[BJPZOO]

:neener:
Monday, August 29, 2005

Here's the link http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167630,00.html


Shreveport, La., police say a man asked to use the bathroom of a gas station last Wednesday afternoon.

Forty minutes later, he emerged from the restroom and walked up to the counter with something to declare.

"He stuck his hand under his shirt and said, 'This is a robbery. I got a gun,'" Detective Russell Ross told the Shreveport Times.

The clerk didn't believe him, so the man came behind the counter to make his point clear.

"They scuffled. And during the scuffle, she felt something sharp poke her," related Ross. "She reached over and grabbed a baseball bat she had behind the counter and started whaling on him when she realized what he had under his shirt was a fork :banghead: ... which was no match for a baseball bat."

The clerk chased the miscreant out of the store, still beating him with the bat.

"A customer saw what was going on, took a pistol from his vehicle, came over and fired his pistol into the ground," said Ross. "All aggression ceased at that point."

Derrick Dwayne Franklin, 24, was arrested and charged with one count of attempted armed robbery.

— Thanks to Out There reader Kori G

[scout26]

And Gun Trumps Both.......

[DelayedReaction]

"A customer saw what was going on, took a pistol from his vehicle, came over and fired his pistol into the ground," said Ross. "All aggression ceased at that point."

Discharging a firearm into the ground? Not smart. I'm glad everything worked out, but that was a dangerous move to make.

[Desertdog]

Discharging a firearm into the ground? Not smart.
Enlighten me please, isn't shooting into the ground much safer than shooting into the air?
I have always considered it so.
Let the debates begin.

[Rabid Rabbit]

I think he meant shooting the gun was not smart. I don't believe that I've ever heard that you should give a warning shot. If no body is in danger then you don't shoot.

[SLCDave]

It's the safer of two unsafe actions. Why discharge your firearm in the first place? What if the ricochet hits a kid, or even the person you are trying to stop? Try a firm, loud voice to get their attention.

[foghornl]

Perhaps the angle of the Good Guy, Bad Guy, and The Clerk would not allow a good shot into the Bad Guy only.

Better a single round into the ground than a sinlge round though Bad Guy and then into The Clerk. Something about knowing your target and what is behind.


In any case, Today's Box Score is:

Good Guys 1
The Sleaze 0

[MechAg94]

You got a link on that? I would like to share with some other people.

[Double Maduro]

OK.

You pull into a gas station/stop & rob, and see a woman hitting a man with a baseball bat.

Which one do you shoot?

Getting control of the situation is the important thing. Firing a shot is certainly one way to do that.

DM

[pax]

Rock Beats Scissors, Bat Beats Fork, Clerk Beats Robber.

All's well that ends well.

pax

[Sergeant Bob]

All's well that ends well.
I so much agree!
It turned out well, the bad guy was apprehended.
I swear, some people would complain if they weren't hung with a new rope.

[Double Maduro]

I swear, some people would complain if they weren't hung with a new rope.

But not for long. lol

DM

[DelayedReaction]

Good one DM.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to imply that it would've been better to shoot in the air. I suppose discharging the firearm to get control of the situation was the best idea at the time, it just doesn't sit well with me.

[MikeIsaj]

Discharging a firearm into the ground? Not smart. Can't we just enjoy the fact that the forces of the universe converged for one moment to the benifit of mankind.

[joab]

fired his pistol into the ground," said Ross. "All aggression ceased at that point."Yes, look at all the problems that arose from that shot.

What are the chances that the guy that was there with a gun had a better idea of how to handle the situation than a guy at home with keyboard .

[griz]

The night before they had the store video of this altercation. The cashier chased this idiot out of the store, swatting at him the whole way. I think I'm in love! :p

[Standing Wolf]

"A customer saw what was going on, took a pistol from his vehicle, came over and fired his pistol into the ground," said Ross. "All aggression ceased at that point."

A round fired into the ground makes far more sense than a round fired into the air. For all we know from the sketchy "article," the shooter needed to fire a round to persuade the criminal the game was over. Some criminals really are dumb enough to believe people won't shoot until they see people shoot.

[GunnySkox]

I think a "warning shot" in that instance probably would've been the best idea, anyway. Unless the customer saw it from the beginning, he wouldn't be able to tell who was the aggressor or if this clerk woman had just flipped out and started whacking on some guy with a bat. It was the best option available to him to deescalate the situation with as little possibility of hurting an innocent person as possible.

~Slam_Fire

[Jim March]

Firing into soft dirt where plants are growing isn't crazy. Into concrete or asphalt is nuts. Hardpacked dirt scattered with rocks is unsafe but MAY be better in a pinch than into the air in an urban area.

We don't know where the guy sent the warning shot.

I suspect a warning shot WAS a good idea in this case. Certainly worked out OK. The fact that the clerk was prevailing with a baseball bat meant that there was no gun in play already.