If he comprehended enough to say “it isn’t real” why didn’t he comprehend the command “put it down!”?
Suicide by cop.
I saw my former neighbor on the news the other night escorting some Hamas cheerleaders out of the Ann Arbor city council meeting.
He then explained that they were free to chant all they want out on the sidewalk but they would not be allowed to disrupt the council meeting. The city council refused to even vote on a boycott of Israel so the protesters were throwing a tantrum.
He was on his cellphone. Cellphone use shuts down the brain. You can see it everyday in motorists using cellphones.
Confusion. At one moment the guy is minding his business, looking at a gun he may want to buy. The next moment he's got a cop pointing a gun at him. He knows the "gun" he's holding his harmless. He has no idea he's been reported as dangerous. While his mind is desperately trying to process what's going on, and he tries to explain to the cop, he gets shot.
If you want to look at a gun in a store, and it's in an open box, never point it anywhere but at the ceiling. And if you decide to buy it, PUT IT IN YOUR SHOPPING CART. Don't wander around holding it. In a shopping cart, everyone will recognize it's a purchase.
Simple. The command made no sense to him. So he froze.
Suppose you are standing on a sidewalk holding a can of Pepsi. And a cop with a drawn gun runs up to you and yells "put that hand grenade down!"
Are you more likely to immediately put down the can of Pepsi, or are you more likely to be confused and freeze?
I'll tell you something right now. Most folks would freeze. And so I suppose that most folks would then get shot.