Some random thoughts, in no particular order ....
Getting caught up in some ambush "knock-out" robbery means the odds are already severely stacked against you (it's an ambush).
Two male attackers going after 2 similarly sized male victims, with 2 "backup" male attackers (lookouts, too?), probably means they were ready, mentally and physically, to try to immediately over-power their intended victims, and any resistance the victims might put out. Probably honed and refined their technique from other incidents. They swarm the victims.
Being aware of ANY out-of-the-ordinary noise,
like running feet, ought to trigger a reflexive area check. Maybe a demonstration of alertness and awareness (defensive physical postures by both intended victims) might've caused the suspects to veer off and look for other victims, or maybe they might've used even more force (already committed to running). No way to know how the suspects were prepared to act (and trying to attribute reasonable thinking to some folks is an exercise in futility).
Might 2 intended male victims, in good shape and with at least some amount of self defense training, have prevented the success of the initial attack? Maybe. Probably. However, the nature of the attack might've instantly changed if the suspect attackers suddenly revealed they carried knives (or box cutters), or 1 or more of the 4 had a gun.
Adding a gun or 2, being worn by the victims, might've done little good due to the speed of the attacke, especially if the victims weren't trained and experienced in being able to
swiftly properly react (people tend to forget the delaying effect of the "freeze" part of the "freeze, flight or fight" response). Then, reacting properly as a "pair" is something that really needs to be ingrained by training and frequent practice. There's always the risk of a victim's gun being taken and used against the victim(s).
Retention holster? Used by a private citizen? What kind of "retention" are you thinking about? Anything short of a L3 security holster probably isn't going to protect against the quick loss of the weapon from a downed victim, and even a L3 isn't a guarantee. How many L3 type
concealment holsters are being used by the average armed private citizen? (How many are worn off-duty by working cops, for that matter?
) "Retention" is more than a mindset, more than just equipment and more than just a couple of techniques. It's something that requires some specific training and practice.
Even if one of the intended victims had managed to
start to draw a gun - remembering you saw the speed of the attack in the video - what if that only meant the 2 attackers instantly focused their attention on over whelming the victim trying to present a gun? And before someone mentions a "disparity of force", consider that for all the victims knew, it was only 2-on-2, in the beginning of the attack, and without any visible weapons being shown by the attackers.
How many average citizens think they're going to be able to react appropriately, reasonably, using only necessary force to defend themselves? How many know the laws about such things? How many think it's just "common sense"? Some of our county jails and state prisons house otherwise good, upstanding citizens who made mistakes in their decisions whether to use force, and how much, and their decisions were later found improper when applied to those of the "reasonable person" standard.
FWIW, I've been involved in the practice of various martial arts for 46 years (and have taught the same, or just 'self defense'); I try to keep in good shape; I've been a LE firearms trainer for 26 years; I've carried one or another (regular or reserve) badge for over 34 years; I've had the usual DT & officer safety training, as well as having sought out additional training opportunities ... and I've survived a violent attack by someone armed with a large kitchen boning-type knife, while unarmed, without being cut ... and to my mind, being the focus of such an attack as the one in the video, and surviving without serious injury, even to preventing the attackers from successfully completing the robbery, would be very, very, very - etc, etc - difficult. What if the second pair of suspects were armed? What if there weren't just 2, but 3 or 4 "extra" suspects, prepared to overwhelm resistance of victims who tried to defend themselves?
This is why the criminal justice system -
and society - needs to tighten down on such wanton, overtly violent and even feral behavior by criminals.
Just some thoughts. I don't pretend to have the answers.
