Around 9:45 tonight I was going to see a friend inside a diner inside of a strip-mall-esque location that is square with a "+" shaped set of corridors leading to shops on the inside (outdoors also). Here is a pic - I was past the last sign you see on the left:
I have always had a sketchy feeling about this enclosed area, especially at night when it is much more abandoned than you would imagine from the photo. I had my umbrella, a blackjack in my pocket, and my 9mm in my waistband.
As I was leaving the diner, WHAM I see a guy go down in front of the door. A young guy (caucasian, short brown hair), and someone also young (later I saw he was middle Eastern and had curly hair and a pink shirt) is on top of him punching him in the head. The guy wasn't doing a very good job, the punches looked very weak. My first thought, looking through the door, was "jab your umbrella into the guy on top and get him off the other guy." Then I thought, "he could have a knife." So I went outside and looked around, saw a few people standing off to the side laughing.
I said "Break it up, get out of here" in my best "serious" voice. I wanted to leave and they were in my way, and I was holding my umbrella with a mixed grip. My intuition told me I was safe, but I wasn't sure if they were going to stop fighting. Then WHAM, up runs a red-haired skater-looking kid and kicks the guy who's down in the ribs. One of the girls had her phone out and was laughing and either taping or photographing it.
I said "Seriously, get out of here now. I'm not joking." Still assuming at this point they were all equally invested in fighting. It's raining like heck at this point, and the guy who was on the ground walked off one way and the other two guys started to leave. They turned to me and said "Man, what it is, he's a []. That's what it is." And I said "Go on. Leave."
A couple of men went outside from the diner and I said "I think it's broken up." I said to call the police anyway. The family who was eating there left and the kids were crying - apparently they saw a lot of what I saw.
A girl came outside very frantically, and said it was her boyfriend who had been beaten. I went to my car to get something, I forget what, and got back and asked if the police had been called. A really nice (and cute) Asian girl across the lobby was sort of tending to the guy who had gotten beaten, and he started talking a little.
At this point I realized the cops hadn't been called. People had miscommunicated, and everyone else thought someone had called the cops.
Apparently one of the guys knew him and accused him of stealing something a while back during their time together in high school. They ran into each other randomly and the middle Eastern guy pulled a small (1.5" blade he said) knife on him, held it up to him, and threatened to slit his throat. Then he started slamming him into the wall, hit him a few times, and they went down - that's when I saw them. He was concussed and quite bloody, multiple head gashes and had a "gauged" piercing ripped out, and got kicked in the crotch hard.
When the police arrived they took statements and I told them the ins and outs.
So here are some lessons I learned:
1) My first thought was right. The guy was being beaten for no reason.
2) My first impulse was wrong. I didn't need to use force to break up the fight, and if I had seriously hurt the guy with my umbrella like I wanted to then I would probably be in a lot of trouble. In Guilford County, NC there is an extremely racially tense atmosphere and the last thing I want is some kind of feud with Middle Easterners, publicized or not.
3) I got tunnel vision to some extent, didn't even see the guy coming to kick the downed kid. However, my back was to a door and my sides were partially shielded, so I was not at a very high risk of a surprise attack myself.
4) It's tricky getting involved in a fight. It could have just as easily been less pretty, and if I'd seen a knife out I probably would have drawn my gun and ordered the guy to drop it. I was running on complete adrenaline. As it was my gun never occurred to me because I, nor the guy on the ground, didn't face imminent death/grave harm.
5) Whether you are concerned for your own butt or not, be the one to call the cops. Better 3 people call the cops, than no one.
6) I really went with my gut and I didn't feel like I made any conscious choices. But I felt confident.
I have always had a sketchy feeling about this enclosed area, especially at night when it is much more abandoned than you would imagine from the photo. I had my umbrella, a blackjack in my pocket, and my 9mm in my waistband.
As I was leaving the diner, WHAM I see a guy go down in front of the door. A young guy (caucasian, short brown hair), and someone also young (later I saw he was middle Eastern and had curly hair and a pink shirt) is on top of him punching him in the head. The guy wasn't doing a very good job, the punches looked very weak. My first thought, looking through the door, was "jab your umbrella into the guy on top and get him off the other guy." Then I thought, "he could have a knife." So I went outside and looked around, saw a few people standing off to the side laughing.
I said "Break it up, get out of here" in my best "serious" voice. I wanted to leave and they were in my way, and I was holding my umbrella with a mixed grip. My intuition told me I was safe, but I wasn't sure if they were going to stop fighting. Then WHAM, up runs a red-haired skater-looking kid and kicks the guy who's down in the ribs. One of the girls had her phone out and was laughing and either taping or photographing it.
I said "Seriously, get out of here now. I'm not joking." Still assuming at this point they were all equally invested in fighting. It's raining like heck at this point, and the guy who was on the ground walked off one way and the other two guys started to leave. They turned to me and said "Man, what it is, he's a []. That's what it is." And I said "Go on. Leave."
A couple of men went outside from the diner and I said "I think it's broken up." I said to call the police anyway. The family who was eating there left and the kids were crying - apparently they saw a lot of what I saw.
A girl came outside very frantically, and said it was her boyfriend who had been beaten. I went to my car to get something, I forget what, and got back and asked if the police had been called. A really nice (and cute) Asian girl across the lobby was sort of tending to the guy who had gotten beaten, and he started talking a little.
At this point I realized the cops hadn't been called. People had miscommunicated, and everyone else thought someone had called the cops.
Apparently one of the guys knew him and accused him of stealing something a while back during their time together in high school. They ran into each other randomly and the middle Eastern guy pulled a small (1.5" blade he said) knife on him, held it up to him, and threatened to slit his throat. Then he started slamming him into the wall, hit him a few times, and they went down - that's when I saw them. He was concussed and quite bloody, multiple head gashes and had a "gauged" piercing ripped out, and got kicked in the crotch hard.
When the police arrived they took statements and I told them the ins and outs.
So here are some lessons I learned:
1) My first thought was right. The guy was being beaten for no reason.
2) My first impulse was wrong. I didn't need to use force to break up the fight, and if I had seriously hurt the guy with my umbrella like I wanted to then I would probably be in a lot of trouble. In Guilford County, NC there is an extremely racially tense atmosphere and the last thing I want is some kind of feud with Middle Easterners, publicized or not.
3) I got tunnel vision to some extent, didn't even see the guy coming to kick the downed kid. However, my back was to a door and my sides were partially shielded, so I was not at a very high risk of a surprise attack myself.
4) It's tricky getting involved in a fight. It could have just as easily been less pretty, and if I'd seen a knife out I probably would have drawn my gun and ordered the guy to drop it. I was running on complete adrenaline. As it was my gun never occurred to me because I, nor the guy on the ground, didn't face imminent death/grave harm.
5) Whether you are concerned for your own butt or not, be the one to call the cops. Better 3 people call the cops, than no one.
6) I really went with my gut and I didn't feel like I made any conscious choices. But I felt confident.
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