Focus On The Wielder, Not the Wielded

[peristaltor]

Every time a shooter pulls a gun nowadays and uses it with lethal force, donations to political organizations dedicated to restricting firearms in some way skyrocket. No one can blame the donors; they see an out-of-control situation and seek a means to staunch the bloodshed

Comments

[luzribeiro]

So, you're a trained trooper. You see a mad man advancing toward you, knife in hand. You taze them, but that fails. Then you pull your gun.

You have several options.

1) Shoot in the air, hoping to scare him.
2) Shoot him in the foot, thus stopping his advance.
3) Shoot him in the arm/shoulder, thus disabling his weapon.
4) Shoot him in the stomach, thus putting his life at risk of slow, painful death.
5) Shoot him in the chest or head, thus killing him.

Which of these options did the trooper opt for? Well, you guessed right. The easiest (read: deadliest) one. The guy who had been trained to shoot at targets, couldn't choose a limb to shoot at, but went directly for the kill.

And he knew well in advance that the man was acting like insane, was probably insane, thus didn't know what he was doing. And he shot him anyway. Because that's what troopers do, right?

Reminds me of that woman who drove a car erratically in front of the White House, and the cops shot directly at her, and killed her. Brilliant. Because she was going to break the fences, enter the White House and kill the president who wasn't even there. JUST... BRILLIANT.

Law & order for all!

[peristaltor]

Dad was just such a trained trooper. He informed me why one goes for the kill shot. It's the same reason the tazer may not have worked; some people, keyed up on mental illness (with or without chemical assistance) do not respond to extreme pain, the kind that stops a normal person cold.

As was commonly said, if you go for a "warning" (as opposed to a kill) shot, make sure you have a smooth gun. That way it won't hurt you much as the assailant takes it from you and shoves it up your ass.

[luzribeiro]

Severing the muscles in the arm that's holding the knife (by shooting said arm), makes that knife useless, doesn't it?

Or disabling either of his two legs. He may remain as insensitive to pain as he wants. He just won't advance any further, and he won't use that knife.

Is it really that hard to shoot someone in a non-lethal part of the body? Especially if you're a trained trooper shooting from a close range?

[peristaltor]

The best people to ask would be the troopers. One died just a few years ago when his weapon was used against him. By a naked man. In the street. In front of witnesses.

He thought he could fight off a naked man in the street without using his weapon, and was proven wrong. I'm told that story shakes up trooper trainees.

[luzribeiro]

So there's something really fucked up in their preparation, to begin with. You're called on the radio, the whole situation has been described to you on your way to the place of incident, you know exactly what to expect and how to prepare, you stop your car at an ample distance from the guy... and you don't have enough time to prepare, aim, and shoot him in the leg/arm? WTF?

[peristaltor]

WTF indeed.

Still, there's nothing "fucked up" in preparation. As many have observed, the best laid plans of any general can fall to pieces once the first shot is fired.

I've never been in such a situation, thankfully, but I'm not going to second-guess experts in the field here (even including my admittedly weird father). Suffice to say that if a wounding shot proves ineffective to stop an assailant every time, and given that the time for re-assessment is often in the split-second range, then keep that gun well lubed if you try this. Your butt will thank you later.

[luzribeiro]

There's no first shot. The guy has a knife. The only first shot is the one the trooper is preparing to produce. This is no musket, where you need a minute to reload before producing another shot if the first one proves ineffective to stop the assailant (don't know where you got the idea that it fails every time). But he still goes for the kill. How convenient.

[peristaltor]

Remember, in the OP there was a first shot. The State Patrol on scene hit first with a Tazer. It was ineffective (for reasons that are still being investigated).

The kill shot was the second shot.

And, once again, I am not going to second-guess people's training. You will have to take that topic up with them.

[luzribeiro]

Shrug. Guy got killed. He's just some crazy guy, what does it matter who he was and what his problem was, amirite.

[peristaltor]

No, you are not right, not according to me or my OP.

[lafinjack]

...and you don't have enough time to prepare, aim, and shoot him in the leg/arm?

On a wildly moving target?

Different guy, but you can use your imagination:

[yes_justice]

Is it really that hard to shoot someone in a non-lethal part of the body? Especially if you're a trained trooper shooting from a close range?

Yes. It really is that hard. Its hard enough to hit a stationary target at close range with a hand gun, let alone a human being.

[lafinjack]

Is it really that hard to shoot someone in a non-lethal part of the body?

Yes.

[mahnmut]

Addition: that woman had her 1-year old girl in the car.

[fizzyland]

I find when I go to shoot people, they frequently won't stand still and let me pick my target area.

[luzribeiro]

Nice choice of icon. Implied insult has been duly noted. You are most kind.