hostage or not?

[TheAmericanGreed]

If you where in a store and saw someone suspicious and begin to follow him and your gut instinct was right, he had pulled a gun out and put it to a womans stomach and had enoungh concealment that it was hard to see. Now his back is facing you and you're armed. What do you do.

The questions that run through my mind are
1. can you shoot this man in the back?
2. Are there any other who might be carrying and see me as a BG if i pulled out my weapon.
3. Is this a hostage situation? apparently her life is now in dang
4. Apparently her life is now in danger now right? Can you shoot.

There are few more that goes through my mind just want to see if anyone thinks the way I do.

[BORN IN THE USA]

I would approach in a none threatening manner and ask if I could assist him in any way.

You see until he actually draws his weapon he is sizing up the situation
Looking for a reason to not do it or look for anyone that might challenge him.

I would approach him hoping I was wrong about him, but being prepared for the worse. The closer I can get to him the better because I can get in the way of him easily accessing his weapon if I can spot it under his clothing.

The best way would be to come from behind him and only announce yourself when you are close enough to him to take control of the suspect if need be.

You see you, a gun is only for if you are unable to neutralize him / her with less lethal means. Learn hand to hand combat and the art of war if you are serious about helping others vs seeking an opportunity for justifiable homicide.

The best line of deffense is make the perp feel like he won't be successful in achieving his goal.

[saige]

You see you, a gun is only for if you are unable to neutralize him / her with less lethal means. Learn hand to hand combat and the art of war if you are serious about helping others vs seeking an opportunity for justifiable homicide.

The best line of deffense is make the perp feel like he won't be successful in achieving his goal.

+++++++2

[Treo]

I would ask myself why some one would join usacarry and dump all these troll posts in one day

[kelcarry]

Gotta luv your answer TREO, even if we disagree sometimes. If these "what ifs" keep people up at night, I just do not know how they get thru the day. I am 69 and have never, never, never come close to anything remotely approaching anything that I read on these forums. Maybe I am lucky and maybe I am just smart and am always "watching" where I am and what I am doing but yada yada yada. My choice for owning has more to do with the original purpose of 2A and my own statement about this despicable federal government than my day to day activities

[S&WM&P40]

I would ask myself why some one would join usacarry and dump all these troll posts in one day

LOL. +2000

[S&WM&P40]

If you where in a store and saw someone suspicious and begin to follow him and your gut instinct was right, he had pulled a gun out and put it to a womans stomach and had enoungh concealment that it was hard to see. Now his back is facing you and you're armed. What do you do.

The questions that run through my mind are
1. can you shoot this man in the back?
2. Are there any other who might be carrying and see me as a BG if i pulled out my weapon.
3. Is this a hostage situation? apparently her life is now in dang
4. Apparently her life is now in danger now right? Can you shoot.

There are few more that goes through my mind just want to see if anyone thinks the way I do.

The first thing I would ask is WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FOLLOWING HIM? Are you **** Tracy now? You are not a police officer! The best thing you can do is be a outstanding witness. Now if he started shooting everyone in the store then you should step in shot him. Why start a gun fight in the middle of a store and risk hurting or killing other people in the cross fire.

[bob16066]

Any time you Pull a Pistol you will attract unwanted attention. So you MUST be absolutely CERTAIN it is necessary before you do so.

Keep in mind that Even if you are Right Law Enforcement IS going to Arrest you when they arrive.

No matter what happened all the arriving Officer sees is a dead or wounded body and a man who claims "It was self defense." Like they never heard that before. (Sarcasm).

If the damsel in distress backs up your story you might be okay. But keep in mind she may be confused and scared witless and point you out as the bad guy. It is even possible that she is an accomplice designed to flush you and me out!

It's not TV. There is no script. The good guys don't always win.

If he ALREADY has her at gunpoint your Pistol is very near worthless anyway.

Your best bet is to Cell 911 as soon as you suspect anything. But if you call 911 six times a month for a year and nothing develops you're gonna be tainted as CRAZY.

All I'm saying is pulling a pistol is not always the best choice. Your only real obligation is to not make things WORSE.

In the situation you described: NOTHING has happened YET.

I would flee the scene as discreetly as possible. Patting my pockets like I forgot my wallet and take up a position to observe with my phone ready to dial 911. If a hostage situation develops you are in a unique position to notify Law Enforcement as early as possible.

If its a Rob and go you are now in a position to stop the robber as he flees by yelling "Halt" and shooting him if it becomes necessary.

If his intention is to just shoot that poor woman you were never in a good position to stop him; but now you ARE in a good position to call for Medical help which just might be the difference between life and death.

The biggest point I'm trying to make is that just because you are carrying a hammer you shouldn't view Every problem as a nail!

[Edsworld]

The first thing I would ask is WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FOLLOWING HIM? Are you **** Tracy now? You are not a police officer! The best thing you can do is be a outstanding witness. Now if he started shooting everyone in the store then you should step in shot him. Why start a gun fight in the middle of a store and risk hurting or killing other people in the cross fire.

Once he starts shooting, it's to late. You just let someone die. Hope you can live with that. I know I could'nt.

Outstanding witness. Yep, every night when you close your eyes you will witness it over and over. That is if you are human.

[S&WM&P40]

Once he starts shooting, it's to late. You just let someone die. Hope you can live with that. I know I couldn't.

Outstanding witness. Yep, every night when you close your eyes you will witness it over and over. That is if you are human.

Your right so by all means pull your firearm and start a gun fight in the middle of the store. Can you live with killing the lady he has held hostage and god knows how many other lives in the cross fire? If he has taken a hostage he is already desperate and willing to do anything to get what he wants. Lets throw another wrench into the works here shall we. How do you know the lady he has hostage is not his accomplice? You draw your firearm and engage him and the hostage turns out to be armed. Now it's two on one and you die and piss them off so bad they kill everyone in the store. Instead of being this hero you so desperately want to be your just the moron who got yourself and everyone else killed.