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enki ,

In what fucking world does that level of harassment justify possibly taking a life? Yes, fuck these shitty YouTube/TikTok prank content creators, but if someone is harassing you like this you call security, or you call the cops. No reasonable human being should think that level of force is justified for that offense. I say this as a lifelong gun owner and someone who sat on a jury and voted to acquit someone who fatally shot another person in self-defense.

There’s plenty of situations where deadly force is reasonable. This one isn’t it, chief, and it’s a real bad hill to die on for gun owners.

FlashMobOfOne ,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

In what fucking world does that level of harassment justify possibly taking a life?

America, that’s where.

Here it seems normal to many to end an argument with a bullet, but I’m with you. It’s absurd. The shooter should have removed themselves from the situation and reported it.

OrangeJoe ,

So, I am absolutely not defending the shooting itself, but everything I have read about this is that he definitely tried to remove himself from the situation but the “prankster” followed him and continued to harass him.

And to make things worse, the so called prankster had already been kicked out of the mall the day before and came back and was specifically trying to avoid security.

So yea, shooting was almost certainly an overreaction, but I do then wonder how exactly you are supposed to deal with something like this when this asshole won’t listen and won’t let you leave.

pbjamm ,
@pbjamm@beehaw.org avatar

Punch in the face? Only in the USA would it be OK to shoot someone for being an asshole in the mall.

OrangeJoe ,

I wasn’t saying it was ok to shoot this guy. But a large guy starts harassing you at the mall, doesn’t listen to you when you ask him to stop, advances on you when you try to leave, could very well have had a gun as well (since this is the US), and you think punching him in the face would have worked? In hindsight, maybe. All that to say is I feel sympathy for this guy even though he escalated it beyond what was necessary.

enki ,

He’s a delivery driver, so one might assume he has a car that he could get in, lock his doors, even drive away. So no, I don’t believe he legitimately tried to remove himself from the situation.

This is the problem with permitless carry. You don’t need any knowledge of firearm safety or the law, any idiot can freely walk around with a loaded gun in their pants. There are a lot of fucked up people just looking for an excuse to shoot someone. Way too many gun owners fantasize about being a hero, but the truth is, especially with owners that have no training or education around firearms, that you’re exponentially more likely to be killed by your own firearm than you are to ever stop a crime.

I stopped carrying years ago and just keep my pistol in a gun safe by my bed now. But I’ve taken the course to get my permit, and it was terrifying how ignorant and even bloodthirsty a lot of the people in that course were. I love going to the range, and I like having a firearm in the home for defense, but we need better gun laws and better mental health care in the US. And while I’d prefer better laws, if the only option was the way it is now or a full ban on firearms, I’ll take the full ban. I don’t want to worry about my daughter being murdered at her school.

The number one cause of death in children in the US every year since 2020 has been firearms.

OrangeJoe ,

He was in a food court in a mall, not exactly near his car.

Again though, I agree with the sentiment here. Guns should not be the answer to something like this, and shooting was almost certainly an overreaction.

But since it is the US there’s no way to know either of the prankster had a gun and was potentially ready to use it too.

All of that to say is that while I think shooting was not warranted, I, and a lot of others it seems, feel a lot of sympathy for this guy who was just minding his own business, felt threatened, and has probably had his life ruined because of what he felt he needed to do because of the actions of this asshole YouTuber.

NattyNatty2x4 ,

Makes me wonder if he got off because of the specific charges that were levied. Is there not some sort of ‘negligent use of force’ charge that can be used when someone retaliates with unnecessary force?

Anticorp ,

Just to be clear, the YouTuber didn’t die.

charles ,

The intention of the person with the gun was to kill him. Full stop. Do not point your firearm at anything you do not wish to destroy.

Dra ,

The entire thread on reddit was shocking. The vast, overwhelming majority of people said it was good. Tremendous respect for being the exception

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