GA: Armed Robbery Suspect Shot, Gun Walks off

Gun Watch ^ | 21 January, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

As more and more people are legally carrying guns, there are more justifiable shootings and the crime rate drops.  A significant synergistic factor is the ubiquity of surveillance cameras and personal recording devices, such as cell phones and dashcams.

This shooting in Georgia illustrates one of the reasons why.  The event itself is fairly clear.  A robbery suspect, who is accompanied by three other people, pulls a gun on a victim.  The victim is armed, draws his own weapon, and shoots the suspect, who drops his gun.  From myfoxal.com:

There were three other people with the suspect at the time of the shooting. Police took two of them into custody. One left the scene. Police are still looking that person in connection to the incident. Officers are also still searching for the gun the robbery suspect brandished.

 "When the victim drove off, one of the other suspects did return moments later to retrieve that weapon and that's what we are looking for right now," said Lt. Mark Lavigne, a detective with DeKalb County Police.

While it is entirely possible that the police would have learned of the gun from the witnesses at the scene, it is not uncommon for accomplices to remove evidence from a crime scene.  In this case, there was video showing the removal of the firearm.   I recall reading of another case where the victim was pepper sprayed as part of the attack, and shot the attacker. 

The attacker later claimed victim status and stated that it was just a verbal altercation, and that he had been shot without justification.   The shooter was the one arrested; if it were not for diligent work on the part of the legal defense team, he could well have been convicted.  They found a surveillance video from a near by store that showed the attacker's female accomplice removing the pepper spray can from the scene.   If the video had not been found, the lack of pepper spray created a huge credibility problem. 

The number of violent crimes committed with accomplices is said to be about 50%, so the opportunities for criminals to destroy or remove evidence is high.

The ability to preserve evidence is another reason to stay at the scene of a shooting.  The first consideration must be for safety.   There are numerous locations where you might have to leave.  It might be a hostile environment in an urban area; you might be alone and need to summon help.  But if you can stay on the scene and wait for the authorities, it shows a presumption of innocence on your part, and may well help to preserve evidence.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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[marktwain]

Criminals lie, criminals work hard to cover their tracks, remove evidence, frame others.

[WayneS]

One simple solution would be to shoot the attacker AND all of his accomplices.

[lee martell]

The reporter was smart enough to leave the victim’s name, race and exact location a secret.

[lowbridge]

“Gun Walks off”

You mean guns actually do sprout little legs and runs out into the street, chooses a victim and pulls its own trigger? :-)

[mcshot]

A two gun minimum is coming. Fine by me.

[logi_cal869]

I have a problem with the way this posting is worded.

If the perp ‘pulled a gun on the victim’, it was more than likely pointed AT the victim and, therefore, was not just ‘brandished’.

Unless GA has a doofy definition of ‘brandishing’ for that State...

Then again, stupid criminals, I suppose...

(moral: secure the scene)

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

In similar circumstances I have heard it called the “thumb up your bum time”. That is, a big event has just happened, and you find yourself just standing there waiting for something to happen, not *doing* anything.

Importantly, it is a dangerous time, because accomplices may use it to decide to act, and you are likely at something of a disadvantage.

So a good fall back is to use a martial arts rule that it is better to fight with your back against a wall than it is on open ground. Better still to be in a doorway. And both cover and concealment are important, you don’t want to be a “sitting duck” for someone else with a gun.

If you have a cell phone, great. If not, try to get several other people to call the police. Redundancy is good. Include a physical description especially clothing of the other people, and if armed, one of yourself, so you are not assumed to be a ‘hostile’ by the police.