The message it sends [...] is, "Don't mess with me, I'm dangerous." Oh, yeah, I've seen a lot of people around the "Squares" in U.S. cities (e.g., Central Square in Cambridge, MA), sending that same message, that same way. Believe me: add in the assortment of Kalishnikovs, leftover WWII burp guns, RPGs and PK light machineguns, and they are indeed quite dangerous, and unstable. And neither are their traditional weapons to be overlooked, either, as they'll happily use them on unarmed or wounded victims.
Is that a PPS-43 he's armed with? If so, how did he get it? I thought those weapons only turned up in the Far East.