Mob Attack at Memphis Kroger

BarryLee · September 8, 2014, 04:25 PM

A group of about 100 young people in Memphis were playing a game called Point Them out, Knock Them Out where they attacked people in a local Kroger parking lot. Several customers were beaten and stomped to the point of requiring hospitalization.

I wonder in a situation like this how might you respond. Would you hunker down and protect yourself and family or try to intervene? These folks are most likely cowards and a little show of force could have gone a long way, but would it be worth the risk?

I’m not really sure what I would have done, but it was hard watching them stomp a helpless teenage Kroger employee.

http://wreg.com/2014/09/07/witness-r...ack-at-kroger/

Barnacle Brad · September 8, 2014, 04:51 PM

America is rife with apathy. Hey if it isn't happening to me, what's the big deal right?

I think I would pick up an equalizer and wade in, hopefully changing the outcome of the situation. If I have to get some to give some, it's fine by me...

I know if I was being stomped, I would wish someone with the same sense of right would help me the hell out!

tekarra · September 8, 2014, 05:07 PM

Agree with your thoughts Brad. This is a good case for concealed carry and I wonder if Michael Bloomberg has commented on the mob scene.

SIGSHR · September 8, 2014, 05:12 PM

What wood Michael Bloomberg and his ilk know about a mob scene ? This sounds like an updated version of "wilding". Yes, the first time a CCW holder is attacked and he-or she-defends themselves.....

**Tom Servo** · September 8, 2014, 05:20 PM

Quote:

I think I would pick up an equalizer and wade in, hopefully changing the outcome of the situation.

Really? In a crowd of moving, panicking people, you can positively identify which folks are the assailants and which are the ones merely cheering them on? You can draw a bead on a moving target in the middle of a crowd and be certain of hitting it without collateral damage?

If not, such actions could lead to tragedy on several levels.

Mainah · September 8, 2014, 05:24 PM

This is a question, not a suggestion. Given the scenario Tom described above could this be a situation that warranted a warning shot? In the air maybe. I can't see how you could defend yourself against a mob in that situation without some real problems afterwards. But if you could get them to disperse without shooting someone, and got away, could that work?

Glenn E. Meyer · September 8, 2014, 05:30 PM

So the round comes down on a bystander? Nope.

Mainah · September 8, 2014, 05:33 PM

Or an innocent kid blocks away, you're right.

JWT · September 8, 2014, 05:35 PM

In a situation like that all you can realistically do is protect yourself (and family if they're with you).

skizzums · September 8, 2014, 05:57 PM

I listen to the news ALL day at work, didn't hear a peep about this. why?

maybe they did the show prep over the weekend, hopefully it'll be plastered on all the stations tomorrow. it's pretty easy to identify the assailants, like the ones stomping on the kids head, not sure that would be grounds to shoot someone, but maybe grounds for re-thinking carrying a pepper spray or tazer

Double Naught Spy · September 8, 2014, 06:11 PM

Simple. It is a localized, isolated event that didn't happen in your town or state. Maybe you weren't paying attention?

There is a LOT of news that occurs around the country every day. Localized events, unless they have significant tragedy, are not apt to make the news elsewhere in the country unless there is something really unique about them. Sometimes, even then they don't make the news.

You probably didn't hear about the 2011 Copley Township shootings in Ohio either. Few people did, though it apparently was covered very briefly by one of the national networks.

Why didn't you hear about this on the news today? Simple. Not locally relevant and not all that national newsworthy.

The Memphis incident did appear on AJC in your state, however.
http://newstome.blog.ajc.com/2014/09...emphis-kroger/

As it is, the story really is very sensationalized. It is definitely a mob scene, but I would be hard pressed to believe that there were 100 teens actively playing the knockout game as claimed in the story. There were some playing, no doubt, but there were a LOT of watchers as well.

Venom1956 · September 8, 2014, 06:11 PM

That would be a nightmare to deal with if you were assaulted and armed. surrounded by people some agressors some just cheering them on... Way to many targets to keep track of. After seeing the one guy on the pavement getting his head jumped on idk if I could just choose not to draw.

psalm7 · September 8, 2014, 06:14 PM

I'm sure as this kind of stuff becomes more common more folks will be more willing to wade in . Oh waite big Government and athorities will fix it for us and we will all be safe .

Barnacle Brad · September 8, 2014, 06:19 PM

Mr Servo, I am sorry I did jot make my thoughts more clear. When I said pick up an equalizer I was thinking more on the lines of a twice by four or something I could swing. Given the forum I could see how you made the jump to the firearm, but please! I have more than just a little common sense!

kilimanjaro · September 8, 2014, 06:35 PM

It's going to a matter of very short time before the punks in these groups pick on someone carrying 15 rounds of something. Hopefully, all rounds fired will hit only the thugs beating on the victims, but it's not likely.

Question : if 100 punks are involved, and a couple of them do get shot, can all 100 be charged with murder? If not, why not?

Glenn E. Meyer · September 8, 2014, 06:38 PM

Pick up a 2 by 4 - those are lying around? Home Depot maybe. Don't let your need to posture overwhelm your sense of the practical. Also, if it were a true mob of 100 - a 2 by 4 would end up in your ....

**Aguila Blanca** · September 8, 2014, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnacle Brad

Mr Servo, I am sorry I did jot make my thoughts more clear. When I said pick up an equalizer I was thinking more on the lines of a twice by four or something I could swing. Given the forum I could see how you made the jump to the firearm, but please! I have more than just a little common sense!

And you think it's common sense to go up against as many as a hundred rampaging youths armed with a 2x4? Not smart. It would get classified as a deadly weapon anyway, so you might as well use a REAL deadly weapon. My first target would have been the one or two assailants who were stomping the kid who was already unconscious on the ground. What they were doing could easily have caused "great bodily harm" or even killed the kid, and that's a sufficient trigger in pretty much every state to allow you to intervene -- using deadly force.

kilimanjaro · September 8, 2014, 06:53 PM

That two-by might have worked given the video I saw, but if there's one two-by in the lumber stack, there's more available to the rest of the mob. My vote is for a standoff weapon.

Having said that, kudos for advocating intervention. Too many of us stand and stare, anymore.

Barnacle Brad · September 8, 2014, 07:04 PM

Quote:

- a 2 by 4 would end up in your ....

Nope doesn't feel like the 'staff' is tag teaming me...

If my sense of right and a willingness to defend a body gets me hurt, kilt or whatever, my conscience is clean. Something no one else in this forum has to live with. Looks like it would have been better to just let you folks jump to a conclusion...

huskybiker · September 8, 2014, 07:06 PM

I'm rounding up my family, getting IN my vehicle (if possible), then calling 911. Anyone trying to enter MY vehicle will be quickly learn the meaning of the Castle Doctrine!

skizzums · September 8, 2014, 07:28 PM

I don't care if an object is classifies as a "deadly weapon" clearly they had a right to fear for life or severe injury

Corrections Cop · September 8, 2014, 07:43 PM

100 person mob, I'm leaving the area, and protecting me and mine. You facing 100 people will turn bad real quick. Just because you carry doesn't mean you need to intervene in every situation. I am not robo cop or the riot squad.

2123 · September 8, 2014, 09:03 PM

What used to be shocking so many years ago, is now more than not, an everyday occurrence.

Was I shocked at what happened? No, Was I a bit surprised? Yes.

Crankgrinder · September 8, 2014, 09:35 PM

There is a law I'm aware of in many states regarding a thing called "disparity". Being randomly attacked by a mob of people be it 3 or 100 can be a situation reasonable to shoot ones way out of, of course there will be a slew of issues to go with it and you'd better hit the guy swinging something at you and not the guy next to him but I believe it could be argued favorably.

jeager106 · September 8, 2014, 09:37 PM

I was well trained in what is called "unarmed self defense" in my younger days.
I'm talking police work, not trained as a 3rd degree black belt or anything like that.
I did 22.5 years in the mean streets before being permanently disabled with a broken back earned "subduing" a felon half my age and 100 pounds larger.
It was my 13th serious injury on the job.
I'm 68 now, no way able to hold my own in a physical match & now I suffer from serious spinal cord injury.
I only mention this so you will understand why this knock out game scares me silly. I had to take a medical retirement simply because one more back injury is likely to leave me in a wheel chair.
I DO carry concealed but in a situation where I became a victim to these punks targeting easy prey I'm not sure bringing out the gun is the smart thing to do. This knock out crap has happened a couple of times where I often shop.
I honestly don't know what I'd do were I the target of the knock out
foolishness.
I don't want to chance being more crippled than I am but I also don't want to be in a position to need to lawyer up, face criminal charges, or possible jail.
See my point? I suppose being older, injured, partially crippled, would go in my favor were something awful to happen and I had to produce a firearm and use it.
I've thought this through but really can't say what I would do.
I keep a low profile, tend to watch my surroundings, and am perhaps over cautious.
What do you think you might do if you were in my position and attacked by physical force?

September 8, 2014, 04:25 PM	#1
BarryLee Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2010 Location: The ATL (OTP) Posts: 3,946	Mob Attack at Memphis Kroger A group of about 100 young people in Memphis were playing a game called Point Them out, Knock Them Out where they attacked people in a local Kroger parking lot. Several customers were beaten and stomped to the point of requiring hospitalization. I wonder in a situation like this how might you respond. Would you hunker down and protect yourself and family or try to intervene? These folks are most likely cowards and a little show of force could have gone a long way, but would it be worth the risk? I’m not really sure what I would have done, but it was hard watching them stomp a helpless teenage Kroger employee. http://wreg.com/2014/09/07/witness-r...ack-at-kroger/ __________________ A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

September 8, 2014, 04:51 PM	#2
Barnacle Brad Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2009 Location: Greybull, Wyoming Posts: 416	America is rife with apathy. Hey if it isn't happening to me, what's the big deal right? I think I would pick up an equalizer and wade in, hopefully changing the outcome of the situation. If I have to get some to give some, it's fine by me... I know if I was being stomped, I would wish someone with the same sense of right would help me the hell out! __________________ Brad

September 8, 2014, 05:30 PM	#7
Glenn E. Meyer Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2000 Posts: 20,064	So the round comes down on a bystander? Nope. __________________ NRA, TSRA, IDPA, NTI, Polite Soc. - Aux Armes, Citoyens

September 8, 2014, 05:57 PM	#10
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	I listen to the news ALL day at work, didn't hear a peep about this. why? maybe they did the show prep over the weekend, hopefully it'll be plastered on all the stations tomorrow. it's pretty easy to identify the assailants, like the ones stomping on the kids head, not sure that would be grounds to shoot someone, but maybe grounds for re-thinking carrying a pepper spray or tazer __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

September 8, 2014, 06:11 PM	#11
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	Simple. It is a localized, isolated event that didn't happen in your town or state. Maybe you weren't paying attention? There is a LOT of news that occurs around the country every day. Localized events, unless they have significant tragedy, are not apt to make the news elsewhere in the country unless there is something really unique about them. Sometimes, even then they don't make the news. You probably didn't hear about the 2011 Copley Township shootings in Ohio either. Few people did, though it apparently was covered very briefly by one of the national networks. Why didn't you hear about this on the news today? Simple. Not locally relevant and not all that national newsworthy. The Memphis incident did appear on AJC in your state, however. http://newstome.blog.ajc.com/2014/09...emphis-kroger/ As it is, the story really is very sensationalized. It is definitely a mob scene, but I would be hard pressed to believe that there were 100 teens actively playing the knockout game as claimed in the story. There were some playing, no doubt, but there were a LOT of watchers as well. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

September 8, 2014, 05:07 PM	#3
tekarra Senior Member Join Date: May 26, 2007 Posts: 1,164	Agree with your thoughts Brad. This is a good case for concealed carry and I wonder if Michael Bloomberg has commented on the mob scene.

September 8, 2014, 05:12 PM	#4
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	What wood Michael Bloomberg and his ilk know about a mob scene ? This sounds like an updated version of "wilding". Yes, the first time a CCW holder is attacked and he-or she-defends themselves.....

September 8, 2014, 05:24 PM	#6
Mainah Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2007 Posts: 1,119	This is a question, not a suggestion. Given the scenario Tom described above could this be a situation that warranted a warning shot? In the air maybe. I can't see how you could defend yourself against a mob in that situation without some real problems afterwards. But if you could get them to disperse without shooting someone, and got away, could that work?

September 8, 2014, 05:33 PM	#8
Mainah Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2007 Posts: 1,119	Or an innocent kid blocks away, you're right.

September 8, 2014, 05:35 PM	#9
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 3,888	In a situation like that all you can realistically do is protect yourself (and family if they're with you).

September 8, 2014, 06:11 PM	#12
Venom1956 Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2008 Location: WI Posts: 3,656	That would be a nightmare to deal with if you were assaulted and armed. surrounded by people some agressors some just cheering them on... Way to many targets to keep track of. After seeing the one guy on the pavement getting his head jumped on idk if I could just choose not to draw. __________________ E-Shock rounds are engineered to expend maximum energy into soft targets, turning the density mass into an expanding rotational cone of NyTrilium matrix particles, causing neurological collapse to the central nervous system.- Yeah I can do that. I guarantee you will know it if a bicyclist hits your house going 1000 mph. -Smaug

September 8, 2014, 06:14 PM	#13
psalm7 Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2014 Location: Middle TN Posts: 543	I'm sure as this kind of stuff becomes more common more folks will be more willing to wade in . Oh waite big Government and athorities will fix it for us and we will all be safe .

September 8, 2014, 06:19 PM	#14
Barnacle Brad Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2009 Location: Greybull, Wyoming Posts: 416	Mr Servo, I am sorry I did jot make my thoughts more clear. When I said pick up an equalizer I was thinking more on the lines of a twice by four or something I could swing. Given the forum I could see how you made the jump to the firearm, but please! I have more than just a little common sense! __________________ Brad

September 8, 2014, 06:35 PM	#15
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	It's going to a matter of very short time before the punks in these groups pick on someone carrying 15 rounds of something. Hopefully, all rounds fired will hit only the thugs beating on the victims, but it's not likely. Question : if 100 punks are involved, and a couple of them do get shot, can all 100 be charged with murder? If not, why not?

September 8, 2014, 06:38 PM	#16
Glenn E. Meyer Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2000 Posts: 20,064	Pick up a 2 by 4 - those are lying around? Home Depot maybe. Don't let your need to posture overwhelm your sense of the practical. Also, if it were a true mob of 100 - a 2 by 4 would end up in your .... __________________ NRA, TSRA, IDPA, NTI, Polite Soc. - Aux Armes, Citoyens

September 8, 2014, 06:53 PM	#18
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	That two-by might have worked given the video I saw, but if there's one two-by in the lumber stack, there's more available to the rest of the mob. My vote is for a standoff weapon. Having said that, kudos for advocating intervention. Too many of us stand and stare, anymore.

September 8, 2014, 07:06 PM	#20
huskybiker Member Join Date: March 10, 2013 Posts: 97	I'm rounding up my family, getting IN my vehicle (if possible), then calling 911. Anyone trying to enter MY vehicle will be quickly learn the meaning of the Castle Doctrine!

September 8, 2014, 07:28 PM	#21
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	I don't care if an object is classifies as a "deadly weapon" clearly they had a right to fear for life or severe injury __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

September 8, 2014, 07:43 PM	#22
Corrections Cop Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2012 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 390	100 person mob, I'm leaving the area, and protecting me and mine. You facing 100 people will turn bad real quick. Just because you carry doesn't mean you need to intervene in every situation. I am not robo cop or the riot squad.

September 8, 2014, 09:03 PM	#23
2123 Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2014 Location: It changes.....a lot. Posts: 356	What used to be shocking so many years ago, is now more than not, an everyday occurrence. Was I shocked at what happened? No, Was I a bit surprised? Yes.

September 8, 2014, 09:35 PM	#24
Crankgrinder Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 917	There is a law I'm aware of in many states regarding a thing called "disparity". Being randomly attacked by a mob of people be it 3 or 100 can be a situation reasonable to shoot ones way out of, of course there will be a slew of issues to go with it and you'd better hit the guy swinging something at you and not the guy next to him but I believe it could be argued favorably.

September 8, 2014, 09:37 PM	#25
jeager106 Junior member Join Date: November 24, 2006 Location: N.E. Oh. Posts: 527	I was well trained in what is called "unarmed self defense" in my younger days. I'm talking police work, not trained as a 3rd degree black belt or anything like that. I did 22.5 years in the mean streets before being permanently disabled with a broken back earned "subduing" a felon half my age and 100 pounds larger. It was my 13th serious injury on the job. I'm 68 now, no way able to hold my own in a physical match & now I suffer from serious spinal cord injury. I only mention this so you will understand why this knock out game scares me silly. I had to take a medical retirement simply because one more back injury is likely to leave me in a wheel chair. I DO carry concealed but in a situation where I became a victim to these punks targeting easy prey I'm not sure bringing out the gun is the smart thing to do. This knock out crap has happened a couple of times where I often shop. I honestly don't know what I'd do were I the target of the knock out foolishness. I don't want to chance being more crippled than I am but I also don't want to be in a position to need to lawyer up, face criminal charges, or possible jail. See my point? I suppose being older, injured, partially crippled, would go in my favor were something awful to happen and I had to produce a firearm and use it. I've thought this through but really can't say what I would do. I keep a low profile, tend to watch my surroundings, and am perhaps over cautious. What do you think you might do if you were in my position and attacked by physical force?