Attacks at Poplar Plaza Kroger (Memphis, Central: to buy, high school, safety)

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by Dd714

The Rangemaster range closed? Oh hell, that's where I shoot and took my training there, just haven't been in awhile.
I was also planning to take some of the advanced firearms training courses, maybe the shotgun class.

Their website is still up and should have a schedule of when and were classes will be taught. If none fit your schedule, I encourage you to look at Range USA. I took their one day handgun class and Chip is a great instructor. It was fun, difficult and very informative all at the same time.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by eastmemphisguy

My point is that the threat of being shot is not much of a deterrent to crime. People already get shot all the time living the thug life and the ones that survive simply look at it proudly as their Red Badge of Courage. It doesn't stop the usual suspects from doing what they do. I'm fairly unimpressed by the internet tough guys who just know if it had been them and they had their gun, they could have saved Memphis from the whole criminal element.

Would I have helped the person being stomped? Absolutely. Would I have shot the aggressor? From the view of the camera, no. There was no way to get a clean shot without endangering people behind him.

[CristenS]

You can't shoot an unarmed teenager who is beating up another teenager. Honestly you can't even shoot one who is attacking you, unless he's armed. You'd be on the wrong side of the law, unfortunately. Especially if you are a man, which I assume you are. If you were a female, you'd be more likely to get away with saying you thought you were going to die. But a skinny kid beating up a grown man is not going to be enough to justify shooting the kid. I'm not defending any of these kids, no way. But you can't go around shooting people.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by CristenS

You can't shoot an unarmed teenager who is beating up another teenager. Honestly you can't even shoot one who is attacking you, unless he's armed. You'd be on the wrong side of the law, unfortunately. Especially if you are a man, which I assume you are. If you were a female, you'd be more likely to get away with saying you thought you were going to die. But a skinny kid beating up a grown man is not going to be enough to justify shooting the kid. I'm not defending any of these kids, no way. But you can't go around shooting people.

Massad Ayoob: Fist vs. Gun - Disparity of force and the law | The Daily Caller It's all in the disparity of force. I don't care if it was an NFL linebacker on the ground, that is a defenseless position while the stomper has the advantage.

Mr. Ayoob is an expert court witness in thousands of cases.

[tigerphan]

Originally Posted by CristenS

Honestly you can't even shoot one who is attacking you, unless he's armed. You'd be on the wrong side of the law, unfortunately.

This post is incorrect to the point of being irresponsible.

Originally Posted by CristenS

If you were a female, you'd be more likely to get away with saying you thought you were going to die.

Your right to defend yourself from an attack that you perceive to be life threatening is not limited by race, gender, physical stature, or ability to fight. A man has the same rights as a woman. An attack by unarmed person or persons could easily justify a realist perception by the victim of being in grave danger.....such as the stomping or bashing of the victim's head into concrete.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by Robert_J

Their website is still up and should have a schedule of when and were classes will be taught. If none fit your schedule, I encourage you to look at Range USA. I took their one day handgun class and Chip is a great instructor. It was fun, difficult and very informative all at the same time.

Yeah I went to the website after I read the thread. Range USA is a bit too far from Olive Branch, but I know they have a good reputation as well. Really - I am looking for a range to shoot at, none in Desoto County unless one goes down to the private club they have way done south near Coumo or something.
I guess this is all off-topic however.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by Dd714

Yeah I went to the website after I read the thread. Range USA is a bit too far from Olive Branch, but I know they have a good reputation as well. Really - I am looking for a range to shoot at, none in Desoto County unless one goes down to the private club they have way done south near Coumo or something.
I guess this is all off-topic however.

Bullseye on Lamar. It's a no-frills place but it's close. About 2 stop lights before you get to I-240.

[CristenS]

On paper, yes, men and women have the same rights. But not necessarily in practice. A woman claiming self defense is much more likely to win than a man claiming self defense.

But I'm not talking about this one mob incident, that's a very unlikely incident. But just in general, of people who want to carry a gun anywhere in town in case they are approached by some punk. All I mean is, if a guy comes up and tries to take your purse, I'm not sure you can/should pull out a gun and shoot him. He's not trying to kill you, just steal from you. If you fight back (which police ALWAYS tell you not to do) then yes, the guy will probably hurt you, but at the beginning he likely just set out to rob you. This Kroger incident is of course extremely rare. Most crimes are not against the person, and the criminals simply want money and items, not to kill you. I'm not justifying the crime. But I'd rather see someone lose a purse than two people in a gun fight.

[Xander_Crews]

Originally Posted by CristenS

On paper, yes, men and women have the same rights. But not necessarily in practice. A woman claiming self defense is much more likely to win than a man claiming self defense.

But I'm not talking about this one mob incident, that's a very unlikely incident. But just in general, of people who want to carry a gun anywhere in town in case they are approached by some punk. All I mean is, if a guy comes up and tries to take your purse, I'm not sure you can/should pull out a gun and shoot him. He's not trying to kill you, just steal from you. If you fight back (which police ALWAYS tell you not to do) then yes, the guy will probably hurt you, but at the beginning he likely just set out to rob you. This Kroger incident is of course extremely rare. Most crimes are not against the person, and the criminals simply want money and items, not to kill you. I'm not justifying the crime. But I'd rather see someone lose a purse than two people in a gun fight.

Wow. This attitude is foreign to me completely.

I was trained in handguns by a police officer, he told me that "Heck yes!" I should pull my weapon if somebody attempts to mug me, no matter what they have.

In most cases, simply showing you are armed will save you. People do NOT like being shot. They see a gun, they usually run. Women get raped by muggers on occasion because the mugger realizes they are complying with their demands... They stand much more of a chance of the would be mugger fleeing and not doing them harm if they show they are armed.

There is NO WAY to tell if they "just want money" or if they plan on doing further harm, the safest course of action is to ALWAYS assume the worse, and hope for the best. If somebody threatens me with physical force, for any reason, I will show that I am armed. If they continue their attack, I will end it.

Nobody should be coerced with violence, and they definitely should not be asked to comply with violent individuals.

Survive first, worry about court later.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by CristenS

On paper, yes, men and women have the same rights. But not necessarily in practice. A woman claiming self defense is much more likely to win than a man claiming self defense.

But I'm not talking about this one mob incident, that's a very unlikely incident. But just in general, of people who want to carry a gun anywhere in town in case they are approached by some punk. All I mean is, if a guy comes up and tries to take your purse, I'm not sure you can/should pull out a gun and shoot him. He's not trying to kill you, just steal from you. If you fight back (which police ALWAYS tell you not to do) then yes, the guy will probably hurt you, but at the beginning he likely just set out to rob you. This Kroger incident is of course extremely rare. Most crimes are not against the person, and the criminals simply want money and items, not to kill you. I'm not justifying the crime. But I'd rather see someone lose a purse than two people in a gun fight.

Waianae man charged in Waikiki purse snatching death | KHON2
With another purse-snatching death, women urged to take precautions - Philly.com
Detectives honored for solving cases of purse snatching, death of child - Villages News: News in The Villages, FL and surrounding communities

Took me 10 seconds to find 3 recent incidents. I still have 977,000 Google results to sort through.

You attempt to steal from me, I will protect myself and my family if they are with me. I'm sure in each incident, the robber didn't mean any harm but when someone resists they had to put a beat down on them. Or you can't have a witness. Or they thought it was a good day to lay a beat down while robbing someone.

The victim doesn't choose when, where or how they will become a victim. That's all up to the aggressor. If you don't fight back then that just lets the bad guys become more bold. A few people fighting back will cause some to think twice. That's not an opinion either - Gun Myths - YouTube