he's going to continue with these pranks. Well next time he might find someone who's a better shot or will finish the job. Shooting might not be justified but neither is f ing with innocent people minding their own business.

I guess now he does have a token scar to show people of his ignorance. I feel not one bit of sympathy for these guys. Pre meditated the only thing he didn't plan was the outcome too bad for him.

And next he'll file for a disability claim and SS benefits because he just can't work. Maybe he should have been at work then He might have not had so much time to be f ing with people. Oh I'm sure he'd say these pranks are his job.

 

[Alexx1401]

It blows my mind that some members think this is a valid or legit self defense shooting…..

Remind me to steer clear if your out in public with a gun.

While "I" would not have shot, the person who did get shot could have easily avoided it. Do you do what these guys did to people in public? Assuming you do not? You should not have to worry about someone shooting you. If you do play the same game as the moron who got shot? Then yes, best to steer clear of people armed.

 

[Koda]

when I saw it from a 3rd person perspective I saw a prank, harassment while annoying not life threatening. But I didnt consider the 1st person perspective... I dont think it unreasonable for a person being threatened by two larger people forcing themselved inside your space while calling you a dip**** to be afraid of being assaulted.
I think this is what persuaded the jurys verdict.

 

[Member 53328]

While "I" would not have shot, the person who did get shot could have easily avoided it. Do you do what these guys did to people in public? Assuming you do not? You should not have to worry about someone shooting you. If you do play the same game as the moron who got shot? Then yes, best to steer clear of people armed.

Objective not subjective. Atleast that's how it's supposed to be…..

I could give a sh!t about either party. They are equally pathetic. Sadly playing pranks pays more on YouTube than working a 9-5. And in a generation where kids/young adults are validated by follows/likes/and reaction I'm not surprised. Like the kid who almost got shot for pretending to dump gas (water) on the older gentleman's truck. The internet has zero consequences for "words." The real world will kick your teeth in.

Mess with the wrong person whether it be mental instability/lack of emotional control or a BJJ black belt you run the risk. You never know who you're messing with, the spectrum of control they have over their emotions or what they have committed to do. And that can go either way. Someone who has extreme control over their emotions or no control and the only tool they have to deal with conflict is a gun.

At the end of the day you roll the dice.

I'm all for consequences. Hell I laughed when the chubby kid pulled out a gun and shot, one handed, and didn't even drop his delivery. Lol. Doesn't mean it's a good shoot. I refuse to say it's a good shoot. I don't care about the shooters subjective perception of the situation. But I do love to see pranksters get their sh!t pushed in. Right or not.

If you're out in public you don't have a right to privacy. You can be filmed, talked to, yelled at, etc. If it goes far enough it can become harassment but that rarely warrants getting shot. I would have loved to see the dude get submitted and left on the ground.

But I have zero desire to shoot someone and will do everything in my power to avoid it. Once again a gun shouldn't be your only tool to combat conflict…

 

[eustace_stelio]

Can't shoot someone cause of what may happen…. Especially if they haven't done anything to show intent of hurting you.

I agree it was a unwarranted shooting but there are a few instances we're folks have shot people because they were "scared" of possible physical assault and acquitted ie this retired swat member in Florida who shot a father in front of his wife and children for slapping popcorn out of his hands.

Retired SWAT officer Curtis Reeves acquitted in Florida movie theater shooting

Retired Tampa police Captain Curtis Reeves had been charged with second-degree murder for killing Chad Oulson.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Member 53328]

I agree it was a unwarranted shooting but there are a few instances we're folks have shot people because they were "scared" of possible physical assault and acquitted ie this retired swat member in Florida who shot a father in front of his wife and children for slapping popcorn out of his hands.

Retired SWAT officer Curtis Reeves acquitted in Florida movie theater shooting

Retired Tampa police Captain Curtis Reeves had been charged with second-degree murder for killing Chad Oulson.

www.cbsnews.com

Whether someone is acquitted or not doesn't mean I have to agree with the actions they took. There are individuals who are found guilty that I would more than likely support their actions. Like the UFC fighter who dumped a mag into the car of the man who was molesting his child.

OJ was acquitted of murder too.

 

[eustace_stelio]

Whether someone is acquitted or not doesn't mean I have to agree with the actions they took. There are individuals who are found guilty that I would more than likely support their actions. Like the UFC fighter who dumped a mag into the car of the man who was molesting his child.

OJ was acquitted of murder too.

True, I personally wouldve risk taking an a** whooping because i wouldve swung on the big dude. Definitely wouldn't have pulled a weapon, knife or gun.

But in OJs defense the gloves didn't fit, jury had no choice but acquit

 

[Longwalkhome]

At my age of 71 an bubblegum whooping can be a death sentence. I would have shot the jerk too.

 

[Oro]

I think the big take-away is the generally liberal Virginia Jury's decision.

They were completely willing to let the victim of the prank skate on escalating to lethal force w/o any prior physical contact and only a minor attempt to retreat. That signals to me a Jury very weary of several years of escalating violence being tolerated or very selectively enforced in most urban areas.

To me it's a bell-weather of a change in public opinion.

I'd like to put Gaibe Grosskreutz in front of this jury.