Posted on 11/19/2012 6:36:11 AM PST by marktwain
An altercation at a Walmart parking lot in Norwalk, Ohio ended when a man drew his concealed carry handgun on another man who punched him in the face and accused him of having an affair with his wife.
Police said 37-year-old Eric Meade and 29-year-old Zachary Crumrine were both shopping at the department store on Monday afternoon. Meade spotted Crumrine pushing his shopping cart out the exit of the building and then confronted him, accused him of sleeping with his wife and proceeded to punch him in the nose, according to the Norwalk Reflector. Meade continued to attack him and apparently did enough damage to cause Crumrine's nose to bleed.
During the attack, however, Crumrine drew his .40-caliber Kimber pistol (probably one of their many 1911s (as that's mostly the style of handgun the company makes)) and pointed it at Meade with the intention of preventing further attack, Norwalk Police Chief Dave Light told the newspaper.
According to another report, being at the business end of a handgun didn't stop Meade from further attacking Crumrine. It wasn't until a group of Walmart employees came out to witness the assault in progress for both Meade and Crumrine to calm down. Meade stopped hitting Crumrine, and Crumrine put away his gun.
Police arrived shortly after and arrested Meade, charging him with assault and a first-degree misdemeanor, which he later pleaded not guilty to. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 4 and if convicted faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 maximum fine.
You may be wondering, though, why didn't Crumrine shoot his attacker? Certainly this was an incredibly dramatic situation. You have a jealous husband, a supposedly cheating wife, and a possible homewrecker. Perhaps Crumrine was sleeping with Meade's wife, which was never actually said by authorities, and he couldn't shoot him because he felt guilty. Or maybe Crumrine saw Meade as off-his-meds and didn't see the situation as life-threatening.
The only answer we have, however, is, as Light told the Reflector, "[The pistol] was loaded, but no round was in the chamber itself."
Crumrine, who has a CCW permit, won't be charged with a crime, Light told the newspaper. "He did not break any law. By pulling the gun, he did exactly what the concealed carry law is for -- defending yourself," Light said. "We reviewed the [Walmart] video and that's consistent with what Crumrine said."
"I don't know if this guy [Meade] would have stopped hitting him if he hadn't pulled the gun on him," he added.
Thinking about this scenario, I would have gone for my secondary weapon, a knife, first.
To start with, you’re pushing a shopping cart in a very public place, someone you may or may not know advances on you.
That they can close the gap *while* accusing you of having an affair with their wife means that they are already in your face, likely, before you realize there is enough dangerous intent to draw on them.
Bam! They punch you, or sucker punch you, in the face. This is happening very fast, and you need that gun out now!
But this is where a backup knife is very handy. You are briefly stunned from the punch, and the attacker is still on you. With knife out and point towards him you are instantly equalized. If he comes in again, he gets poked.
Though not in this case, alcohol is often a factor as well, and they may be so out of it to not even see a gun pointed at them, sometimes not even realizing they have been shot—not in the optimal center of mass, either, because they are too close.
But poking, slicing and dicing is a great way to refocus their attention in a hurry. Easy to do even if your bell is ringing and you’ve got a standing eight count.
The article said it didn't.
“...no round in the chamber.”
What a dunce.
Battle of the Secondaries: Glock versus 1911
http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/132491-battle-of-the-secondaries-glock-versus-1911
I’d hardly compare the M1911 to the AK-47.
The AK-47 is the epitome of reliability, while the 1911 is anything but. Even the best custom 1911 makers agree that it has to be hand-fitted to function properly.
No, the Glock 17 and 19 are more comparable. Extremely reliable without the need to refit half the parts as soon as you buy one.
Same with my HK P7: it is totally inert until sights are on target and I squeeze the grip. In most cases that is done by my off hand when I lock up into the modified Weaver stance / grip.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.