SANFORD, MAINE – On Dec. 1, a man with a knife started walking in and out of traffic, yelling at cars and passersby, eventually making his way over to a food truck on the other side of the street, according to WMTW, and getting into an argument with the operator.
The food truck operator, one David Poto, according to the Portland Press Herald, saw the man wandering in and out of traffic brandishing the knife and yelling at cars and pedestrians and yelled at him in the hopes that he’d stop.
Poto’s wife was nearby, and their children were in the food truck watching a movie.
Instead, the man began to approach Poto, prompting Poto to draw a Glock 43X and hide it behind his leg. As the man got closer, Poto warned him not to, but the knife-wielding man was undeterred.
Poto drew his gun and warned the man to stop threatening him and to leave. He kept advancing and told Poto he’d have to shoot him or else he was going to stab Poto and kill him.
Poto fired, striking the man in the upper leg. Upon collapsing to the ground, he threw the knife at Poto, then his phone, and yelled “rape!” Poto said that he didn’t want to kill the man, which is why he shot him in the upper thigh to avoid potentially hitting the femoral artery.
Police responded quickly, as the incident occurred just before the annual holiday parade in Sanford and were nearby.
Witnesses corroborated the man’s aggressive, erratic behavior, and police have yet to file any charges against anyone.
Concealed Low Ready Is Better Than Holstered
One of the biggest takeaways is that a surreptitious draw and concealed low ready is better than having to draw from the holster. Poto used his surroundings to conceal the draw, which allowed him to get the gun between himself and his attacker faster.
That couldn’t have gone more perfectly.
Where Poto got lucky is that the shot registered with the man he hit. Hits to the limb do not always have an immediate – or any – effect, which is why defensive firearm training stresses shooting a high center chest or the head.
Pulling a gun and shooting is only considered legally justified if and when presented with a credible threat to your life, and the most effective wounds are also often fatal. There’s no good way to use a firearm in a non-lethal context and not take the chance that your attacker will still try to kill you or that you may have to shoot them somewhere more vital anyway.
Poto either puts in a lot of work to be able to place a shot like that or got extremely lucky that he got a piece of the guy. The chest is a much bigger target, which is another reason why shooting limbs is a bad idea.
