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Old February 20, 2009, 10:42 AM   #103
jg0001
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Join Date: October 24, 2007
Posts: 551
Quote:
I've done this is FOF, JG0001 - you find a person in your house. You tell them to get on the ground. They:

1. Just stand there (maybe they don't understand English - not uncommon here).

2. They turn their back on you and walk towards the door and say - Man, I'm leaving - Don't shoot me - bro (dude, amigo).

3. They walk towards you with a big smile and hands up.

What's your take on the action?
[Explain the FOF term please...]

(each of the below presume I or my wife has called the police already; where I live, the police show up in under 3 minutes (my boy has dialed 911 by accident before and my wife had an incident (which turned out to be harmless) which also involved the police))

1. Keep the gun trained on them. Repeat again the command to get down, motioning the same. English speaker or not, unless they are mentally deficient, they'll get the idea. If they do not get down, I suppose I just keep the gun trained on them, period. I would not get closer to them than I had to be to maintain a visual lock on them. If anything, I would stay OUT of immediate physical range to the extent possible. (understanding that crossing a standard room length really doesn't take very long for a determined BG -- one of the links provided notes that a BG can cover 20 yds in 1.5 seconds, so there is little true safe distance here)

2. This situation would depend on what they DID already and whether or not they were or still are armed. If any level of physical altercation had taken place, I'd be less inclined to let them go. If any of my loved ones had been seriously injured, there's no way they're going to walk away. If they are still armed (and just had their hands in the air, with the gun still in their hand), that too is a threat requiring response. [I've asked the same question of others -- if someone stops the violence they are committing based on your presentation of a gun, but they then try to leave, what do you do?] In this case, any injury incurred to a family member of mine that requires my assistance would take precedence over holding the BG. For example, if my wife or kid was bleeding to death at my feet, they become priority #1 after the BG is no longer in a position to inflict further injury. Exactly what that would mean will depend on the situation.

3. Obviously, the distance involved would determine whether an additional verbal warning is given or not. Otherwise, the risk is too great and their 'stroll' towards me could easily turn into a lunge at me.. in this case ->boom. Whether or not I'd shoot someone in the leg or other non-vital would depend on if they were armed or not, the distance and lighting conditions, etc. I don't think my first instinct would be to kill them rather than incapacitate them. I understand that a self-defense course may say otherwise, that you wouldn't be capable of making a specific shot and that COM is your only safe bet, but I imagine I would take any effort possible to not shoot to kill. Again, this is them SLOWLY closing in on me and me having a direct bead on them. Anything else and center of mass applies.


[for anyone skimming this thread, all of the above relate to a situation in your own house, not out in public]

Last edited by jg0001; February 20, 2009 at 10:58 AM.
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