Ex-CNNer Lynne Russell's husband kills robber in wild motel shootout

Hiker 1 · July 2, 2015, 08:54 AM

A win for the good guys here, aside from the questionable reporting
.35 caliber handguns? Yes, there are .35 caliber handguns, but I suspect this was not the case.

Regardless, the good guys were prepared and capable and the husband still took 3 rounds. He's a former SF guy as well.

What can we learn from this?

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...cmp=latestnews

4 Paws · July 2, 2015, 09:24 AM

Quote:

What can we learn from this?

1. Bad things can happen when you least expect it.
2. His training probably saved his life, never give up.

Double Naught Spy · July 2, 2015, 09:29 AM

Yes, Lynne Russell holds multiple black belts, plus has been a PI since the early 90s and is a reserve sheriff's deputy.

Yes, he is ex SF.

Quote:

Regardless, the good guys were prepared and capable and the husband still took 3 rounds. He's a former SF guy as well.

What can we learn from this?

First of all, we can learn that the good guys were NOT prepared. There was zero situational awareness. Despite all her training, Russell was caught completely off guard due to a lapse in security and awareness on her part. She apparently was not personally armed at the time, had gone out to her car for stuff and the bad guy barged in the room. The husband was in the shower at the time and came out naked, was caught off guard, and only was able to react when the bad guy was distracted.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...otel-shootout/

According to local news, http://www.koat.com/news/albuquerque...oting/33899308 all this happened at 11:30 PM when Russell went out to her vehicle and a man put a gun to her head and dragged her into the room. With all the commotion, the husband came out of the shower.

The SF husband exchanged shots with the bad guy once the opportunity allowed him to get his gun. Great. He says it was his special forces training kicking in and that he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his wife, but in reality, this whole situation sounds a lot like situations we have seen/read about time and time again when the good guys with zero or without much training just get lucky. That the husband is alive is lucky.

Russell and her husband are good people, no doubt, but between the two of them, the amount of training does not appear to have been a huge factor. This is certainly true of Russell's part. Where was her black belt(s) training? Where was her PI training? Where was her LEO training? Where was her gun? Albuquerque isn't exactly known as the safest place in the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/op...-violence.html

Also see...
http://themartialartsreporter.com/tag/lynne-russell/
http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0880192.html

TimSr · July 2, 2015, 10:27 AM

I'm curious as to her past political expressions on gun issues before this happened, as opposed to now.

Double Naught Spy · July 2, 2015, 10:42 AM

Quote:

I'm curious as to her past political expressions on gun issues before this happened, as opposed to now.

She and her husband have been involved with firearms for quite some time. I don't think she is going to favor guns less now. Did you see her creds above?

Maybe you missed some threads here?
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...=lynne+russell
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...russell&page=2
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...=lynne+russell
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...=lynne+russell
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...=lynne+russell

dyl · July 2, 2015, 12:18 PM

Probably .357 revolvers, but typist cut it shor-.

P5 Guy · July 2, 2015, 12:50 PM

http://www.gunsinternational.com/gun...fm?cat_id=1367

Maybe it was an heirloom?

jmhyer · July 2, 2015, 01:03 PM

9mm=0.35 caliber

...but I seriously doubt that was known to the journalist.

BarryLee · July 2, 2015, 03:03 PM

I saw ABC and HLN both cover this story and the Anchors all seemed to insinuate that there was more to the story. I have no idea what they based that on, but I found it strange that two different networks made the same implication.

FAS1 · July 2, 2015, 06:30 PM

Quote:

With all the commotion, the husband came out of the shower.

Doesn't seem so crazy today

Jim567 · July 2, 2015, 10:40 PM

Thank God for humor!!!

Chettt · July 4, 2015, 05:50 AM

CNN must not have payed too well if they were Motel 6ing it.

agtman · July 4, 2015, 06:31 AM

No question that Ms. Russell and her husband are the paradigm examples of "good people" to whom some really bad stuff was about to happen, ... but after reading several on-line news accounts of this incident, including the Fox link above, I'm inclined to agree w/ Double Naught's comments.

Their survival here was less about the hubby's SF training "kicking in," and more about simply getting lucky against a distracted, incompetent Bad Guy.

I don't doubt the husband's military firearms training and survival instinct helped keep his rounds on target (the BG's vitals), but this case really serves as an object lesson in how easily and quickly one BG can catch two good people off guard and gain the upper hand in just seconds.

For all their gun and martial-arts backgrounds, and alleged security training, you would have expected better situational awareness when stopped for the night at some low-budget, roadside dump of a motel.

Ms. Russell is especially lucky she wasn't traveling alone at the time, for in addition to being robbed, she might well have been raped and killed.

Ike666 · July 4, 2015, 07:28 AM

I must say I'm more than a little disappointed and dismayed by the second-guessing and arm-chair evaluation of the victor's performance.

As part of an LE shooting investigation team I have participated in the follow-on investigation of dozens of officer- and citizen-involved shootings. The only common denominator I have discovered is the 10% rule. What is reported in the media is only about 10% accurate.

Certainly this forum is dedicated to learning from such incidents. But to assert such harsh uncompromising judgements seems beyond the pale. The more so when the only source of information is from the news media.

Those writers are, of course, entitled to their point of view and have the absolute right to express their opinion here. I just hoped it could be done from a less messianic position.

Art Eatman · July 4, 2015, 09:41 AM

They'd been on the road, travelling, and from one article they'd stopped because of fatigue. Sorta spur of the moment for the Motel 6.

All happy in the room. All okay.

Fatigue can do bad things for situational awareness--which seems to me to be the reason for her being surprised. Fatigue also slows down reaction time, both mental and physical.

Sure, just speculation. But, I've done a heckuva lot of long-day drives, and I have had to force myself to stay in Condition Yellow, sometimes. Not easy.

Hiker 1 · July 6, 2015, 12:08 AM

I just hoped it could be done from a less messianic position.

Exactly. No one stays on full alert 100% of the time. It just doesn't happen.

The "enemy" also gets a say-so, which I think we tend to forget. We all envision how a defensive situation will go down and it never happens that way.

Bake · July 6, 2015, 01:30 PM

You can take three months reading about strategy, six months training for your difference scenarios, and spend the rest your life waiting for something to happen. Then one day you're on the toilet and all hell breaks loose and three seconds after the first shot all your planning, all your training is flushed down the toilet, and it all becomes a matter of skill & luck, "How lucky do you feel?".

BarryLee · July 8, 2015, 04:02 PM

Here's a link to Lynn Russell's version of what happened and her view of the Second Amendment.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/...cmp=latestnews

2damnold4this · July 8, 2015, 04:59 PM

Thanks for the link, Barry. Those are some powerful words. From the link:

I moved around, we spoke to the assailant, kept him busy, offered him things, kept him from focusing. We felt he'd shoot when he'd gotten what he wanted. He was comfortable with the situation, had been there before.

I walked my purse to Chuck, talking about finding something inside. I reached behind Chuck and slipped a gun in, then handed it to him, asking if he could see anything that we might give the man. He said yes, wrapping his hand around the gun.

The assailant grew agitated as I again walked across the room, splitting his concentration. He was making wild passes with his gun. Finally he lunged at the briefcase in front of me, and headed for the door.

For a second, I thought he'd leave. Instead, he opened fire on my husband. Chuck returned fire, emptying his gun even as he was bleeding profusely.

I'm glad the two good guys lived. It sounds like the criminal was experienced and unafraid to use violence. It sounds like the good guys made the best out of a bad situation by distracting the criminal.

FireForged · July 8, 2015, 06:12 PM

all this speculation to lack of "situational awareness" seems like unqualified supposition at best. It was a public place and she was outside.. its not hard for someone to make a move on you when you cant or are not actively controling the environment. She is not a sentinel guarding the parking lot, she was a patron getting some luggage or something. Maybe he was around the corner, maybe he sprang out from the bushes.. we dont know. I am willing to bet that if the guy behind me in the check out line decides he wants to tackle me, I am probably not going to be able to prevent it. Respond- yes but prevent it..no. It doesnt mean I failed at awareness. There is a certain level of encroachment that we all tolerate in public as being out of our control and yes it can be a hazard. The couple fought and ultimately won this confrontation.. I tip my hat to them not criticize them.

**OldMarksman** · July 9, 2015, 12:57 PM

Posted by Double Naught Spy:

Quote:

There was zero situational awareness.

What do you know about her awareness at the time?

Quote:

Despite all her training, Russell was caught completely off guard due to a lapse in security and awareness on her part.

Would you describe a person who is stabbed or struck from behind in a line at a counter as having experienced a "lapse in security"? What do you do when you stand in line?

Quote:

She apparently was not personally armed at the time, had gone out to her car for stuff and the bad guy barged in the room.

So it seems.

Quote:

The husband was in the shower at the time and came out naked, was caught off guard, and only was able to react when the bad guy was distracted.

What do you wear in the shower?

The notion that all people, even highly trained ones, will detect all suspicious behavior by persons intending to ambush them before it is too late, all of the time, and in all places, is just plain silly.

Last week a neighbor of mine was struck from behind by and badly injured man who entered his garage with a shove. He did not detect the presence of the assailant beforehand, and to assert that improved "situational awareness" on his part would necessarily have changed anything would be baseless supposition.

The victim lost his keys and his car. Had he been armed, we can assume that he might well have lost his weapon.

To believe that one can always maintain a level of wariness high enough to prevent an ambush is to engage in fantasy.

Yes, we try, but to assume that an attack indicates poor tactics is not a reasonable confusion.

July 2, 2015, 08:54 AM	#1
Hiker 1 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 596	Ex-CNNer Lynne Russell's husband kills robber in wild motel shootout A win for the good guys here, aside from the questionable reporting .35 caliber handguns? Yes, there are .35 caliber handguns, but I suspect this was not the case. Regardless, the good guys were prepared and capable and the husband still took 3 rounds. He's a former SF guy as well. What can we learn from this? http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...cmp=latestnews

July 2, 2015, 12:50 PM	#7
P5 Guy Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2005 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 1,804	S&W 35s http://www.gunsinternational.com/gun...fm?cat_id=1367 Maybe it was an heirloom?

July 2, 2015, 03:03 PM	#9
BarryLee Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2010 Location: The ATL (OTP) Posts: 3,946	I saw ABC and HLN both cover this story and the Anchors all seemed to insinuate that there was more to the story. I have no idea what they based that on, but I found it strange that two different networks made the same implication. __________________ 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

July 4, 2015, 06:31 AM	#13
agtman Junior member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: midwest Posts: 2,374	No question that Ms. Russell and her husband are the paradigm examples of "good people" to whom some really bad stuff was about to happen, ... but after reading several on-line news accounts of this incident, including the Fox link above, I'm inclined to agree w/ Double Naught's comments. Their survival here was less about the hubby's SF training "kicking in," and more about simply getting lucky against a distracted, incompetent Bad Guy. I don't doubt the husband's military firearms training and survival instinct helped keep his rounds on target (the BG's vitals), but this case really serves as an object lesson in how easily and quickly one BG can catch two good people off guard and gain the upper hand in just seconds. For all their gun and martial-arts backgrounds, and alleged security training, you would have expected better situational awareness when stopped for the night at some low-budget, roadside dump of a motel. Ms. Russell is especially lucky she wasn't traveling alone at the time, for in addition to being robbed, she might well have been raped and killed. Last edited by agtman; July 4, 2015 at 07:29 AM.

July 4, 2015, 07:28 AM	#14
Ike666 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2009 Location: SW VA Posts: 491	I must say I'm more than a little disappointed and dismayed by the second-guessing and arm-chair evaluation of the victor's performance. As part of an LE shooting investigation team I have participated in the follow-on investigation of dozens of officer- and citizen-involved shootings. The only common denominator I have discovered is the 10% rule. What is reported in the media is only about 10% accurate. Certainly this forum is dedicated to learning from such incidents. But to assert such harsh uncompromising judgements seems beyond the pale. The more so when the only source of information is from the news media. Those writers are, of course, entitled to their point of view and have the absolute right to express their opinion here. I just hoped it could be done from a less messianic position. __________________ ___________________ "I'm your huckleberry."

July 2, 2015, 10:27 AM	#4
TimSr Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2013 Location: Rittman, Ohio Posts: 2,074	I'm curious as to her past political expressions on gun issues before this happened, as opposed to now.

July 2, 2015, 12:18 PM	#6
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	Probably .357 revolvers, but typist cut it shor-.

July 2, 2015, 01:03 PM	#8
jmhyer Senior Member Join Date: June 19, 2012 Location: MS - USA Posts: 899	9mm=0.35 caliber ...but I seriously doubt that was known to the journalist.

July 2, 2015, 10:40 PM	#11
Jim567 Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2014 Location: NE FL Posts: 656	Thank God for humor!!!

July 4, 2015, 05:50 AM	#12
Chettt Senior Member Join Date: September 30, 2006 Posts: 238	CNN must not have payed too well if they were Motel 6ing it.

July 4, 2015, 09:41 AM	#15
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	They'd been on the road, travelling, and from one article they'd stopped because of fatigue. Sorta spur of the moment for the Motel 6. All happy in the room. All okay. Fatigue can do bad things for situational awareness--which seems to me to be the reason for her being surprised. Fatigue also slows down reaction time, both mental and physical. Sure, just speculation. But, I've done a heckuva lot of long-day drives, and I have had to force myself to stay in Condition Yellow, sometimes. Not easy.

July 6, 2015, 12:08 AM	#16
Hiker 1 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 596	I just hoped it could be done from a less messianic position. Exactly. No one stays on full alert 100% of the time. It just doesn't happen. The "enemy" also gets a say-so, which I think we tend to forget. We all envision how a defensive situation will go down and it never happens that way.

July 6, 2015, 01:30 PM	#17
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	You can take three months reading about strategy, six months training for your difference scenarios, and spend the rest your life waiting for something to happen. Then one day you're on the toilet and all hell breaks loose and three seconds after the first shot all your planning, all your training is flushed down the toilet, and it all becomes a matter of skill & luck, "How lucky do you feel?". __________________ 1. The pattern board is your friend, use the Dam thing!!! 2. The maximum range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually measured in miles, and means nothing. 2a. The effective range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually (the ability of the shooter) measured in yards, and means everything.

July 8, 2015, 04:02 PM	#18
BarryLee Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2010 Location: The ATL (OTP) Posts: 3,946	Here's a link to Lynn Russell's version of what happened and her view of the Second Amendment. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/...cmp=latestnews __________________ 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

July 8, 2015, 04:59 PM	#19
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 2,526	Thanks for the link, Barry. Those are some powerful words. From the link: I moved around, we spoke to the assailant, kept him busy, offered him things, kept him from focusing. We felt he'd shoot when he'd gotten what he wanted. He was comfortable with the situation, had been there before. I walked my purse to Chuck, talking about finding something inside. I reached behind Chuck and slipped a gun in, then handed it to him, asking if he could see anything that we might give the man. He said yes, wrapping his hand around the gun. The assailant grew agitated as I again walked across the room, splitting his concentration. He was making wild passes with his gun. Finally he lunged at the briefcase in front of me, and headed for the door. For a second, I thought he'd leave. Instead, he opened fire on my husband. Chuck returned fire, emptying his gun even as he was bleeding profusely. I'm glad the two good guys lived. It sounds like the criminal was experienced and unafraid to use violence. It sounds like the good guys made the best out of a bad situation by distracting the criminal.

July 8, 2015, 06:12 PM	#20
FireForged Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 1999 Location: Rebel South USA Posts: 2,074	all this speculation to lack of "situational awareness" seems like unqualified supposition at best. It was a public place and she was outside.. its not hard for someone to make a move on you when you cant or are not actively controling the environment. She is not a sentinel guarding the parking lot, she was a patron getting some luggage or something. Maybe he was around the corner, maybe he sprang out from the bushes.. we dont know. I am willing to bet that if the guy behind me in the check out line decides he wants to tackle me, I am probably not going to be able to prevent it. Respond- yes but prevent it..no. It doesnt mean I failed at awareness. There is a certain level of encroachment that we all tolerate in public as being out of our control and yes it can be a hazard. The couple fought and ultimately won this confrontation.. I tip my hat to them not criticize them. __________________ Life is a web woven by necessity and chance...