Would you be in your right to discharge your fire arm in this situation?

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Why didn't the car behind the guy run him over? Talk about the indifference of good men....
 
Going around the car like that shows no real indication to harm a person.
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I'm not sure where you get that idea. He was slamming through the windshield and driver's door, and there was a person inside. If you held your fire in that situation you're crazy. Once he's through the glass completely you're finished. It's not as if you'll have time to fire once a piece of steel has smashed your cranium.

YOu could very well park and step out of the vehicle to confront the attacker.
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Hogwash. You could very well DIE IN A POOL OF BRAIN AND BLOOD. What do you think he'll do if you step out? He's already right there next to your door trying to smash through the windshield. You step out and he'll crack your skull. I think some of you have absolutely no clue how fast you can die, and how useless a firearm is if you wait too long to deploy it. The key is, he was presenting the driver with IMMINENT and UNLAWFUL DEADLY FORCE. So that's it. SHOOT! The law doesn't require that you wait for the crowbar to break some body part, and I'm disturbed some people seem to think it does. If he's trying to smash through a window to hit you with a crowbar (and I think a reasonable person would conclude that, assuming it wasn't staged), you need to defend your life and the lives of your passengers RIGHT NOW. Don't brandish, don't debate, don't screw around trying to bump him at 5 MPH with the car, SHOOT. You have only as long as the window holds out and you're toast.
 
I launched a very similar post yesterday about shooting a fleeing felon in order to recover stolen property. Humm... Sounds like a MORAL dilemma to me.

OS
 
Personally, someone can wail on my car all they like, and (depending on the weapon) I wouldn't think my life was in danger unless they started actually entering the car. I wouldn't draw and prepare to fire unless his hand/arm/head came in with intent to get at me.

I'd wait for the cops to show up, hopefully while he was still trying to destroy my big steel cage.
 
shooting a fleeing felon in order to recover stolen property.
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That's totally different. In the case of the video, you're not shooting to protect your CAR, you're shooting because once the windshield breaks it's reasonable to assume your head is next on the menu, you cannot escape safely and you have only seconds to act.

I wouldn't think my life was in danger unless they started actually entering the car. I wouldn't draw and prepare to fire unless his hand/arm/head came in with intent to get at me.
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Like so many others you seriously overestimate how much protection a car gives you. Once he's through the glass it's over. When crowbar meets flesh it's over. Your head is right there, you cannot dodge and you're toast.
 
I'd wait for the cops to show up, hopefully while he was still trying to destroy my big steel cage.
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When the big steel bar comes through the glass of your big steel cage and busts your skull, it might be too late then. But hey, the cops could file a damn good report and console your widow.

IMO, I probably wouldn't shoot if he was just wailing on the car's body. As soon as he hits a window, to me that says intent to harm and he becomes a target.
 
i would leave my gun in the car, step out and beat him with my hands. i won't waste a bullet on this piece of sh*t. in fact, is there a way to find that guy now?
 
An assault on my truck is an assault on me. Shoot to stop the attack.

I love my truck.
 
In an instant, that crowbar can change from club ( already deadly ) to a thrusting weapon, capable of piercing/splitting your skull. I wouldn't give him that chance.

Tuckerdog1
 
I would like to think i would have ran over him once he stepped in front of my truck, certainly would not have worried about pinning him between my car and the one in front of me.

I do believe stopping the threat would be justified however I accomplished it in this incident. I am thinking what if that was my wife in that car. Say I had been following her for whatever reason I would have gotten out of my car and shot him until he stopped threatening the life of my loved one, I most definitely would have been in imminent fear for her life.

Yeah maybe I would be locked away for along time but it is a trade off I would make and not regret in this instance. My loved ones come well before scum like this thug.
 
I probably would have shot him... several times. In Utah, carjacking is considered a legitimate reason to shoot. Therefor, psycho smashing my car windows with steel pipe while I am in the car = "me thinks I was getting carjacked your-honor". Even without a gun, I would have run him over and left my car on top of him till the cops got there.

Being attacked with a steel bar = assault with a deadly weapon. I would not hesitate to end this jerk-off's little rampage.
 
One of my friends made that mistake to get out of the vehicle and confront a group of punks who kicked and dented his car as they walked past him at a stoplight. He asked for an explanation and apology, one of the little S**t's pushed him, he assessed his odds at a 5-1 hand-to-hand fight and brought Mr. Sig out to help. The assailants all scattered. No shots fired, thank God.

This guy would've been chicken cordon bleu if he pulled this crap on me. I like my health, I like my guns, I live in TX, and I've already fixed a few dents in my truck. I don't need anymore.
 
Unfortunately, I don't carry (the state I'm currently living in makes it a pain in the ass for non-residents to get a CCP). I'd have backed up, then turned my SUV to hop the curb and get the **** out of there. If he got in the way of my egress, he's road hamburger.
 
How about another senario. You are watching this thug beat the crap out of this car, and see that this car has no way to escape. You call 911, but don't think there is enough time to wait for the cops before this guy hurts someone in the car. You get out of your car and tell the guy that you called the police and that he needs to leave. He comes after you with the crow bar and you shoot him. The lady in the car drives off because they are either wanted, or not living here leagally, and now it is just your word against the city attorneys. Will I be locked up for murder?

I have a bad habit of getting involved in situations that I probably should not be involved in, but have never needed to use force of any kind. Mostly trying to help people in car accidents, trying to put out car fires, or confronting drunk guys who are picking on gals that don't want the attention. Most people I know just look the other way. The older I get, the more I think that looking the other way is the smart thing to do.

ScottE
 
Whoa, whoa, take it easy on me guys. I'm a recovering liberal, geeze.

The question asked was not "Would you shoot?" but "Would you be within your right to shoot?". Would I shoot? Like I said above, with wife and kid in the car, abso-#$%@ing-lutely. Without? Not right away, but I'd certainly feel justified. I like to look at things from every side, and play devil's advocate. I know there's no time to do that on the spot, in the field, when the chips are down, so that's why I try to do it here, and beforehand, to guess how I might react.

And as far as getting out and confronting him, in this case I wouldn't be too worried about it (assuming I had something with which to defend myself.) Against a group of 3 or more? Certainly not. Again, I was just answering the question posed, not trying to pussy out of shooting. To my point of view, he did not seem to be very threatening (to the people inside the vehicle), moving around the car and hitting the car. Looked more like he was trying to make a point.(I couldn't understand a thing he was saying in the beginning of the video) Of course, this is all well and good to say in the security of my own home. Doubtless I'd feel more threatened were I sitting in the car while someone beat on it with a crowbar.

My honest feeling is I hope to never find out, but plan to carry just in case I do.
 
Heh, heh.
Blackbear, not only would you be justified, it would be your duty to put that animal down. I can only give you a partial translation on what he said, but I'll try.

"I am the alpha male of this neighborhood...I sell crack cocaine and prostitutes out of my vehicle...I have been doing this for 10 years...I will do harm to anyone in this neighborhood...next week I will be featured on next week's Lockup on MSNBC...I posses the ability to make rap music...I use a crowbar because I can't legally own a firearm...If I could vote, I'd vote for Jesse Jackson...(inaudible)...(inaudible)...ect, ect."
 
BlackBearMe... It must be a Maine thing, because I couldn't make out a word either!

The crowbar did some pretty loud talking for me.

Sgt. Shlitz... thanks for the translation.
 
I really don't think you would see something like this in Texas...I might be wrong as some from Dallas might correct me (know a few LEO's in Dallas...they say its bad...and they don't exaggerate...)but down here around Houston...man...like some have said...


"I thought it was a speed-bump officer!"


and that is for those who are unarmed at the time.


Me? lets see....147gr +P or 230 gr. and a leaky meat-sack on the other end...my body is precious...its the only one I have.
 
I think it's pretty likely that the cameraman paid this poor idiot to act up for the camera. There are lots of fight videos and similar on youtube like this.

Makes me consider sending a 230gr greeting to the guy holding the camera.
 
2Lman said:
BlackBearMe... It must be a Maine thing, because I couldn't make out a word either!

The crowbar did some pretty loud talking for me.

Sgt. Shlitz... thanks for the translation.
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No problemo, 2Lman. It pays to be bilingual.
 
Question for you CCWers: Are these type of situations examined, discussed, and role played as part of your licensing? I would think this type of training would be invaluable.

I live in Low-Cal, where CCWs are reserved for cops, politicians, and Hollywood, so I don't know.

My uniformed opinion: Assuming there was no avenue to escape/evade, as soon as the crack-head started breaking glass with a weapon near any family member, he canceled his Hillary For President membership.
 
I think it's a fake, but that's just a gut feeling.


Legitimacy of the video aside, he tried this to me and mine, I'd turn him into f'ing crackhed soup. I'm pretty sure I could get about 10-12 rounds in him before he hit the dirt and I have to stop shooting.
 
Las Vegas Strip if I'm not mistaken, NW corner of Sahara and LV Blvd, IIRC you can carry a loaded weapon in your car in plain sight as long as you are out of North Las Vegas. Not very many places to go if your stuck in traffic.
 
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