Good Friend Got Into A Gun Fight

[Popeye]

It's easy to say what you would have done from the keyboard. I think the guy did exactly what he should have done once the shotgun hit the ground. His objective was to stop the threat, not to needlessly kill another human being scumbag or not. Shows great restraint, clear headedness, and maturity on his part. Killing someone comes with alot of baggage. Shooting to many extra shots only improves the chances of an innocent person getting hit. Good for your friend

Score totals
Good guy +1 and gets to go home with no guilt or baggage +1 Total score +2.
Bad guy shot -1 and now in police custity -1 Total score -2
Colaterial damage done to others or property = 0
Sure sounds like a win to me.

[doc540]

He was very reluctant to shoot.

It was an absolute last resort.

His goal was to stop the attack and disarm the criminal.

Goal accomplished.

[chrish]

Hasn't been said yet, but not only did doc's friend to the right thing, he did it w/ control. Yea, if you are threatened and you need to unload to stop the threat, that's one thing, but that's VERY unlikey. It's more likely there are folks around (didn't sound like it here, but could have been) and you go blazin' away, unloading your mag, you just INCREASED your changes of hitting a bystander by mag capacity minus 1.

If you don't think you can control your weapon and fire only what is needed to stop the threat, you shouldn't be carrying.

I'm not saying crap happens, I'm not saying in every situation you will act w/ perfect decisions and all...just saying if you can do what this guy did, draw, fire once, make a decision NOT to fire twice or a dozen times...and survive...good for you!

[7shot]

Well, the BG fell down and dropped the shotgun on the first shot, then quickly crawled away. No more threat. No need for more shots.

He definitely did the correct thing with not shooting anymore after the BG gave up and fled. The threat was no mas.

Popeye is right..we can all say big things on the keyboard and I'm sure guilty of it here. No one knows how they will act until it happens to you. One can only hope it doesn't.

[Chuck54]

Good job. Sorry your friend had to go through this.

[OldLincoln]

Occurred to me this morning.... Did the police take your friend's gun? Seems here in CA the police take the victim's gun and he doesn't often get it back.

[doc540]

Yes, they took his gun pending the investigation which will probably take quite a while to process and release.

[Bawanna]

That's real common even out of California. Up here it's usually tied up at least a year. Even an officers gun used in a shooting. Sometimes longer than that.

No good reason either. Take a picture, give it back.

[BimmerBob]

What on Earth do they need the gun for? I mean, I guess it just sits in an evidence room or something during the investigation, but to what end?

[OldLincoln]

That was the original issue that made me want a .45. I have my PM9 and a classic colt 1911 heirloom 45 that I don't want to loose. So if I got into an incident and survived they would take my PM9 leaving only the 1911 for carry.

Around here the odds are high that if you have an incident the perp is a gang member and they know you lost your gun and could very well come after you. It takes time to get a gun in CA and it must be registered to get on your CCW permit, so I need it before hand.

My plan is to get a .45, then after I recover the cost get another and sell my PM9 and accessories to pay for it. These guns will be for carry and range use and doesn't matter if they are pretty as they will be tools.

[jdlott74]

Good for your friend.

In the one shooting incident (knife on gun) I was involved in I shot twice. Police had my gun for ~8-9 months, hope your friend gets his back sooner- assuming of course it was taken away in the first place.

Here in TX it is almost guaranteed it will be taken away for a while. Not sure about other states.

Glad your friend came out okay.

[skiflydive]

Proper analysis JF. No threat no more shooting, period.

+1...

[MikeyKahr]

Good news

I'm glad to hear your friend is okay and that everyone ended up where they deserved to be, doc. Shotgun point blank to the head, and he shot to stop the threat - exactly by the book. A few shots to the perp's back and your friend would have had Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton hanging out in his front yard doing MSNBC interviews with neighbors. No one wants that....no patriotic American anyway.

[OldLincoln]

Not really important, but just curious. I know it was late at night at WalMart and I assume his only shot was from a low position, but did he raise the gun into high position and use his sights as the perp pulled back? Does he have night sights and if so what value does he place on them in this event?

My son is still pushing me to get night sights saying bad things usually happen at night in large parking lots - "gulp!"

[doc540]

Not really important, but just curious. I know it was late at night at WalMart and I assume his only shot was from a low position, but did he raise the gun into high position and use his sights as the perp pulled back? Does he have night sights and if so what value does he place on them in this event?

My son is still pushing me to get night sights saying bad things usually happen at night in large parking lots - "gulp!"

Walgreens drug store, same difference though

He had one foot on the ground and one foot inside his Cherokee.
Left hand pushing the shotgun barrel aside from his face.
Right hand back toward his wallet, but drew and fired low and across his lap.
No time to raise and aim.
Just one of those quick read and react situations.