Current Threats You Should Be Avoiding
My biggest fear is that one of my readers will stumble into one of these protests or be in the area where one of the many mass shootings pops off. I worry that my readers will follow their training and draw their firearm to deal with a potential lethal force threat they perceive. That’s a losing proposition.
You off-duty cops and legally armed citizens have exactly one role in this situation: Make sure you and your family/friends don’t get shot. That’s it. End of lesson.
If I were to hear shots nearby, I would immediately get down on the ground or behind cover. I would assess where the shots are coming from and plan a path of retreat in the opposite direction, ideally moving between large pieces of cover as I make my escape. That’s it. There is absolutely nothing else you should do. Don’t draw your gun and attempt to shoot the “bad guy” here.
Tam had some commentary on the article at her spot:And you don’t have to “be a good witness” either. If these jackasses get arrested, do you want them getting you and your family’s names, addresses, places of employment, and phone numbers? As soon as their court appointed attorney files for discovery, all of that information goes directly to them. Now you’ve become an active player in their game. And in that game, they don’t care about the same rules you do.
Don’t involve yourself in this stupidity. It will only harm you in the long term. If you intervene, you will either get shot by the thugs, shot by the cops, sued by the person you shoot, or arrested. If that doesn’t happen and you make a statement to the cops you take the chance of being hunted down by the arrested party’s crew at a future date before trial.
Say it again with me: “Not your people, not your problem.”
But also there's more of an edge to the altercations of late. Oh, sure, we used to be able to count on Sumdood getting affronted in the crowd outside The Vogue once every couple years and trying to settle his grudge by whipping out his popper and getting to popping, but those were very infrequent.
The frequency is increasing, though, and since Dracos, 'stendos, and switches are fashion accessories amongst the wannabe banger crowd now, there tend to be a lot more "to whom it may concern" projectiles in the air.