Absolutely stoopit.
Blanks can kill
The one thing I instilled on my wife and daughter from day one (actually discussed it with the wife before we got married) is that in a situation woth a mugger/like this, whatever, ‘we are likely to die anyway so go down swingin’.
Because in truth, people doing nothing, die anyway.
The kid actually told me she remembered that when she went through SERE ;)