Gun owners, so you want to defend yourself???

I received the following via email. Every gun owner, especially those who carry handguns, needs to read this.

So you want to defend yourself? OK, but also make sure you don't put yourself in a dangerous situation. HUH? Let me explain.

A call comes in to 911. The excited voice says that some guy with a gun is shooting people at the Such in Such Mall. And then the connection is broken. The police get the call and send a unit to investigate. On arrival they see people running out of the Mall and they call for back up. Getting out of their vehicle they un-holster their weapons and enter the Mall.

The first thing they see is several people on the floor and a man (you) standing over a inert form. (bad guy)
You are now just a trigger squeeze away from dying.

So before you ever find yourself in a "defend yourself " situation you need to know and have a plan in mind so well that you do it automatically.

First when you call 911 you identify yourself, by name and birth date. Then give them all the pertinent facts, male caucasian with a AK-47 began to shoot down people indiscriminately at Southside Mall. He is wearing a black stocking hat, a Raiders jacket and white & red athletic shoes, black baggy shorts. Then give them a description of you. You are 5'-11" brown hair, sideburns and beard, caucasian male, wearing a green nylon jacket, blue jeans and black boots.

The suspect aimed his rifle at you and yelled "DIE" You defended yourself with your legal firearm which you have a CCW for. (It is important to say "DEFENDED YOURSELF" not I blew the sucker away. Everything you say into the 911 phone will be used against you in a trial. After you have said the above, SHUT UP! Do not go on rattling your mouth.

When you hear the sirens coming up outside tell the 911 operator that you hear the police coming and tell her to notify the police of your description and the fact that you have a firearm. And then tell her that when the police show themselves you will place your firearm on the floor and stand back from it with your hands in the air. Then do just that.

Expect to be handcuffed. It is standard police practice to handcuff everyone in the area and then after the facts are figured out let the witnesses go, after taking a statement from them. DON'T ARGUE WITH THE POLICE ABOUT THE HANDCUFFS. You will find yourself either maced or on the floor and all of that will be used against you in court.

You have already told the 911 operator most of what you need to say, just identify yourself to the officers as the one that called 911 and give them your name, address, phone number date of birth. As far as a statement goes you can give them a simple one now such as, "That man on the floor aimed a rifle at me and said he was going to kill me. I defended myself with my legal handgun which I have a CCW authorizing me to carry" END OF STATEMENT.

They will want you to go downtown and make a more detailed statement. Go with them. Your day is already screwed up so the fact that you have to go to work or the groceries that are laying around you will spoil is the least of your problems. Be cooperative. When you get to the police station ask for a public defender to advise you. (I don't care if you can afford a lawyer, he will take forever to get down to the police station and in the mean time you may be booked and put in a cell. That will be public record forever.) a Public Defender will be next door or maybe upstairs from the jail. He will be there very quickly.

And do not sign anything until he gets there and explains what the police will want and tells you of your rights. With his advice make out a statement (they give you a form for it. But if they just give you a blank sheet of paper, refuse and ask for a standard statement form) Your PD Lawyer will probably catch the old plain sheet of paper routine and ask for the forms.

Basically on the statement form you can tell why you were at the Mall and what made you aware of the incident going down and why you were unable to get out of the building. Then describe as best as you can the actual encounter. Do not make up details to make you look better or braver or heroic. Those things will come back and bite you. Simple is better than a written action novel type statement. The fewer words you put on paper the less the prosecutor will have to charge you with or use against you.

WHAT? Prosecute me??? Yes you might as well learn now that if you shoot someone, no matter how bad they were or what they were doing at the time or what kind of a criminal record they have, you will very possible be prosecuted. In some cases it will be just to get it on the record that you were innocent. But Public Prosecutors come in all kinds of strips. Some are a skunk and think that anyone that shoots someone is guilty of a crime. But there are a few that understand the principles of self defense. Chances are you will get the first type.

REMEMBER YOUR MOUTH IS YOUR WORST ENEMY. Keep it shut! And because I have been there, the stress of an incident like this happening is not at all what they show in the movies. It is triple times worse and you will have much physical and mental distress. Try to be calm, think about the last time you were walking in the woods and how nice it was. Or anything that will calm down all that adrenaline that is cursing through your veins.

And one other thing: If you have to throw up, do not do it in the nice policeman's back seat.

One more point that I forgot is about your ammo. There are places ( California for one) that outlaw certain ammo. Not that gun owners can't get it, their is just a law saying it is only for the police to use. No matter how you show you were defending yourself if you use the wrong ammo you will be arrested and probably have the whole book thrown at you. Also do not use your own reloads for self defense. Even if you use plain lead bullets you cast yourself and load them down so they are more accurate (and who of us don't do that) you will still have a prosecutor try to show that you were concocting a lethal combination of parts that would kill rather than wound. And that would make you having a conspiracy and premeditation to commit murder. So factory ammo and do it by the numbers.

Some in Gunowner mentioned that it might not be legal to carry a gun in a shopping mall. Let me talk about that. As far as whether it is legal or not to carry a gun into a mall, what government makes laws like that. The mall is a public place and connected with no government. So any signs that may be posted at the door are so posted by the owner of the mall. So what is he going to do to me because I saved dozens of his customer from being killed. Not allow me to shop at his mall any more.WAWW. I will cry myself to sleep tonight. And I and many others will be alive to wake up in the morning. If he wants to play hardball I will sue him for not protecting me and putting me in danger because of his signs.

Sarge, former law enforcement officer

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Comments

[Yankee Doodle]

Interesting article.

[Mushy]

As a CCW holder this is good information...I've wondered about what exactly to say and about representation.

Thanks Debbie for this information.

[Debbie]

Mushy (and Yankee Doodle), hubby and I are both CCW holders, have been for years.

I thought this was VERY informative. The best advice is the 911 call conversation, and keep your mouth SHUT.

Babbling on and on when one is nervous or upset will get you in trouble every time. Too much information is dangerous.

[Thomas Hamilton]

She may have forgotten, but I do remember way back when when we took the class in prep for the CCW permit that the instructor told us that if we ever did have to shoot someone:

1. Make sure the attacker is truly disabled.

2. Unload the weapon and set it down in plain view.

3. Go sit quietly, away from the weapon, and wait for the police to arrive.

I don't remember any advice on what or what not to say other than you had a permit.

[bryan]

Good info, but malls aren't public property, and so the property owners have the right to disallow firearms in their establishment if they wish.

[Thomas Hamilton]

"but malls aren't public property, and so the property owners have the right to disallow firearms in their establishment if they wish."

I carry my gun to the mall. There are a lot of creeps in the mall. There are a lot of creeps in the mall parking lot. If nobody messes with me, then no one will ever know I am carrying. In the unfortunate event that I ever had to draw or use the weapon, then I wouldn't care if the owners of the mall liked it or not.