If you hear gunfire break out....

[Bb70charger500]

To add to the if family is around ,god help the attacker 99% of my family carry's and knows our laws here extremely well.

 

[Kern Dog]

Let's suppose you are in a store or a church and you see and hear a gunman open fire. If you don't have a gun would you run toward or away from the assailant? Let's say that's a gimme that you would run away.

If you are are armed though, whether by concealed carry or have access to a gun what would you do?

Many of us will say that we would be a hero....BUT that is while sitting on the couch pecking away at a computer. When real life happens, it can be a crap-shoot how you respond. Cops, Firemen and first responders are trained to react. Military people too. Regular guys? It is hard to know for sure. I am often the first to stand up when I see someone in need, I rescue stray dogs, open doors for the Wife and any woman walking nearby. In theory I would be the hero, I want to be the hero....But until I am in the situation, how do you know?

 

[451Mopar]

Many of us will say that we would be a hero....BUT that is while sitting on the couch pecking away at a computer. When real life happens, it can be a crap-shoot how you respond. Cops, Firemen and first responders are trained to react. Military people too. Regular guys? It is hard to know for sure. I am often the first to stand up when I see someone in need, I rescue stray dogs, open doors for the Wife and any woman walking nearby. In theory I would be the hero, I want to be the hero....But until I am in the situation, how do you know?

Kern, I'm not sure how to respond. It is true that we never know for sure how we will respond in a situation. It does not matter what a persons profession or background is, there are many here who may not know what they would do in a future situation, but know what they have done in past situations. It is not about being a hero or training, but about wanting to protect others and serve country and community. In the hypothetical situation presented there is no "correct" response, but it is the response you would have to live (or die) with.

 

[Dennis H]

There have been threads about this before. If someone intends harm on you or yours or other innocents and you have the ability to stop it, I think it becomes clear what to do. Then there was some schnivel about how you feel afterwards. I will sleep well that night, and look in the mirror the next day with clear eyes. Your gut will tell you. Pretty hard to piss me off. Nice guy and pushover. Do most anything to avoid conflict. That said, if someone comes in with intent to harm, they will be carried out. That's just doing the right thing. Not heroic. Not being as young or strong as the Kern, I need other defensive resources to do that. I have them.

 

[Bruzilla]

Error.
What if one is acting in defense of other innocent Lives?

That's the grey area. According to Florida's Castle Law, Title XLVI, Chapter 776, Code 776.013,
"A person who is in a dwelling or residence in which the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony."

It then goes on to state:
"A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using or threatening to use defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used or threatened was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b) The person who uses or threatens to use defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred."

So in a strict reading of the law, someone in Florida could legally use lethal force on someone who's say robbing a store, and there is legal precedent for this in a case we had where a guy heard noises outside, went out with a pistol, found some guys breaking into a neighbor's car, and when they threatened him he opened fire and was not charged under this law.

The specifics of the two other cases I mentioned were:

A man was at a bar with a friend and a fight broke out that didn't involve either of them. The man got outside the bar, but his friend was still inside. The man went to his truck, retrieved a hand gun, and went back to the bar to make sure his friend got out. As he tried to get in, someone punched him in the face and he went down, said he feared for his life, drew his weapon, and shot a person in the leg. The courts ruled that since he left the fight and was safe, and chose to return to it, even with the best intentions, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years.

In the second case, a woman was at her estranged husband's apartment and got into a fight. She left the fight, went to her home, got a handgun, returned to the apartment, restarted the fight and fired at her husband and missed. She claimed in court that she was in fear for her life and only fired a warning shot. The courts ruled The Castle Law did not apply because she was safe from harm when she left the apartment, and chose to place herself back into danger, and she got a 20-year sentence.

So there's a bit of grey legal area when it comes to when force can be used, and most of it is centered on the word "imminent". Looking at case law, "imminent" seems to be viewed as you entering a situation you can't control and are threatened. "Imminent" doesn't seem to be viewed as you were safe, became aware of a threat, and then took lethal action. So if you're in a store, someone enters, and threatens forcible injury to you or anyone, you can use force, but if you're outside the store and see/hear a robbery and place yourself in imminent danger... that could be risky.

 

[BigBlock61]

but I'd be grabbing staplers, mugs, keyboards, laptops, chairs, anything in reach if in immediate danger. I'd go down fighting.

You and me both brutha!

 

[eagleone1983]

I know my first priority would be getting my family out of the situation. That's it. If it means I pull and shoot cause the suspect is in the way of the only exit then that's what needs to be done. I may not know how I'd react but I know that I would risk my life for my wife and kids no doubts about it.

What kind of concerns me though is we have a couple members on here that seem to think they don't matter. I'm here to tell you as a stranger that has never met you that I don't need to meet you to know that you do. Every good person matters, you may not think you have an effect on the world around you but I promise you do. I almost wish I could reach out through this computer screen to shake your hand and just talk. You guys take care of yourselves.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

When I started carrying for self defense, I kind of hoped that if something bad happened, I would be cool as Dirty Harry. In reality, I am afraid I would be more like Barney Fife. THAT is why I pray every day that I will never need what I have chosen to carry.....

 

[Bruzilla]

When I started carrying for self defense, I kind of hoped that if something bad happened, I would be cool as Dirty Harry. In reality, I am afraid I would be more like Barney Fife. THAT is why I pray every day that I will never need what I have chosen to carry.....

I was teaching concealed carry back in the 90s, and I would always have a couple of Dirty Harry/Harriet wannabees in the class. I would always take them to the outside pistol range for live fire and just leave them standing there while I left to "check something". I would wait until they got talking about something, then come around behind them and fire five shots from my Model 19. No warning, no ear protection, no prepping for it... just like real life. The class would get the crap scared out of them and instinct would take over and they would scatter, including the Harry and Harriets, which is what most people will do.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I like your way of thinking, Bruzilla!