This past Saturday morning in Columbus, Ohio a 22-year-old man was driving down the street when he was approached by a 19-year-old man who had others with him. According to police, the man punched the driver and then reached for his waistband. The driver then drew his gun and shot the man. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. A second man was grazed by another round.
The case is at the County Prosecutor’s office for review.
It’s not clear if the driver was forced to stop or if he did so voluntarily. It’s also not clear if the driver got out of his car before he was punched. Either way, a simple punch is usually not considered a deadly force attack without extenuating circumstances. But you also have to take into account that it sounds like there were multiple attackers.
The attacker reaching for his waistband could be a serious threat indicator but there was no report of the attacker having a gun. If he did that would be solid defense evidence for the driver.
The takeaway from this one is don’t stop to engage anyone that looks like they could be hostile. Just keep driving if you can. Avoiding the fight is far better than winning it because winning it is not guaranteed.
