imported post
mikestilly wrote:
To me there are a lot of variables involved that would have to be answered before I would ever take any action. Such as but not limited to:
Are their multiple criminals involved?
Do you have a clear shot at the criminal which would defuse the situation?
Is there a possibility your shot would be in proximity of hitting an innocent person based on the relation to where the shot would have to line up?
What is the position of the criminals?
Are they armed with firearms?
If firearms are they pointed in my direction? Would they see me reach for a weapon?
There are so many variables this is impossible to answer. The only way I would act is if my life or the life of someone around me was in danger and I had the ability to end it without making things worse or possibly killing someone else by accident. In most circumstances doing nothing and giving them the money is the best answer. Money is not worth dieing for.
I agree with Mike. Way too many variables (although, I think it's safe to say that everyone was in mortal danger from the very start). Would I try to help? That depends upon if I was in a position to help. Most likely, Yes. Of course I would go for the gunman first.
I’d like to think I would do what I can to defend those people, but without knowing my position in relation to the others, it’s impossible to determine how and when I would have reacted. Situational awareness is great in determining if a threat is present, but I doubt it would pass the test of a reasonable person’s fears.
I do agree with mastiff69 that the way the were pacing back and forth would have raised suspicion. The shooter and the black T-shirt did a decent job of putting up the appearance of legitimate shopping, but the third guy was just casing the place from the get-go.
I honestly don’t know how anyone could accurately predict how and when they would react when they truly can’t know where they would be standing at the start of the encounter. Sure, SA would indicate something was up, and being a jewelry store would be an obvious indication of what was about to happen, but there are way too many unanswered questions beyond that to accurately know specifically what I would do. The main one being, “what is my position to the others?” If I’m standing at the camera angle (or on the customer side of the counter from the same angle), then I’ve probably got the drop on the gunman however, at the time he draws (35 seconds) the blue shirt is close enough to guard, so he would have to be dealt with. That means that I’d probably have to drift toward that side of the shop as the gunman also drifted toward the left of the screen. Problem with that is, at that point, I’ve no way of knowing if the other two are armed. Another problem it presents is that my movement would be blocked by the door itself. Also, as the are all spread out, it would put me in a crossfire between the three of them. It might not have been a bad thing to wait until the gunman put the merchant on the ground. That way I would have had a clear shot, and the other two would have been bunched together. This would have also allowed the door to give me some protection. This truly is a dangerous situation with no easy answer. First though would be to start shooting the gunman while advancing and moving, but that still doesn’t rule out the prospect of the others being equally armed. Another dangerous aspect is that it was close confines, and the only escape for them would probably mean going through me (unless I was standing by the merchant at the beginning.
Something else to note. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if these thugs had any experience on the gridiron at some point. The shooter and the blue shirt performed a classic cross pattern used by receivers to throw off the secondary, and the shooter was pretty tall if he could just step over the counter like that (not to mention that he was very bulky). That aspect really was quite nice. One minute the shooter is at the right of the screen, then him and the blue shirt switch places. They were creating a lot of traffic between the two of them.
I also think JamesIan has a good point. From the camera angle, the gunman’s draw is not all too evident. Obvious yes, but not evident. The camera doesn’t show the gun until 38 seconds, and that would be if you were watching from that angle, at which case it would put the merchant right in the line of fire, and the blue shirt within arms reach of my firearm.
This is quite interesting. At first, the guy in the black T-shirt is not so active. He actually seems to act like he is just trying to stay out of the other two perps way, and at 51 seconds he even raises both hands as if in surrender while appearing to try to walk away. Then he comes back and jumps the counter.
