Video released in purse-snatch slaying of Amber Long

Police on Thursday released surveillance video of the events Sunday night leading up to the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Amber Long. Long was walking with her mother on the 900 block of North Front Street in Northern Liberties when, shortly after 10:30 p.m., two unknown men approached and tried to grab both women’s purses. One of the men fired a shot, striking Amber in the chest. She died at Hahnemann University Hospital. The suspects were last seen fleeing north on Front Street in a newer model, possibly four-door Chevrolet Impala. That vehicle was caught on camera and released to the public, along with portions of the purse-snatching.

Predators, out cruising for victims.

Note how the women were walking "staggered" in the middle of the sidewalk (probably wary and defensive). The killers approached them "staggered" and then fanned out to bracket them and hit them simultaneously. The surprise and timing were nearly perfect. They hade done this before.

Once the killers were on them and the women took no defensive maneuvering or action to evade the attack, they were helpless. Without situational awareness and a firearm, they were nothing but prey.

You mace as soon as the guy comes towards you. It is better than nothing!

You are so right. Many people will hesitate to use a drawn gun. And some of those folks don't even know that they will hesitate. I read that something like 30% of combat infantrymen during WW2 had that "condition". Their moral code conflicted with their duty to fire.

Now add to that the problem of hitting an innocent bystander, or hitting an innocent person that you misidentified as a threat.

There are cases where only a gun will do. But as you said, mace is better than nothing. Much better.

There are cases where only a gun will do. But as you said, mace is better than nothing. Much better.

True, up to a point. But in this case mace would have likely been ineffective as the killer was holding onto a gun in his hoodie pocket, one doesn't want to bring mace to a gun fight, and the ability to employ mace effectively was very fleeting and limited in this lightning attack (which is how they all end up if it gets past the "flee" point). One must always assume the mugger is armed with a deadly weapon. This one was and he was willing to use it even though he didn't initially display. Muggers usually are armed even if it is "only" with a (legal) screwdriver.

In this case, the best alternative was not walking out on a potentially dangerous street at 10:30 PM.

But they were.

So the alternative was seeing this attack coming (two thugs in hoodies approaching on a deserted street) and taking coordinated moves (whatever it took) to avoid them. That is tough without either discarding political correctness ("offending" somebody by rapidly moving away from the possible line of attack) and both victims taking coordinated action (tough without prior planning) to avoid the robbers. That would have meant (at a minimum) quickly moving between the cars and around them or heading quickly across the street. If the robbers followed, that was the time to employ the gun - if they had one, which they didn't.

These women were screwed as soon as they let these killers too close.

Lived in that neighborhood in the early 90. Used to put my garbage out with a Security Six in my waistband. It’s been an “improving” neighborhood for almost forty years. There’s endless scum to the north and west and an elevated line that feeds in even more. Many of the residents are utterly clueless Rainbows and Unicorns types. I liked them. I just shut my mouth about my artillery and the fact that I knew they were targets.

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