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Who said, Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?

longwatch

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You beat me to posting this. That said, wow. This story does show that it is the person behind the gun (or knife) that counts. There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men. This reminds me of an old Marine sargeant who was in my company at Camp Lejuene. He had 2 confirmed kills, one of which was with a Sabre, which is not a sword, its a hand held radio. He was attacked while on embassy duty in Liberia and he beat the guy to death with it in self defense.
 

longwatch

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Here is another story on Thomas Autry with more detail on his background and that of his attackers. He is very humble about the incident and I think his story should serve as an example of how traumatic a self defense encounter can be. It should be noted that due to his job at a bar he wouldn't have been able to carry a gun and I think his knife was in his backpack because to comply with knife carry laws too. However he did his best to protect himself and as I see it society because these criminals would not have stopped with him. Also he did his best to avoid the incident, used good situational awareness and saw it coming and if I were in his shoes I would have run for safety too. Bottom line is that he fought when left with no other option. These thugs also tried to shoot him but fortunately their pistol malfunctioned. Mr Murphy strikes again. A new minor detail, the bad guys were armed with brass knuckles as well as the previously mentioned shotgun and pistol. I've also read that Mr Autry was a Marine cook and Gulf War veteran. If true just goes to show that all Marines are riflemen/warriors first. I have also seen about the worst sensationalization of this story from WSBtv.com with the headline "Midtown Rambo; Victim fights back, kills robber" and AJC's "Former Marine kills Pregnant Robber". They have changed it now, but it was a low and stupid action on the part of the media. Here is a good account from the AJC http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/0531metmarine.html?imw=Y

 

VAopencarry

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The way the media is twisting/sensationalizing this thing is nuts. That girl is just as big a thug as her friends. At least they down played the Rambo, printing the Marines take on the matter. I would imagine a hand to hand life and death battle is sure to rattle you for some time.
 

longwatch

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/31/veteran.robbery.ap/
After just watching CNN's interview with Mr Autry, I feel that the remorse he shows after taking a life and his reluctance to accept the label of a hero is the mark of a true hero. In his case it may be OK to be giving interviews about the incident, but I think in general its not a good idea to talk about a self defense incident publicly and never to the police without a lawyer present. However it it refreshing to see that things are working the way they should in his case.
 

longwatch

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Why let facts get in the way of headline like 'Ex-Marine kills pregnant teenager'?
 

TaosGlock

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The uninformed, anti-military, anti-self-defense media does not realize that there is no such thing as an "ex-Marine" or "former Marine".
Leave it to a marine to win against all odds.
He displayed true warriorship and I wish him well.
 

GlockEm

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I realize this a slightly dated thread, but I just stumbled across it. I noted two things about the articles.

1. Towards the end of the initial article, it was stated, "Mr. Autry will not be charged in the incident." Well Duh! It just strikes me as messed up that they even need to state this fact. I know I, as I am sure most of the folks on this forum, never even considered charging him as a possibility or something that would *need* to be stated. I think you see a lot of biased statements from the media in the smaller seemingly insignificant aspects of news articles.

2. I thought the 17-year old girl's family had a very appropriate remorseful response to it all, in that they said her death was the result of the choices she made and the crowd she ran with. All too often I see these stories where the family blames the crime victim.

I feel for Mr. Autry for being forced into a situation where he had to take a life and I feel bad forgirl's family for losing their daughter (but it looks like the loss actually happened which she choseto hang witha band of thugs).

Just my 2 cents.
 

longwatch

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I would have thought that this ordeal for Mr Autry would be over except for the legal stuff. Apparently he has been getting threats from the associates of his attackers.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9465729/detail.html

"Three teenagers accused of armed robbery in Atlanta have been granted $70,000 bonds -- over the objections of a former Marine who killed one of their alleged accomplices in a Memorial Day attack.
Thomas Autry testified yesterday at a bond hearing that he was surrounded recently outside his apartment by as many as eight teens who threatened him for getting their friends in trouble."

I hope he is persuing more effective methods of selfdefense than his boxcutter.
 

VAopencarry

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I can't imagine how much that must suck. Minding your own business one day, have to kill someone in self defense and then having to watch your back 24/7. I hope he can move or get a CHP or something.
 

ilbob

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Maybe there are some other marines in the area who would be willing to help him out. Marines do stick together.
 

panic215

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I agree, this must really suck. Minding your own business, attacked by a bunch of coward scumbags, you defend yourself and from that point on your freedom is lost. You can't do anything without worrying about the safety of you and your loved ones. You feel trapped inside your own home.

$70K bond is ridiculous. It should have been $700,000.


Jason
 

longwatch

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It gets worse the more I hear this story. Here are some more details.

Suspects get bond, to victim's dismay

"He testified Monday that he was surrounded recently outside his apartment by as many as eight teens who were upset that Autry fought back Memorial Day and called police after he was allegedly attacked by at least one of their friends."
"In the recent incident at Autry's home, one of the guys snarled: "That's the dude who's got our boy hemmed up," Autry told Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr."
[align=center] [/align]Kimberly Smith/AJC[align=center](ENLARGE)[/align]Former Marine Thomas Autry (left) sits with victim advocate Nikki Berger and Fulton County Senior Assistant District Attorney Todd Ashley on Monday before a bond hearing for teens accused of trying to rob him. He says their friends have since harassed him.
 
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