When a man enters a restaurant threatening to shoot anybody who doesn’t hand everything over, he gets NO assumption of good will, and EVERY assumption of violent intent.
That means:
Likelihood of a hidden accomplice
Real possibility of a second weapon
Assumption that he will spend his last breath trying to pull you down by the ankle or grab your weapon.
The defender (he is not “the shooter”, as his primary purpose is to stop the threat. The fact that he used his best means to do so is an accidental property of same.) did not ask to be put into a situation where the adrenaline flows, survival instinct kicks in, and the brain functions differently with only seconds to act. This is not a trained soldier or policeman, just an upright civilian placed in harm’s way who did what he had to in order to remove the threat.
I would be glad to charge the armed robber with felony murder . . . his own.
<>Likelihood of a hidden accomplice
Real possibility of a second weapon
Assumption that he will spend his last breath trying to pull you down by the ankle or grab your weapon.<>
Good points all.
I suspect the local prosecutor will use the Grand Jury as the means to clear the defender.