Paintball attack

[A-R]

This little tidbit prodded my imagination a bit ...

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... ounty_beat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a nutshell, vandals "painted" an Austin city councilman's car and home at night with paintballs.

So here's the scenario, your wife hears a funny noise, you go outside to investigate (carrying, of course), it's dark, you see men in shadows aiming gun-like objects in your general direction, something pelts your car and makes that telltale "thud" .... would you have the mindset to distinguish a real gun from a paintball gun before drawing down on or even discharging your REAL gun at the "attackers"? Would you even knowingly fire at these vandals - after all this would seem to fall under "criminal mischief at night" in Penal Code?

Just food for thought and discussion ...

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm not a paintballer myself, but my son is an avid paintballer, and I've been around it enough to recognize a paintball gun when I see one. Paintball guns sound more like a suppressed firearm than a regular one. Also, a few of them may make a weak attempt to look like a real gun, but a most of them are brightly colored and oddly shaped. I have yet to see a real firearm with a large egg shaped hopper mounted on the top of it and an obvious air tank mounted to the bottom of it. A few pictures shot through a telephoto lens and a call to 911 would be the best response.

[ajwakeboarder]

While most paintball guns are easily identifiable, there are some that look real. Mine is a good example. It looks like an AR-15 with a suppressor on the front. and a remote line that lets me keep the air tank on my body. If you miss the hopper it really would look real. Of course i wouldn't be foolish enough to take it shooting in a neighborhood.

[Teamless]

for those of us who have never used a paint ball gun and only seen 1 or 2 in various stores, if at all, I would not recognize it as a 'non-lethal' weapon and I don't know how I would react in that situation.

[ajwakeboarder]

This is mine: The only things missing are the hopper, the false magazine (looks like an AR mag) and the remote line that looks kinda like a sling.

[ajwakeboarder]

and yes, it does have a grenade launcher under the suppressor.

[threoh8]

Some paintball guns are pretty realistic, and do not require hoppers or hoses.





The sound would be off - if they get the chance to fire. Remember, though, that hearing can be unreliable under some kinds of stress. People often mistake many noises for gunfire, and vice versa.

Some people hit with bullets have not realized that until after the action has stopped. A paintball sting might be mistaken for a hit.

Shooting paintballs at people who aren't playing the game is assault. If the defender knows that it's just a paintball, that in itself wouldn't justify lethal force. It's just not always that clear to everyone involved.

Adding pepperballs to the range of available ammunition clouds the issue, so to speak. Irritants can be the attack itself, or preparation for something more serious. A person trying to disable you is a threat.

[LabRat]

I think the error here is "going outside".

If there is some activity outside my house, we stay inside. We all collapse to the interior of the house.

Kill the lights (day or night) and observe what we can while calling the police.

We carry inside the house, so we're always armed....that's a given. But going outside "to investigate"??? fughgetaboutit - ain't happening.

Call cops, observe and report.

Now if they use force to enter the house? That's a game-changer; 'cause we won't be using paintballs when we shoot.

[markthenewf]

I think it was about 4 years ago that some dummy pre-teen kid was running around with some sorta realistic rifle/gun. IIRC, it was an AK-looking thing. Anyways, the kid was a known troublemaker around here so it was naturally assumed that he'd gotten ahold of something he shouldn't have. We'd all assumed it was a real gun, so within a few minutes of him berating the neighborhood, the cops showed up and hauled his rear away. That appears to have scared him into a bit of a better attitude as he's not been any trouble since! I don't think he was booked on anything, though.

[speakEasy]

This little tidbit prodded my imagination a bit ...

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... ounty_beat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a nutshell, vandals "painted" an Austin city councilman's car and home at night with paintballs.

So here's the scenario, your wife hears a funny noise, you go outside to investigate (carrying, of course), it's dark, you see men in shadows aiming gun-like objects in your general direction, something pelts your car and makes that telltale "thud" .... would you have the mindset to distinguish a real gun from a paintball gun before drawing down on or even discharging your REAL gun at the "attackers"? Would you even knowingly fire at these vandals - after all this would seem to fall under "criminal mischief at night" in Penal Code?

Just food for thought and discussion ...

Technically sounds like you could open fire based on the whole "at night" thing but...intent of chl was to protect life and loss of property right? Since a live weapon and paintball gun sound nothing alike, and a paintball gun has an enormous hopper on top I would have a hard time defending myself in court and arguing killing a few people over some oil/water based paint spill.

In the end, it isn't worth the time, heartache, loss of sleep and possibility of prison time over something so seemingly benign. A paintball gun being shot at my house/car isn't going to place me in fear for my life to the point where I see the need to end someone else's... Just my .02

[Aggie_engr]

Point a paintball gun or take aim with anything that remotely resembles a firearm at a cop during the night and see what his reaction will be. He's certainly not going to ask if it's real or not.

[A-R]

@speakeasy

I think you may have missed my point. I'm not advocating firing at the vandals - certainly not if you know it's "just paintballs" ... it's more of a situational awareness, preparedness, mental thought exercise ... would you have the mindset and ability to observe and orient BEFORE deciding to act with deadly force (ooda loop keywords used on purpose)

You nailed it saying paintball guns don't sound like real guns. But what about real guns with silencers? Far fetched, yes, but not out of the question as your adrenaline starts gushing from all the other visual and audible stimuli. And has been shown above, not all paintball guns have the tell tale giant hopper on top or colorful metallic color paint scheme. Kids with toy guns have been shot before, it happens.

Again, just a thought exercise.