Concealed carrier saves Home Depot security guard from attack with dirty needle...

[ezkl2230]

The carrier was in a Detroit area Home Depot when a heroin user attempted to make off with a shop lifted drill motor. He was stopped by the store's security guards, who told him to turn over the drill. At that point, the user began fighting with the guards, taking out contaminated needles at one point and repeatedly stabbing one of the guards with them.

It was at this point that the ruckus was noticed by the concealed carrier, who pulled out his firearm and ordered the user to the ground. He complied until he heard the sound of police sirens, at which point he got up and attempted to flee. He was apprehended by police.

No charges will be filed against the carrier because he acted on his fear that the user was going kill one of the guards, which is consistent with Michigan's SYG law.

The police chief has put the carrier in for a citizen's award for his actions.

Link Removed

Strictly speaking, under Michigan's fleeing felon rule, the carrier could have shot the user the moment he got up and attempted to avoid apprehension by the police.

 

[BluesStringer]

The overwhelming odds are that if the BG was a long-time user of intravenous drugs, he has either Hep C or HIV or both, and may yet still have killed the security guard.

Sad story for the guard. Yippie kai yay for the CC'er and for the cops not giving him a hard time for it. However, if I were he, I would call the Chief and tell him I don't want any award or ceremony or even my picture shown on the News or print media. I wouldn't have gotten involved for any recognition, but rather, only because I thought it was the right thing to do. And I prefer relative anonymity over some cop-sponsored recognition, as well-intentioned as it may be. From the link, both the CC'er's and the needle-stabbed guard's instincts are the same as mine:

The citizen, who told police he wished to remain anonymous, told police that he got involved because the suspect was so violent and appeared to "be getting the best of" the loss prevention officers. He said he feared if he didn't get involved, the suspect was going to kill one of the store officers, police said.

The wounded loss prevention officer was treated at a local hospital. Neither he nor the good Samaritan was interested in a media interview, Berlin said.


He said the syringe had some residue in it. It is to be tested later today by the Michigan State Police crime lab for any signs of communicable disease.

Police also will be seeking a search warrant to have the suspect tested for any infectious disease that could have been transmitted to the loss prevention officer.

I hope for their sakes that they both remain anonymous, and that the junkie managed to engage in that filthy lifestyle without contracting any deadly diseases.

Blues

 

[BluesStringer]

Happened across a news video detailing the story. Nothing new from the OP link except a little more background on the perp. He lives at one of several sober-living facilities owned by his father. Pffft.

 

[Rhino]

I didn't see anything in the article about an award, and the concealed carrier asked to remain anonymous. As for infection, it's not as easy to get HIV as many people think. If there isn't fresh blood in the syringe that gets injected into someone else in a way that gets into their bloodstream, the chance of infection is very low. I learned this the hard way after accidentally sticking myself with a needle that I'd just used to give an HIV patient an injection. I had a very looooooooong conversation with the infectious disease specialist about how HIV gets transferred from person to person, how it doesn't, and the relative likelihood of the different methods of transmission. HIV is actually a pretty fragile virus outside the body. It only exists in blood and sexual fluids for a short period because those liquids provide a temporary shelter. It can't survive in saliva because the acids in saliva that start your digestive process also kill HIV. Even in blood and sexual fluids it can usually only survive for minutes outside the body. So unless this guy had somewhat fresh infected blood in the syringe and managed to inject it into a area of the store detective's body where it could go directly into a bloodstream, his chances of HIV infection are fairly low. That doesn't really help much when it's you though. My chance of infection was extremely low. Due to the incubation period of the virus, you have to wait six to eight weeks before taking your first screening test. Even with an extremely low chance of infection, it eats at you pretty darn bad. The guy has my prayers. Anybody who has to go through that has my prayers.

 

[BluesStringer]

I didn't see anything in the article about an award, and the concealed carrier asked to remain anonymous.

Last line in the OP link says:

Berlin said the good Samaritan will be put in for a citizen's citation.

The last segment of the report in the embedded video I posted says basically the same thing.

And yes, I know that the CC'er asked for anonymity. I posted the quote from the OP that says that.

As far as the needles possibly not having blood in them to transfer into the guard's bloodstream, while the transfer part may be somewhat less likely to happen, the blood being in the syringe is almost a certainty. Junkies don't just poke themselves like a phlebotomist does while drawing blood without knowing they've hit a vein. They draw the plunger back so they can see the blood enter the chamber before plunging the dose into their vein. Otherwise, they wouldn't get nearly as high if they missed, and would waste the hit they likely spent their last dollars acquiring. There is enough blood just in the needle itself to transfer HIV if it penetrates the another person in the right place. And unlike your story of getting pricked with one needle, this guy had several used needles he stabbed the guard with multiple times, most of his wounds being in his hands where many veins are just under the surface of the skin. Hardly analogous, and even if it was, hardly something to minimize. If tests come back that the junkie does have HIV, he should be charged with attempted murder.

Being infected with HCV myself, having tried the only available treatment twice without success, which itself almost killed me because of the severe side-effects, and now advanced to cirrhosis and staring at a choice between liver transplant (which I don't believe God ever intended us to use each other as "spare parts") and letting the liver rot until I die, I can say with conviction that if he knowingly attempted to infect another with Hep C, that too should be an attempted murder charge. The very least for either type of infection should be some kind of intentional poisoning charge.

I've known I had Hep C for around 14 years and won't allow a dentist to even floss me or do anything that might cause blood to be splashing around without them wearing a full face mask for eye protection, because I've read that HCV can be spread through the membrane of the eyes. I've also read that it can be spread through the nose, that coke-heads have been known to spread it amongst themselves while snorting through the same straw if both of their nasal passages have been made raw (bloody) from too much snorting. Whatever, the last 14 years of my life has seen many hours spent reading about how blood-born viruses might be transmitted, and I don't recall a single medical writer ever trying to minimize the relative ease with which HCV can be transmitted, and many such writings combine HCV and HIV as the subject-matter of their research because they are so often spread the same ways.

I didn't voice my concerns for the guard out of a position of total ignorance. I know way more about what I was talking about than I wish I did.

Blues

 

[ezkl2230]

I didn't see anything in the article about an award,

"​Berlin (the police chief) said the good Samaritan will be put in for a citizen's citation."

 

[earthssecrets]

Things in life that make you say..Wow..

 

[2bit]

There's been a number of cpl vs bad guy encounters around Detroit. Pizza delivery lit up a few kids that pulled weapon on him, home owner dropped 2 idiots that are no longer breathing. Plenty more examples too. The best thing is the press here shines some good light on permit holders. Refreshing.

 

[Rhino]

Last line in the OP link says:
.

Berlin said the good Samaritan will be put in for a citizen's citation.

I'm obviously blind, which fits in well with my senility I guess.
.

The last segment of the report in the embedded video I posted says basically the same thing.

And yes, I know that the CC'er asked for anonymity. I posted the quote from the OP that says that.

To be fair, I didn't make that comment to you or anyone else in particular. It was just a comment on the discussion of anonymity in general.

As far as the needles possibly not having blood in them to transfer into the guard's bloodstream, while the transfer part may be somewhat less likely to happen, the blood being in the syringe is almost a certainty. Junkies don't just poke themselves like a phlebotomist does while drawing blood without knowing they've hit a vein. They draw the plunger back so they can see the blood enter the chamber before plunging the dose into their vein. Otherwise, they wouldn't get nearly as high if they missed, and would waste the hit they likely spent their last dollars acquiring. There is enough blood just in the needle itself to transfer HIV if it penetrates the another person in the right place. And unlike your story of getting pricked with one needle, this guy had several used needles he stabbed the guard with multiple times, most of his wounds being in his hands where many veins are just under the surface of the skin. Hardly analogous, and even if it was, hardly something to minimize. If tests come back that the junkie does have HIV, he should be charged with attempted murder.

It's called a flash, and I'm familiar with it. The same thing is done with IVs. I'm an Emergency Medical Responder. Unless the blood in the syringes was fresh, there's very little chance it had live HIV virus in it, but I'd still agree with an attempted murder charge. Attacks of that nature shouldn't depend on technicalities, just as domestic violence arrests are automatic in most cases now instead of being dependent on technicalities like they used to be. Any attack with an instrument that might carry a deadly disease such as HIV should carry an attempted murder charge whether the instrument is tested positive for the virus or not. They can't realistically test for it anyway. By the time they got a syringe like that to a testing environment, what may have been live virus at the crime scene could easily have died off in the interim.

...I've known I had Hep C for around 14 years...
.
....I didn't voice my concerns for the guard out of a position of total ignorance. I know way more about what I was talking about than I wish I did.

I bow to your greater knowledge on Hep C. I didn't comment on that because my knowledge doesn't extend to that disease.