What should be the appropriate thing to do in this case

[CCHGN]

The issue with this direct black or white question is it is rarely black or white. I can count on my hands the number of scenarios where I know what I see is what is going happening. A guy walks into a restaurant & starts shooting, pretty much I know what I see. A beating or alleged rape, well do you really know what you see is what is happening?
So for me, my ccw is to protect me & mine. It will often be best to be a good witness & call 911. If you can be 110% sure what you are seeing is what you think it is, then stepping in would be the noble thing to do, BUT there is always the chance it goes sideways & you are into the Zimmerman affect. CCW is a huge responsibility that I am afraid many have not thought thru when they think they want to carry a gun.

Well each to his own, I'm too hard headed to do that. I was driving around once and saw a guy beating on a girl out in their front yard, before I knew what was happening, I was out of my car and had that dude in a rear choke, begging for a breath. I held him 'til the cops got there. I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to have to face our Lord and explain why I shied away from helping a brother or sister in trouble with evil. YMMV


Btw Zimmerman is a hero and a Patriot and that was a good shoot and why self defense laws are written.

 

[Muss Muggins]

That is a falacy and absolutely NOT true( Citizens have the constitutional right to make a felony arrest), but I'm glad you stated your stand, so I'll know where you'll be when the SHTF.,...in Florida, we do NOT have to retreat and I will NOT. IF there's innocents in the area, so will I be. They'll have to kill me.

I WANT to die saving an innocent life....just think of all the other ways folks die, and we all HAVE to do it. That's my choice. YMMV

Dude, I hope you're not where I'm vacationing. I consider that mindset dangerous on several levels . . .

(Edit: IBTL)

 

[BAM-BAM]

The only thing less wise than asking for deadly force advise online is to give deadly force advice online.

Good advice...................

 

[fredj338]

That is a falacy and absolutely NOT true( Citizens have the constitutional right to make a felony arrest), but I'm glad you stated your stand, so I'll know where you'll be when the SHTF.,...in Florida, we do NOT have to retreat and I will NOT. IF there's innocents in the area, so will I be. They'll have to kill me.

I WANT to die saving an innocent life....just think of all the other ways folks die, and we all HAVE to do it. That's my choice. YMMV

That will depend on what jurisdiction you are in. Again, you do not have a crystal ball, you rarely know what you see is what is happening, unless you are the target or victim.

 

[fredj338]

Well each to his own, I'm too hard headed to do that. I was driving around once and saw a guy beating on a girl out in their front yard, before I knew what was happening, I was out of my car and had that dude in a rear choke, begging for a breath. I held him 'til the cops got there. I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to have to face our Lord and explain why I shied away from helping a brother or sister in trouble with evil. YMMV


Btw Zimmerman is a hero and a Patriot and that was a good shoot and why self defense laws are written.

You truely don't know what you dont know. Zimmerman's shoot was a good one, BUT he prompted it by pursuing Martin. Anyone following the case can see he did just about everything wrong & it lead to a shooting. Hero, hardly.
Man beating a woman. Ok. You round the corner & see a guy beating a woman. You pull out your gat & order him to stop & maybe you go ahead & shoot him. What was actually happening; woman pulled a knife on the guy & assaulted him. He uses force to take the knife away & she is resisting to the last breath. So what did you see & what was actually happening? THis isn't made up stuff, why LEO don't just shoot everyone, even they cant be 100% sure what they see is what is happening.

 

[fredj338]

That is exactly why I have decided, that as SOON as stop a threat, in one area and go to another area( outside or inside) I will immediately re-holster. I practice drawing and presenting my weapon extensively, if needed.

The fact is, there's ALOT more cases of folks getting shot, by police, like that very way. Btw, you make a good argument to get a CCW badge....lol Cops are trained to not shoot badges and NO, that is NOT impersonating a cop, that is making sure you, as a CCW and good guy, don't get mistaken for a BG and get shot by the "good guys".

And that auto response is likely to get you killed by the extra bad guy just waiting to see someone do that. No, gun stays out until the threat is determined to be over. When is that, one attacker or three? Well that is the $100 question isn't it.

 

[bigggbbruce]

So far those two by-standers have been herolded as heros since the shooter was discovered to be mentally disturbed and it wasn't known where he was headed next.other than the shooter had been shooting at restaurant customers.

Was this the appropriate thing for the 2 by-standers to do, and would you do the same thing? How did they determine immediately that the person was the shooter, and what if one or more of the shots fired by the by-standers had ricocheted and hit someone else?

I always Carry whenever out shopping or eating out but always wonder just what I would do in a case where I wasn't directly threatened but others were.

Everything worked out, no others were injured. Moot point...

Or stand by and watch others die when you could stop it. They did good.

 

[Donn]

My obligation is to protect me and mine and our future. If I have to defend myself to escape, I will. If I escape, I'm certainly not giving someone a second chance to shoot me . . .

I'm with Muss on this one. I'm not in Vietnam any more. It's not incumbent on me to "run toward the gunfire." Many years ago, I took on the responsibility to secure a CPL to defend me & mine. If someone else decides against taking that step for whatever reason, it's on them and not up to me to come to their rescue.

 

[CapnB]

Back when I was "running toward the gunfire", the city I worked for had an army of lawyers, a bazillion dollars of insurance and a legal responsibility to defend me criminally and civilly, because I had a sworn duty to get involved. I also usually had a reasonably good idea what was going on before I arrived. Today I have none of the above. Are there scenarios in which I would risk everything for a stranger? Sure, but there must be a lot more to the story in Oklahoma, because when I read the initial news reports my reaction was nope, not me.

 

[CCHGN]

Dude, I hope you're not where I'm vacationing. I consider that mindset dangerous on several levels . . .

(Edit: IBTL)

Don't worry I ain't lost nuthin' in MO. Btw the Castle Doctrine has been in Florida for over 15 yrs and guess what, NO problems.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Don't worry I ain't lost nuthin' in MO. Btw the Castle Doctrine has been in Florida for over 15 yrs and guess what, NO problems.

Castle Doctrine has nothing whatsoever to do with interjecting yourself into someone else's problems . . .

 

[CCHGN]

You truely don't know what you dont know.

I treuly dont? I bet you I do.

Zimmerman's shoot was a good one, BUT he prompted it by pursuing Martin. Anyone following the case can see he did just about everything wrong & it lead to a shooting. Hero, hardly.

You're in Kali, This is Florida, a whole 'nother Country, how can you POSSIBLY know about that? FYI, (pay attention): HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, IT WAS HIS JOB TO INVESTIGATE SOMEONE PEEPING INTO PEOPLES' BACK WINDOWS. He was WELL within his rights. He was breaking contact with Martin and going back to his vehicle, to wait for the cops( who he had on the phone) when Martin jumped HIM.

I won't even respond to the other stuff, too ridiculous. We can "what if" all day long, don't mean a thing. I didn't pull a gun, didn't have one with me. IDK what you're talking about.

 

[CCHGN]

Castle Doctrine has nothing whatsoever to do with interjecting yourself into someone else's problems . . .

Absolutely it does, THAT INCIDENT WAS IN MY WAY HOME. Castle Doctrine allows you to defend yourself (and others) ANYWHERE you normally go in a week's time, JUST as if you're at home.

 

[CCHGN]

And that auto response is likely to get you killed by the extra bad guy just waiting to see someone do that. No, gun stays out until the threat is determined to be over. When is that, one attacker or three? Well that is the $100 question isn't it.

Again, "likely", "what if", etc, etc. We can do this all day, but I have better things to do. I have a homestead and critters to tend to. YOU are the one who was the "Devil's Advocate"
remember? Sheesh. I was responding to THAT hypothetical situation.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Absolutely it does, THAT INCIDENT WAS IN MY WAY HOME. Castle Doctrine allows you to defend yourself (and others) ANYWHERE you normally go in a week's time, JUST as if you're at home.

Duly noted. Done here. Good luck . . .

 

[Steve912]

That is a falacy and absolutely NOT true( Citizens have the constitutional right to make a felony arrest),

Actually...it's "private person's", citizen or not--and they can
effect an arrest for misdemeanor or felony offenses.

BTW, employing deadly force is not tantamount to arrest...carry on.

 

[CCHGN]

I'm with Muss on this one. I'm not in Vietnam any more. It's not incumbent on me to "run toward the gunfire." Many years ago, I took on the responsibility to secure a CPL to defend me & mine. If someone else decides against taking that step for whatever reason, it's on them and not up to me to come to their rescue.

NO one is talking about "running towards the fire", the subject is about being able to defend strangers, but choosing to save your own butt and leave them to die. Y'all may be able to do that, but I can't. YMMV

 

[Steve912]

Absolutely it does, THAT INCIDENT WAS IN MY WAY HOME. Castle Doctrine allows you to defend yourself (and others) ANYWHERE you normally go in a week's time, JUST as if you're at home.

You're really wayyyy out in the weeds on castle doctrine.

It originates in English common law. Ever heard "a man's home,
is his castle"? It extended some protections and courtesies to
the common man's 'castle'...in observance of the significance of
one's abode, beyond his work place or other common area.

You're (probably) thinking of "no duty to retreat, in face of
deadly threat, prior to exercise of deadly force, in self-defence".

Totally different any-mules.

 

[CCHGN]

You're really wayyyy out in the weeds on castle doctrine.

Nope, you are. The FLORIDA CD has NOTHING to do with "OLD English" anything, it has EVERYTHING to do with Florida case law.

 

[Protected One]

My obligation is to protect me and mine and our future. If I have to defend myself to escape, I will. If I escape, I'm certainly not giving someone a second chance to shoot me . . .

"Obligation" is not the issue. People do things for others all the time that they are not obligated to,