zinc,
What you think is immaterial. What I can articulate is. So is my training and expertise, which would trigger muscle memory. What you might think is insignificant might indicate extreme danger to me; e.g., prison tats that indicate a very dangerous person. Extensive exposure to dirt bags that would just as soon kill you as look at you is extremely significant. You might have no clue that you're in presence of a Aryan Brotherhood member while I might have my hand on my gun, assuming I'm carrying one.
You might want peruse a copy of the California Peace Officer's Legal Sourcebook published by the CA AG's office. I'm not sure of Texas law, but I do know CA substantive and adjective law.
Here's reality: one good guy vs. one bad guy = bad odds for the good guy. A good guy would probably have no clue whether a bad guy has his buddies nearby. Summoning help might be a prayer. A good guy will probably have limited ammo. Not even cops wear their vests off duty. One good guy might be as good as it will get in presence of at least one bad guy.
I'd much rather be a live witness than a dead hero. Viewing autopsies will solidify this concept.
Most people will have no clue that there's a very dangerous person sitting next to then in a restaurant. However, because of my training and expertise, I might, which would alert me to danger. And I would call local cops. All cops want to know if there're felons within their beats.
Some dozen years ago I was in a grocery store check out line. The store was in a rural So Cal community. Suddenly I noticed two Aryan Brotherhood members standing in line immediately in front of me. If they knew what I did for a living, they'd have tried to kill me. To you, they'd probably have been just two more customers. My training and expertise told me that they were murderers. Aryan Brotherhood gangsters train to murder, and they're damned good at it. Thank God that they left w/o incident.
Always avoid. Immediately contact local cops. Do not engage unless your life is in imminent danger (to include family members' lives).
99.9% of time, I'm unarmed. I'm exempt from CA's CCW laws, so I can carry if I so desire. But I don't. I do take criticism for my complacency from my retired brethren. Who knows, maybe I might start carrying a gun. Just because I'm retired doesn't mean AB or other serious gang members wouldn't try to kill me. But I do know that carrying a P-229 is like having a little kid with me. I have to have 100% attention on my gun at all times lest someone sees it or, worse, a bad guy tries to take it from me. And yes, AB members do practice gun takeaway tactics. I've seen the training films.
If you see suspicious activity, it's always wise to call cops before bad guys have chance to do bad things.
BTW, where a good guy pulls a gun is immaterial. That he's justified doing so is. Were I at Disneyland and a pedophile tried to kidnap a child, assuming I had a gun, it would be pointed at him. God help the suspect should he grab a child victim. Anaheim PD would expect me to protect a child. A pedophile attempting to kidnap a child is a very, very serious crime that too often leads to murder of the victim. Again, I'd be relying upon my training and expertise, which is significant. Were you to ask me, I'd say it's just as significant to Texas cops.
Jus' sayin'...