Video Shows Robber Shoot Himself, Clerk At Same Time

[rainbowbob]

This is a remarkable video (warning: graphic) and a real mystery. If anyone can see what happened, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion. I can't make it out. There's an explosion (no sound) and money flies everywhere, the gun goes flying, the clerk is wounded, and the robber is fatally shot.


http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24568380/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

Video Shows Robber Shoot Himself, Clerk At Same TimePosted: 4:24

ATLANTA -- Channel 2 Action News obtained video of a deadly shooting at a south Atlanta hotel on Monday that may show the robber killing himself, according to police.

Detectives told Channel 2’s Ryan Young they are studying the tape and trying to explain the events that unfolded at Travelodge Hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday...[full story and video at link]

 

[Double Naught Spy]

So the robber apparently shot the clerk unintentionally and under the recoil of the gun managed to have a second nd (a bumpfire nd?) that shot himself in the head?

So much for keeping your finger off the trigger until...

 

[Ballistic Mule]

Bazzare? All's well that ends well.

 

[rainbowbob]

I think you have accurately described it, but still...how does that happen?


Did he initially pull the trigger as he was reaching for the money?

Did the recoil put the muzzle under his chin?

Did he reflexively pull the trigger a second time in response to the first blast?

All of this in the blink of an eye?

 

[Purgatory]

Wow. That is sometin' else. Well, it was a revolver, so I don't see it firing twice that easily.
I didn't catch what the clerk's injuries were, if any. I think he possibly had the hammer cocked, making for a hairy trigger, and when handed the money, grabbed it all with both hands and discharged the gun.

The recoil could flip the barrel up enough to strike the BG. It's actually happened at gun ranges with inexperienced shooters.

Whatever it comes out to be, it's pretty amazing footage.

Yes, clerk looks like he might have gotten hit, but guy leaning across counter to left of BG disappears just as quickly so, .....who knows?

 

[rm23]

I've never seen anyone bump fire a revolver before.

 

[ChefKristian]

Judge, Jury, and Executioner all in a split second...

There are actually a couple of videos on You Tube that shows how easy it is to pull the trigger a second time on a revolver... The recoil actually will have enough force, if you don't have a firm grip on the handgun, to push the barrel up and the weight of the gun bounces itself off your finger (still on trigger) to pull it again...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCzOLEoko6o&feature=related

The girl in the video shoots 2 shots in less than a fraction of a second...

 

[cleardiddion]

You know, I remember a sheriff telling me a story a long time ago about a guy who supposedly shot himself...3 times. All he said was, 'guy had one hell of a death grip.'

I didn't think that it was really possible for something that strange to happen.

And then a while back a guy who was running from the police and firing and he did so shot himself in the head. The police never even fired a shot.

And now this.

Boy, sometimes I just kinda have to sit there and scratch mine. Lucky me, I have the luxury of mine still being attatched. (Although admitedly when my girlfriend and I sit down and we watch her favorite shows on TLC my mind empties out almost as quickly as some of these fellas)

 

[Purgatory]

That's interesting, Chef. That's the first I've heard of/seen that with a revolver. So, I guess it's possible.
Doesn't seem to work quite the same as an auto, or at least not the smooth flowing repetition that an auto being bump-fired has, but all the same....there it is.

Has anyone found any info about the clerk being injured, though? -'Cause that'll answer some questions.

 

[Manco]

By the way, this is exactly why relatively inexperienced shooters being introduced to a heavy-recoiling caliber should only get one cartridge in the magazine/cylinder to start out with, in addition to receiving the proper instruction and a careful inspection of their stance and grip (and of course, keeping one's finger off the trigger until the moment of shooting would be a good idea, too).

I wonder what the robber was shooting. It probably wasn't a .32 S&W....

 

[Double Naught Spy]

So it is a revolver! Sorry, I could not tell that when I watched the video in the original tiny player window. I got the video up in an expanded player window and the detail is more apparent now. So yeah, bump firing is right out.

 

[HappyHunting]

Chef that is a crazy video... that would have been tragic if that muzzle had come back another 15 degrees.

The other guy in the video sure seems calm when the victim is being hustled for all that's in the register. Then when he's grabbing all the loot it just gets smoky.

That was some quick shootin'.

Unfortunately it isn't scary enough to just point a snub 38 (I'm guessing) at someone's chest from 3 feet. You have to have your finger on the trigger too. He probably forgot about the whole SA/DA business. Oh well, that's one way to learn a lesson

HH

 

[hso]

The value to the members here may be the warning that even a revolver can have an negligent discharge and double tap so we should be very cautious about how much ammunition we put in the cylinder for beginning shooters AND we should be aware that significant recoil can lead to a fatal series of events when coupled with this sort of reflex reaction. Don't be an idiot and "Hee,hee, watch this!" give a fully loaded heavy recoil firearm to someone who's inexperienced.

 

[skyraider]

Karma can be a real bi**h sometimes

 

[lions]

Something else to take away from this is don't be the oblivious guy who doesn't notice the armed robbery occurring just feet away from him. That is condition white at its finest.

 

[ChefKristian]

That's interesting, Chef. That's the first I've heard of/seen that with a revolver. So, I guess it's possible.
Doesn't seem to work quite the same as an auto, or at least not the smooth flowing repetition that an auto being bump-fired has, but all the same....there it is.

Has anyone found any info about the clerk being injured, though? -'Cause that'll answer some questions.

Further down on the OP's link says the clerk was shot in the stomach, though expected to make a full recovery.

 

[Mp7]

holymoly ....

might have been him bending forward ... arm downwards from the counter.
When the muzzle flipped, his whole arm-hand system was locked into the exact opposite
vector as the trigger pull .....

imagine taking a shot like that and then seeing the shooter ... lol.

Karma works. Good to hear the clerk wasnt hit critically.

 

[03Shadowbob]

Something else to take away from this is don't be the oblivious guy who doesn't notice the armed robbery occurring just feet away from him. That is condition white at its finest.

That is what I took out of the video. Be alert people.

 

[Purgatory]

Further down on the OP's link says the clerk was shot in the stomach, though expected to make a full recovery.

You're absolutely right. It actually says it in a couple places on the link. I just flat missed it. Think I just considered the info on the post itself. Not very thorough on my part.

Karma can be a real bi**h sometimes

This is SO true. I actually thought it looked like a form of poetic justice that the money was flitting and floating about the SECOND he greedily grabbed it with both hands. Like it's value instantly became nil once he was killed. People rob and kill for it and once you're dead, it's just worthless paper again.

 

[benEzra]

Comparing the surveillance video and the one in ChefKristian's link:

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24568380/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCzOLEoko6o&feature=related

it seems fairly obvious that the surveillance video shows an accidental bumpfire just like the second video. And the snubbie will rotate easier/faster for a given level of recoil due to less rotational inertia. A very good reason not to have too light a DA trigger and/or too slim a grip on a hard-recoiling revolver, I suppose.

we should be aware that significant recoil can lead to a fatal series of events when coupled with this sort of reflex reaction. Don't be an idiot and "Hee,hee, watch this!" give a fully loaded heavy recoil firearm to someone who's inexperienced.

Exactly. In that second video above, that woman came fairly close to being killed by that guy's negligence.

 

[Purgatory]

Exactly. In that second video above, that woman came fairly close to being killed by that guy's negligence.

Lol and he posted it on the world wide web to show the whole world how smart he was to make the initial mistake in the first place and THEN how smart he was to find it entertaining enough to post it so the whole world could see how close he came to manslaughter.

And, dude, that girl was so terrified she couldn't even drop or hand him that gun.

I guess evolution is always trying to weed out the mentally fittest to handle the present technology. The robber was weeded out and this guy almost sacrificed his girlfriend with his incompetence.

 

[Snowdog]

Without having read the description of what happened, I would have taken from the video that the revolver exploded.

The girl in the video shoots 2 shots in less than a fraction of a second...

I found that a few weeks ago myself. If that wasn't caught on film, I'd admit having trouble believing it. It's absolutely amazing.

 

[ccsniper]

Something else to take away from this is don't be the oblivious guy who doesn't notice the armed robbery occurring just feet away from him. That is condition white at its finest.

thing I noticed the vid. I don't think the guy didn't notice, I don't think he cared. Clearly a lot of hustle and noise would have been happening, and you see the clerk look at that guy several times. the guy ducked for cover after the shot, if you are that oblivious to the robbery how would you know to duck from gunfire? I think he figured it was none of his business and decided to ignore it.

 

[Cards81fan]

Aside from a firearm issue, and more a S&T issue - who robs a Hotel? I had no idea hotels even had a cash drawer... I thought they were exclusively plastic-fueled nowadays?

At least, the hotels I say in... I go to decent hotels and to actually sleep. That may be the difference.

 

[Nick5182]

To me it didn't look like he intentionally fired the first shot. The way it looked to me was he negligently discharged the weapon, recoil forced the muzzle towards him and he fired another shot. Under the stress/ surprise of the first shot, he may have flinched and squeezed the trigger. That's just how it looked to me. Really is bizarre though. I'm just glad the victim is going to live and the robber was the one who bit the bullet. Literally.