Four serious incidents during the initial phase were particularly memorable. One involved two Guardsmen from an infantry battalion who rescued two girls from a convicted rapist. The other three were the only incidents involving gunfire. The first involved the 40th Military Police Company from the 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the first unit on the street. Members helped arrest an armed robber who twice turned his weapon on them. The robber surrendered after four rounds were fired, with no one injured.
The second shooting incident turned out to be by far the most important. A gang member had taunted Guardsmen from the division's support command, telling them he was coming back to kill them that night. This was a rather common threat, but this man was not kidding. He returned in his car after curfew and attempted to run them down. They jumped out of the way, but were not fast enough. One Guardsman was hit, but not seriously. The gang member drove off for a while before returning for his second attempt. When he refused to stop, the Guardsmen fired about 10 rounds at his tires in an attempt to stop him. When it was clear he was determined to run Guardsmen down, they finally used deadly force and killed him with one bullet in the shoulder and two in the head.
Another felon caused the final shooting incident involving Guardsmen when he attempted vehicular homicide. He first hit a car and then ran down a police officer, breaking his leg. When the gang member refused to stop, two infantrymen each fired one round. The gang member then stopped with a serious wound in the buttocks and groin. It later turned out he was on felony probation from Florida for vehicular manslaughter.
Come to think of it, were there any reports of persons killed by our US Military in the Katrina response? The mere introduction of armed troops with shoot to kill orders stops these riots very quickly.
Absolutely...and I do believe GW learned his lesson on response time to emergencies and the danger in listening/waiting for local yokels to step up to the plate.