If you flash your piece to discourage an attack, who is going to know except you and the would-be perp? Who is going to call the cops to report it? Of course this assumes you are not waving a gun around wildly in a crowd and yelling “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
Warning shots are idiotic.
“Who is going to call the cops to report it?”
The Perps. They call the cops and claim that you threatened to shoot them for no reason.
We had it happen in Arizona, it is what triggered our defensive display law. The victim was going into the court house for the trial (he was accused of aggravated assault) when the prosecutor let the defense know that they had a third 911 call that showed that the victim was telling the truth. (Both the victim and the aggressors had called 911) Then the case was dropped, but the aggressors were never prosecuted.
The bad guys know quite a bit about the “justice” system and how to manipulate it. They often try to use it to take “revenge” on the victims who are unwilling to play the role.