Also a SWAT team had stood by while the windows in the doors and side panels leading into the hall were broken out, giving Ashli the reasonable expectation that she'd not be at risk if she continued. (They'd probably stood by because they saw that the members had evacuated.)
In the extremely noisy hall there's no evidence Ashli heard the warning "he's got a gun" shouted by John Sullivan, who was making a video on the opposite side. She was not some nut who defied a drawn gun and warning, and proceeded to her death. She was shot from ambush, as soon as she leaned through the window and without being given a chance to turn back. She never even turned her head toward the shooter.
Zoom image showing how empty the hall was at the moment Ashli (with a flag backpack) was shot -- image. The open door seen in the distance -- with a man waiting there -- is at the end of a long hall.
Video from the right side of the hall showing the police, including a SWAT team present with Ashli -- video (audio of "he's got a gun" not audible there).
Sullivan's video from the left side -- video (drawn gun visible, and "he's got a gun" audible).
If the shooter had merely stepped in front of Ashli and let her see his drawn weapon -- all the other police were in the open, and none of them had been shot -- if he'd given her a chance to retreat, I'm sure nobody would have been killed. The rioters were breaking the law, yes, and deserved some punishment, but the killing Ashli was treacherous and in my opinion downright evil.
I recommend that everyone save the videos if you can (especially the one taken from the right) because they prove how unjustified the shooting was.
