Rightness got nuthin ta do with it. It's the law. In most states a CHL holder may use lethal force when threatened by lethal force until the threat ceases. Running and crawling out constituted cessation of the threat.
Eggsackley. That's what their northern cousins do. Gramps would keep it in in his pants and look harmless faced with shotguns.
I'm not criticizing this guy at all. I just want to point out some things for people to think about. I was a little surprised that he only managed to wing one of them and didn't put either of them down, despite appearing to know what he was doing. I really doubt he was going for nonlethal shots, considering everything, so we have to say his marksmanship was average at best. Lot harder to hit people scrambling around than stationary range sillouettes. That raises two points. One, while I didn't count shots, he must have fired four or five times. That kind of subcompact pistol generally only holds five or six in a mag, so he was close to out with nothing to show for it but one guy winged in the butt. Did he have the ability to reload or was that going to be it? His ass would have been in a sling if he only had harsh language to use on them after going empty, had they decided to stay and fight or maybe reenter the fight. Two, in this situation, I wonder if a better strategy would have been to draw your piece and keep in behind your leg and wait for a moment when you know for sure you can drop one or both of them. Again, I'm not being critical and I'm not a CQB expert, but just wondering what the best strategy would be.
The pistol he was using was a dog, a "get off me" gun, nothing more. If he thought he was good with it, the best strategy was to stay rock steady with it and shoot from where he was sitting. Double tap and make every round count, especially if he had no spare mag. He would have made a smaller target and gotten the shots off sooner. Also it looked to me like his motion caught the BG's attention and that he was turning around. Before he moved, he was basically invisible. Harmless old man. BG preoccupied with herding the manager. Back turned. Shudda nailed him then.
The police investigators have said the man is unlikely to face criminal charges, the shooting appears justified and he had a permit. However, the two robbers survived and that leaves him at risk, albeit a small one, for a civil complaint. One other risk he is facing as well:
I am betting the freed one's momma beat the crap out of him. And took away his baseball bat. And taught him "Never pick a fight with a man who's too old for it. He'll just kill ya." Plus, liability cuts both ways. They were both minors, so depending on the circumstances parental negligence might be an issue. Whose gun was it?
Alright, I stayed out of the discussion regarding use of acceptable force until now, but I have to say the following: Once a weapon enters the fray, knife or gun, the situation has now escalated to RED from GREEN or YELLOW and the use of deadly force to protect oneself is allowable in just about everywhere but the most liberal of states. If you fear for your life or the life of others, you don't get hung up on tap dancing around what you do or do not do if you have a gun. If you have a gun, and they do too, you calculate your opening and then use it. I would rather be left explaining myself to the police, than dead. In each encounter with a thug and weapon, you just do not know which thug is "the good kind" and will only take your money, and which one will kill you for the fun of it. You must assume the worst of all variables.
I agree dude. You just can't know what's going to happen. This guy was prepared to do something and didn't have time to think over every scenario.. so he said fuck it if im going down it'll be on my terms. I can't fault him. These 2 robbers turned out to be hilariously stupid kids, and i'm glad they didn't die but if they got killed it would be THEIR fault.. alone.
What I want to know is how he got that piece out and racked so fast. No small feat considering that it was concealed and he was sitting. I think I would still be gaping at the situation while he getting off the first two shots. Maybe because it was a sleazy internet gambling parlor he had already thought it out. He WAS against the back wall in sight of the door.