What Would You Do....

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Looks like she was caught slipping- definitely enforces the concept of not judging a book by its cover. The worst I would have expected from a kid like that would be shoplifting some merch into the backpack and running. That said, when someone decides to play a man's game, man-size rules are in play.
 
Video here:


Boy, 12, arrested for carrying out armed robbery on gas station


https://mol.im/a/10885637


The answer to what I’d do is nothing. Why would you want to intervene? That is simply stupid. The police wouldn’t come in after the kid, they would set up outside and wait for him to come out.

I wouldn’t intervene if I was still on the job and off duty in that gas station. Starting a gunfight in a store filled with innocent bystanders is liable to have a poor outcome.

I learned early on that it was sometimes necessary to use force on women and young people to do the job. But intervening while an armed 12 year old is in a store full of people isn’t the best choice. Now if he started herding people into the freezer it would be time to do something.
 
Who am I?

If I'm the clerk, I never would have asked if he was serious. I'm not risking my life for the store's insured money

If I'm the guy behind him, I'm not sure. For sure I'd do what the guy in the video did and move away and I'd probably draw. Had he not fired the shot I wouldn't get involved but if he's already fired a shot the threat level has gone way up. If he turned in my direction I'd shoot. If he took the money and headed for the door I'd let him go

I know the powers that be aren't going to like that response but I've got my life to live and they've got theirs.
 
Night Rider said:
I know the powers that be aren't going to like that response but I've got my life to live and they've got theirs.
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We all live the consequences of the decisions we make. The powers that be are interested in the members and people who surf in and never register seeing all of the possible consequences. None of these situations are cut and dried and they are never as simple as people think there. The powers that be want everyone reading these threads to have as much information as possible so they can prepare for the day they hope never comes.

If you think that you can shoot a child with no emotional consequences, you are wrong. I spent 20 years in the Infantry. We trained for that including the use of role players. Later as a police officer we trained for that eventuality in active shooter training. I still occasionally have nightmares about the 14 year old Laotian gang member I came within a fraction of a second of killing. The boy and his 3 companions (only 1 was 18) had been doing gas station drive offs and stealing food as part of an initiation. They were to make a delivery of drugs to someone in Atlanta. They were from LaCrosse, WI that has a large Laotian community. They were not permitted to spend any of the money for the drugs they were delivering. They stopped at our local Pizza Hut and the manager called us to report suspicious conduct as the 4 of them ordered a personal pan pizza and a pitcher of Pepsi. The manager thought that was suspicious and looked at their car (it was 4 pm and they were the only customers) and when he saw it had a Wisconsin plate on the front and a Michigan plate on the front. When he saw that he called the police. I was already enroute when he called 911 to report the boys had gotten up from the table and went to where the video games were and started to rip out the coin boxes of the video games. I pulled in to the lot about the same time they grabbed the coin boxes they had managed to remove and ran out the fire door that was next to where the video games were. They ran around the building to the parking lot where their car was right into me. The boy immediately reached into his coat for something in his waist band. The hammer on my 5906 was coming back when he pulled his hand out and it was empty. It turned out he had a hammer in his belt and I guess he thought he would hit me with it. The Lacrosse officer I spoke with later that evening told me the story of the gang initiation. If he had been a half second slower showing me his empty hand he would have died that afternoon. I would have shot him. I had trained for that eventuality. I'm not sure how I would have reacted without training for it.

I don't know where outside of the military or law enforcement one would get training that included child bad guys.
 
What would I do?

Probably step back and maybe sideways a little so I had a clean shot (if needed), get my hand on my gun's grip, and wait.

Armed robbers want the money. As quickly as possible. Then they want to leave. As quickly as possible. No point killing the person who knows where the cash is and can put it in the bag for him, if they're willing to comply. He showed her he was serious, got what he wanted, and left. Was it technically a deadly threat? Yes. But it was really for intimidation to gain compliance.

No matter how we might personally feel about such illegal activity, we're not judge, jury and execution. Just because lethal force is justifiable (or even excusable) doesn't mean it is necessary.
 
Night Rider said:
If I'm the clerk, I never would have asked if he was serious. I'm not risking my life for the store's insured money
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I've mentioned several times on THR that my mom and dad owned and ran a small country store/gas station when I was growing up. I remember them actually discussing what they would do if someone with a gun came into their store to rob them. Their agreement was: "Give the robber the whole danged store if that's what they want!" What I don't remember is Mom and Dad talking about how old the hypothetical robber with a gun might be.
Besides that, the money Mom and Dad had in their cash register sure wasn't insured like the money in a modern-day convenience store/gas station. It was their money, or rather their family's money. Nevertheless, Mom's and Dad's agreement was they'd give away their "whole danged store" in hopes of staying alive for their family if it came to that. And I still agree with that agreement. ;)
 
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Jeff White said:
If you think that you can shoot a child with no emotional consequences, you are wrong.
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I never even hinted that I thought I wouldn't suffer any emotional consequences. I am a devout Christian I really think that if i killed someone regardless of their age I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if they were in Hell because of me.

Having said that, if I ever had to shoot anyone it would be because I was scared to that if I didn't I (or someone else) was going to die.
 
edwardware said:
One of Louis L'Amour'd characters (Boudrie I think) once opined, "If a man's old enough to use a gun, he's old enough to die by one."
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Other than geography and some historical events Louis L'Amour's novels bear no more resemblance to reality than Bugs Bunny does to a documentary on Rabbits
 
Night Rider said:
I never even hinted that I thought I wouldn't suffer any emotional consequences.
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I never said you did. I was simply stating that because of our culture it is hard for someone who is trained to deal with having to kill a child in self defense. We are very protective of children and the thought of shooting a child is abhorrent to us.

When we have these conversations everyone talks like it's no different then any other defensive gun use. It’s not and as hard as this sounds in this day and age it’s something that might be encountered.
 
I've never been in a store that was robbed (at least not While it was being robbed) I've never been in combat and I've never gone at it with a kid.

I read somewhere that less than half a percent of armed robberies involve anyone being shot. So, shooting would definitely be a be a last resort option.

BUT when the Robber started shooting that changed everything. I've had some training that involved kids and I never hesitated to engage because it was a kid but I knew it was training .

Based on my training I'd be more focused the gun than the age of the person holding it.

I don't know how else to say it but I'm not willing to die rather than shoot (which doesn’t necessarily equal kill) a kid who is trying to kill me.
 
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Equally as dangerous as an adult, maybe even more so since many know they can get away with robbery with just a slap on the wrist. Maybe even murder and not get tried as an adult if they are young enough.
Didn't see the video but I'd back off and try and get my hand on my gun in case the little f'er wants to kill everybody for the fun of it.
 
If you look in the lower right-hand corner just after the kid shoots in the air, someone walked into the store. He sees what's going on and turns around and leaves.

He was the smart one.

Upon further review the guy behind the kid turned around and walked away as soon as he shot. Had that been me I would have kept right on going out the back door
 
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He pointed a gun at the employee and fired a round; he is lucky he did not get shot at that point.
 
I do not know anyone who would likely have shot a robber in such a circumstance.
 
Everyone in this quickie-mart kept a pretty cool head. That nicely helped towards keeping it bloodless.
Unless the kid was turning towards me gun-in-hand…my inclination would be to let him run away, too.

EDIT TO ADD: Video also serves as a good reminder why it is good for us to give other people space…whether at the quickie-mart, the bank, or even in a line of vehicles at a red traffic signal. Building extra distance gives us the benefit of time.
 
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I would have tried to back away and get some cover or leave the store entirely. If that weren’t possible I would have shot him in the back of the head once he fired the gun. I wouldn’t risk him turning around and deciding to eliminate a witness. Standing behind him there’s no way I could know he was a child.

People who are familiar with my posts will know I’m extremely critical of people who want to play cop or play hero, and that’s still the case. But if I were trapped with my back to an obstacle his “warning shot” would be taken as a warning that I’m about to die.

Kleanbore said:
I do not know anyone who would likely have shot a robber in such a circumstance.
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He stopped being a robber when he fired a shot. He became a shooter.
 
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