I hope this turns out well for the lady.

S

sigcurious

New member
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45802083/ns/local_news-philadelphia_pa/#.TvtjPtRSTlg

As the article says, she's currently not under arrest. However one never knows if that will change down the line. Since the article does not give a lot of detail, I make an assumption that she knew her son was in the stairwell, and the sound of the altercation prompted her to assume it was her son in danger. However if she did not, ie her son had just got home and she was unaware, I would have wonder about running out to meet the danger vs staying in and calling 911. I've seen that quite a few members are from the Philadelphia area, and wonder what y'all think, and any input on how the local LEAs typically treat situations like this.
 
Is the phrase "a pistol packin’ mama" really considered professional journalism these days?

Also, are handguns actually registered in Philly?
 
Scarry...
She had to give the police her gun. I hope she has another. The bad guy may have friends that come looking for pay back.
 
No gun registration in Philly or in PA as a whole. The reporter was apparently trying to convey that the gun owner had a carry permit, and that the gun was legally-owned. The headline writer took a shortcut.

As to the story itself...

It hits close to home for me, as I have sons the same ages as the young adults in this story.

From the limited details in the news reports (any or all of which could easily be 180 degrees from accurate, but going with what the story said), in order to protect her son, this woman needed to fire her carry gun

  • at a distance of at least the length of a flight of stairs,
  • possibly in poor lighting conditions,
  • almost certainly while the target was moving, and
  • while the target was in close proximity to the son she was trying to save.

This post is for the folks who think that they won't ever need any skill beyond bad-breath distance, or any reason to build both confidence and skill by taking a professional firearms training class. Ordinary citizens need these skills sometimes -- and moreso if they are the kind of people who would try to protect the people they love in a situation like this.

Would you act to intervene in a similar situation? If so, is your skill level up to it? (And does your confidence match your actual ability, cold and under high stress?)

pax
 
Good points PAX!

Pax; after reading your points, and imagining myself in that situation, I think I need more training!
 
good for her

Sounds like the innocent are alive and sadly the young robber will not live to correct his mistakes in life.

To Pax,
You always bring a great prospective. Thankfully i believe my physical shooting skills are up to task. I have even gotten my heart rate elevated and put rounds where they needed to go. My question is how to train for the mental strain of a loved one other than yourself in danger?
 
Pax; after reading your points, and imagining myself in that situation, I think I need more training!
Click to expand...

+1, . . . but then again, . . . it's Pax, . . . what did you expect???

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Vermonter said:
Sounds like the innocent are alive and sadly the young robber will not live to correct his mistakes in life.
Click to expand...

I'm waiting for those certain people to chime in on how the suspect deserved to be killed... :rolleyes:

She did an amazing job from the sound of it. If she's in any trouble I'll be surprised. Once someone has already pulled the trigger like that in a robbery, he's likely to have killed him or someone else.
 
Vermonter said:
Sounds like the innocent are alive and sadly the young robber will not live to correct his mistakes in life.
Click to expand...

Excellent way to put it. Better men than he have died younger, and for less cause. That doesn't make his loss a happy thing. Just a necessary one in circumstances he himself chose.

The teenage assailant was younger than the son she acted to save. How did she feel when she learned his age, and that she'd killed him? I hope she has a good support structure around her, and the courage she will need to endure the reactions of the criminal's friends and family in her community.

Vermonter said:
My question is how to train for the mental strain of a loved one other than yourself in danger?
Click to expand...

Read the news empathetically: how would you feel and react in this woman's shoes? Would you rush out to find out if your son was okay, when you heard gunfire? Would you retreat and call the authorities, without even looking out your door?

Visualize your response. Not a vague knee-jerk thing, but set up the scene in your mind's eye and go through step by step. Put your son or your daughter in the place of hers and take the shot. Visualize yourself staying calm and focused and doing what you need to do.

Take a class that includes force on force (scenario-based, reality-based) training and make a point of visualizing your own loved ones in key roles during the role playing components.

No guarantees on any of that. But working on it is better than ignoring it & hoping for the best. Hope is not a strategy.

pax
 
I seriously doubt any charges would be filed against the mother from the what the report states. The robber shot his victim once before being shot himself.

No DA in thier right mind would take such a case to trial. After the robber shot the victim the use of deadly force would be justified in every state that I know of.
 
I agree with Pax. It is a scary thing to imagine.. and no one wants to ever be in those shoes... but sometimes.... you need to protect you and yours no matter the outcome.
 
Now comes the hardest thing. She must live with her actions.

I hope it does not harm her as much as some I have known.

I wish her good luck and commend her for doing her duty to her family.

Well done.
 
This post is for the folks who think that they won't ever need any skill beyond bad-breath distance,
Click to expand...

Now this is a subject that is a pet peeve of mine. The ideal the "average shot is less then "X" feet.

Don't know about the rest of you but I hate the term "average" in these situations.

Since you're we can shoot in the "average range" we're good to go. Kind of like saying "since most car accidents occur within 1 mile of the house, any thing past that its safe to un-buckle.

Don't know about the rest of you, but Murphy's Law's seem to apply to me when I try to rely on averages
 
Althought I do MOST of my practicing at closer range... I agree with Kraig.

I also practice with my go to handguns at about 50 yards at least once a month. Generally once a week if not a few times a week at closer distances.

I generally shoot paper plates at 50yards.
 
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