What would you do??

ToddR

ToddR

New member
If you were at this gas station at the time, what would you have done??

The men charged in a shootout over the weekend are scheduled to appear in court today. The Saturday morning shootout in Hickory resulted in two being injured and two being charged. Hickory Police reports say more than 30 shots were fired. The incident occurred at the Quality Mart Shell gas station shortly after 2:00 Saturday morning and followed a dispute at the La Rumba nightclub earlier in the evening. 27-year-old Anwar Vanchass "Chad" Powell and 22-year-old Terrell Lee Mitchell have both been arrested and charged in connection with the incident, which is thought to be gang-related. Both suspects are charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm in the city limits, and going armed to the terror of the public. Powell, who was reportedly driving a vehicle attempting to get away from police, was also charged with felony hit and run and driving while license revoked. Powell was also one of the two men who were injured in the shooting, the other was 31-year-old Jamar James of Catawba. Both are reportedly recovering from their injuries. During the dispute, police say at least two groups of men were shooting at eachother. Bullets were reportedly fired into three occupied vehicles including one that was occupied by four women. Powell was placed in jail under 420,000 dollars secured bond, Mitchell was jailed under 462,500 dollars secured bond. They're both scheduled to appear in court today. If you have any information about the shooting you're asked to contact Hickory Police at 828-328-5551.
 
Seems like a silly question to me. Unless you think that everyone who carries a concealed weapon should just start blazing away, I would think the term "getting the hell out of there" would make sense.
 
This opens up lots of interesting discussion.

With four guys shooting 30+rounds at each other, would I know who the bad guys are who started it? Even if I can tell who fired the first shot, would I know if that shot was fired in anger? ... or if he fired the first shot because he saw the other guy drawing/brandishing a firearm, or holding a knife? Who's defending and who's being attacked? It's not like watching a uniformed officer get shot at; this wouldn't be clear to me at all. Certainly, it wouldn't be clear enough for me to get involved.

If I was 20 feet away, minding my own business and heard shots, my first assessment of the situation might be when I turn around and hear yelling/arguing, or maybe not even until I hear the gunfire's already started. So, maybe my best response might be to draw my weapon in case I were to be carjacked or shot at but other than that, I would think taking cover and being watchful might be the best idea. I should call 911. I should get vehicle+plate and suspect descriptions to the operator and describe any injuries I can see. Along those lines, I should also take stock of where I am and where my first aid kit is in the trunk of my car and how I would get to it.

Knowing the cops would be there soon, I should put my gun away as soon as the danger's over so that the cops don't show up and shoot me because I'm holding a gun.

Notice, I never said "I would...": none of us knows really how we'll respond if we're actually in a violent situation we haven't trained for, when the adrenaline rush gets into our brains. I never trained for a gas station shootout... :) So, I can only say what I SHOULD do or what I think would be a best response, should I have the presence of mind. Honestly, to answer your question What WOULD you do?... maybe freeze like a deer in the headlights or dive for cover and close my eyes and pray... and maybe after it's all over, remember I have a gun and a cell phone. :) No, not very macho, but very human, and therefore very possible. Or, maybe I would do something in between that and my carefully thought out response I composed in the quiet warmth and comfort of my office. As an instructor, I think this scenario is an excellent example to bring up in class as a teaching moment. Thanks for sharing.
 
Now that I have had time to think about it...............

Good question and something to think about. I agree on no reason to join the fight. Possibly gather as much info for the police if my position allowed it.
 
GunClasses.Net said:
If I was 20 feet away, minding my own business and heard shots, my first assessment of the situation might be when I turn around and hear yelling/arguing, or maybe not even until I hear the gunfire's already started.
Click to expand...

This proves to me that you have never been shot at (not trying to dog on you I'm going somewhere) if you had your first response would be to hit the ground at the first shot. (guess how I know that).

This is a very ingrained response. I got out of the army years ago. About a year back I was at work, I work very near Ft. Carson's .50 cal range, I walked out of my office just as some one opened up w/ a fifty. I was flat on my face before I even realized what I was doing. ( remember years since I got out)

My point

If it happened to me I'm going to hit the ground and access the situation, by that time the shooting will likely be over anyway.

I wouldn't join in a gang fight unless they started shooting at me
 
What I would do!

In this situation, even as a CC, my first instinct is to go for cover, call the PD give as much info as possible, get anyone i can to safety if needed, determine if it is safe to get out of dodge, wait a safe distance for the PD, give a statement when it is all over. If I am not the direct person being attacked there is no way to determine the criminal from the good guy therefore no way to justify going to the holster for action. Don't get me wrong, certain circumstances like the knife guy incident recently reported do prompt action by good citizens. However, when a fire fight breaks out and you can't tell one side from another, stay neutral, get yourself, your family and others to safety while getting 911 to come down and handle the situation.
 
ToddR said:
If you were at this gas station at the time, what would you have done??

The men charged in a shootout over the weekend are scheduled to appear in court today. The Saturday morning shootout in Hickory resulted in two being injured and two being charged. Hickory Police reports say more than 30 shots were fired. The incident occurred at the Quality Mart Shell gas station shortly after 2:00 Saturday morning and followed a dispute at the La Rumba nightclub earlier in the evening. 27-year-old Anwar Vanchass "Chad" Powell and 22-year-old Terrell Lee Mitchell have both been arrested and charged in connection with the incident, which is thought to be gang-related. Both suspects are charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm in the city limits, and going armed to the terror of the public. Powell, who was reportedly driving a vehicle attempting to get away from police, was also charged with felony hit and run and driving while license revoked. Powell was also one of the two men who were injured in the shooting, the other was 31-year-old Jamar James of Catawba. Both are reportedly recovering from their injuries. During the dispute, police say at least two groups of men were shooting at eachother. Bullets were reportedly fired into three occupied vehicles including one that was occupied by four women. Powell was placed in jail under 420,000 dollars secured bond, Mitchell was jailed under 462,500 dollars secured bond. They're both scheduled to appear in court today. If you have any information about the shooting you're asked to contact Hickory Police at 828-328-5551.
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Not a damn thing. Keep your gun in it's holster and mind your own business before you become the next George Zimmerman. You want to get involved in gang related confrontations? Stay out. Live another day.
 
Get out of there if you can. Rapidly!. If you can't get away, find cover. Don't draw your gun, it may draw fire. Cover cover cover!!!
 
Shots are fired, I have no idea why. Get away from the situation quickly! Assess quickly and get away from the situation. If getting away is easier said than done, then find cover. Once cover is found, I would draw and ready my weapon in case one of the shooters came for me. I am not saying that I would show anybody my weapon, I would simply have it handy should one of the shooters find me and point their gun at me. I am not going to purposely inject myself in to a gun fight just because I have a gun.
 
Treo said:
This proves to me that you have never been shot at (not trying to dog on you I'm going somewhere) if you had your first response would be to hit the ground at the first shot. (guess how I know that).

This is a very ingrained response. I got out of the army years ago. About a year back I was at work, I work very near Ft. Carson's .50 cal range, I walked out of my office just as some one opened up w/ a fifty. I was flat on my face before I even realized what I was doing. ( remember years since I got out)

My point
Click to expand...

HAHAHA! Really? OMG! Hitting the dirt just at the sound of distant gunfire?!? Wow.

Seriously, though... I walked out of the airport in San Diego once (I think it was San Diego). I heard the distant sound of what sounded like gunfire. I was extremely close to dropping to the ground myself when I noticed the fireworks in the sky across the water... :lol:
 
NavyLCDR said:
HAHAHA! Really? OMG! Hitting the dirt just at the sound of distant gunfire?!?
Click to expand...

You don't really think that's funny do you?

I was about a half mile away. I've also been known to shove my wife out of bed because of machinegun fire I've heard in my dreams.
 
Treo said:
You don't really think that's funny do you?

I was about a half mile away. I've also been known to shove my wife out of bed because of machinegun fire I've heard in my dreams.
Click to expand...

Usually the phrase "Seriously though...." following a statement means that the previous statement made was in jest.
 
In any such situation, finding cover is primary. If you are mistaken, you might be embarrassed. If you don' go for cover first, you might be dead. Embarrassed works an awful lot better for me than dead. But then, I'm not a man...

I've not had the distinction of being shot at personally, but I did shoot a man to save my life once. Neither one is something I want to invite into my life. Drawing and shooting is the absolute last resort if I'm attacked. I'd be staying behind cover while the folks in this scenario finished their fun.
 
Treo said:
This proves to me that you have never been shot at (not trying to dog on you I'm going somewhere) if you had your first response would be to hit the ground at the first shot. (guess how I know that).

This is a very ingrained response. I got out of the army years ago. About a year back I was at work, I work very near Ft. Carson's .50 cal range, I walked out of my office just as some one opened up w/ a fifty. I was flat on my face before I even realized what I was doing. ( remember years since I got out)

My point

If it happened to me I'm going to hit the ground and access the situation, by that time the shooting will likely be over anyway.

I wouldn't join in a gang fight unless they started shooting at me
Click to expand...

I don't have any training or real life experiences to automatically "hit the ground". Case in point: Last summer I left my yard, walking the 1/3 mile to the convenience store. I see my neighbors (in-laws) sitting on their porch, we wave hi at each other . I walk another 50 yards, am now out of view of in-laws and on the road between other homes and businesses, and just off a "T" in the road. Just then I hear "pop pop pop pop", about 8 to 10 very fast gunshots. It happened so fast that the gun shots were finished before my brain kicked in to gear to run, hide, whatever. I looked around to see who was shooting and then checked myself for blood and realized that I was not shot and then I just kept walking as if nothing had happened, as a car behind me sped off in the opposite direction. I glanced at the road behind me and I see my in-laws and some other neighbors standing in the road talking. I then get a phone call from the in-laws asking if I was ok. Evidently it was a drive-by, but I could not see any cars because my view was obstructed by office buildings. I continued on to the store, and could hear police sirens. On my way back, several police cars in the area. They did not find any shell casings, and nobody reported any bullet damage to their homes, cars, etc., nor was anybody reported as being shot. For all I know, they could have been shooting at me. I just don't know, and if they were, I don't know why. And if they were, I am glad they missed! Anyway, I have a feeling that even if I was trained to hit the deck, the shots were fired so rapidly that I honestly don't know if there was time to drop before the gun shots ended? By some standards, I would not say that I live in a bad neighborhood, but by the standards of my otherwise decent community, I live in a bad neighborhood.
 
NavyLCDR said:
Usually the phrase "Seriously though...." following a statement means that the previous statement made was in jest.
Click to expand...

Sorry, the incident was witnessed a co-worker who never was in the military and he just thought it was hilarious. I wanted to administer a beatdown of Biblical proportions
 
2AM? Sorry, I'm not filling my gas tank at 2AM. The bars just closed and I'm sound asleep and have been for several hours. ... But if I were and two rival gangs started shooting at each other, then cover, asses and avoid.
 
First: Take cover... your biggest responsibility is to go home to your loved ones.
Second: Call in the cavalry (police)... let them take the maggots out.
Third: Be the best damned eye-witness for the police. Send those bastards to jail.
Fourth: Not my fight, don't be a hero... There is too much action going on to be able to determine who's at fault and who is not (see Third statement). Don't fire unless in direct jeopardy.

My two-cents worth... for what it is worth.
 
I was hoping this would stir up some conversation and really enjoy reading all the input.

This happened 'bout 30 miles or so from my house and I got to thinking, 'what would I do'?? Of course, most of us wouldn't be out at 2 am filling our tank at the gas station and when this all happened, we wouldn't necessarily know that it was gang related. All we would know at the time is that shots have been fired and who knows, we may find ourselves in the cross-fire.
 
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