To put it politely, I think I would just get the heck out of dodge. It is a lot easier to get out of the way of things like that. You can help warn others away from the area, etc for anyone who isn't okay with "doing nothing".schufflerbot wrote:this brings up an interesting question for me; what does a CHL holder do in a situation where they are caught in the crossfire between 2 BGs? If you're pinned down and your 'cover' isn't very solid - do you attempt to engage to stop the gunfire, or hunker down and hope for the best? Since it isn't your fight, i can see why staying out of it would be a good idea, but if you're in danger of being hit by a stray bullet, i can also see reasons to take the shooter out.chasfm11 wrote:I guess Wally Walks have more than one purpose.
In the video, there is a car with miss-matched paint and all of its doors open in the middle of the LEOs. It was the orange cone beside it that drew my eye. Based on that, this could have been a conflict that started elsewhere and ended up in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I'd be willing to bet that there were drugs or gangs or both involved.
If I had to assess threats, I'm actually more concerned about the likelihood of a situation like this than I am about some BG sticking a gun specifically in my face. I doubt that guys involved in a shooting like this care much what happens to their shots that miss and I think one of the toughest things to recognize is when you are about to become collateral damage from something on the other side of a large parking lot.
thoughts?
This is my view: You see two people shooting at each other. They're both in civilian clothes. There are easily several scenarios that could be occurring just off the top of my head:
1) Gang member/thug shooting at another gang member/thug
2) CHL returning fire on a gangmember/thug
3) Undercover or plainsclothes police officer returning fire on a gangmember/thug
So if you draw down and just start engaging threats, in only 1 of the 3 scenarios are you a good guy helping out.
If you don't know what started the fight and don't know who's in it, you're better off hanging back and calling 911 (unless they actually start shooting/threatening you personally)
I'm sure others will disagree and say we have a moral obligation to intervene.
If I don't know what the heck is going on, my only obligation is to my family and personal safety, and to be a good witness for the authorities to come sort it out.