Woman Fatally Shoots Man With Rifle at Gas Station Then Takes Pictures

[jerryv]

I'm with her. The guy was being aggressive and was armed and was approaching her. He reportedly had an attitude. She showed her weapon and told him to back off. He didn't. She was afraid and took care of herself.

She shouldn't have left, however.

 

[MikeDVB]

3. She takes pictures for evidence presumably. She drives off, sure, but wouldn't you? Maybe the guy had friends. Maybe he said "we're taking you to my friend's house where we're going to have a little fun." Maybe she drove to the nearest police station.

Maybe - but being that it says she still hasn't been identified indicates that possibly the police haven't figured out who she was yet further indicating she probably didn't call/visit the police. It could just be that the news agency wasn't able to get her name before publishing the story though - so speculation either way.

Hard to know from the comfort of my living room.

Why is there all this hostility to a fellow gun owner?

I don't see hostility - criticism in and of itself is not necessarily hostile. Ultimately none of us really know how we would react until we're put into that situation but that won't stop most from speculating .

 

[Mark 1911]

It seems that the man approaches the woman while she is standing right at her open hatch, trapping her there.

That part is a little unclear to me from the video (watching at work so I don't have the sound on). The first clip starts with her standing at the trunk. But a later clip shows she walked to the trunk from the driver's door AFTER she saw the man coming toward her. Not enough detail to say if she had an option to leave. For instance, was she still fueling her car? If yes, she couldn't have simply driven away without damaging her car or the gas pump. Had she paid for her purchase yet? She didn't point the rifle at him until after he swung at her, that part of it sure looked like self-defense to me.

 

[Manatee]

Looks to me like a righteous shooting.

Couldn't really tell if the guy had a knife in his swinging hand or not, but the fool advanced when he should have retreated.

Darwin Award Candidate for Houston

 

[giovani]

This thread is really funny to me.

1. The thread subject line repeats the sensationalist news headline, which plays off the perception that gun owners are cruel, nutty people. "See, gun owners like her shoot people for no good reason, and then they take pictures!"

2. A few people, it seems to me, didn't bother to watch the video before commenting. It seems that the man approaches the woman while she is standing right at her open hatch, trapping her there. He threatens her with his umbrella. She grabs her gun, holding it at low ready. She begins moving away from and around him. He lunges at her and tries to cut her with a knife. It looks like he's going for her neck. She quickly takes several steps back, raises the rifle. I assume she fires at that point, though the video cuts off right there. I'm not sure how this marks her out as having "low IQ." Guy used lethal force on her. She stood her ground. What would you have done?

3. She takes pictures for evidence presumably. She drives off, sure, but wouldn't you? Maybe the guy had friends. Maybe he said "we're taking you to my friend's house where we're going to have a little fun." Maybe she drove to the nearest police station.

4. I wonder what the witnesses/bystanders were doing/thinking.

5. People really need to stop saying "you know what I'm sayin'?"

Why is there all this hostility to a fellow gun owner?[/QUOTE

just because someone owns a gun it doesn't make them my fellow gun owner

and what video did you watch, because your sure not describing the one I saw.

 

[giovani]

The trunk is clearly latched at the begining of the altercation, on this model the trunk release is by the drivers left foot.
she had to go to the drivers door open it turn her back on the man while bending over to release the trunk and then reengage the man while walking back around to the trunk to get the rifle.

 

[bingley]

She shouldn't have left, however.

Maybe - but being that it says she still hasn't been identified indicates that possibly the police haven't figured out who she was yet further indicating she probably didn't call/visit the police.

From the article: "

According to police, the shooter claimed the man had made unwanted sexual advances and refused to leave her alone. She also told police she feared for her life."
​

She talked to the police. This implies she found the police or the police found her. It's more likely that she found the police. We don't know for sure, but this is a pretty good bet. I am inclined to think that at some point after fleeing, she went to the police station. She might have stopped by her lawyer's office first, which makes her a smart woman.

Sorry, dude, but I'm going to have to disagree that there isn't hostility, and I am not confusing criticism with hostility. Hostility implies, among other things, taking a highly negative view of the evidence, and sometimes forming a negative opinion that is possible only if evidence is ignored. Some people in this thread are quick to jump to conclusions without looking at the news report. Heck, the subject line even reiterates the news channel's anti-gun language. I see hostility. Zimmerman got more sympathy than this woman did on this forum, and his case was much more ambiguous than hers. I saw the alleged rapist try to cut her neck with a knife.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I haven't watched the videos yet, but just HAD to comment when I saw in the article "armed with an umbrella and a pocket knife" the first thing that came to mind was:

 

[mrjarrell]

I am reminded of the recent case of a woman who went to her car, retrieved a pistol came back in the house and fired a warning shot at an abusive spouse or boyfriend. She got 20 years and people here on INGO defended her getting popped when it was initially reported back when she was arrested. Where are all those people on this case? This woman had to go to her car, open the door and release the trunk then go get her gun and confront the guy. She could just as easily have disengaged and driven off. She chose not to. I'm going to be curious as to what the grand jury has to say.

 

[mainjet]

The guy started the confrontation. He then had a deadly weapon and an attack posture. He then attacked and was killed.

I believe she took the picture to show he had a knife. Why she left I don't know but that will probably come out later.

She defended herself but she is very lucky he didn't take that gun from her or knock her out with that first punch.

 

[45fan]

I think in the situation that you are refering to, mrjarell, the lady had to actually LEAVE the house to retrieve a gun, then returned to the house, and fired a warning shot. The 20 years wasnt ONLY because of this incident, but the second strike for her in the sentencing structure in that state.

In the OPs article, while perhaps showing poor judgement, and maybe not going about things in a manner that the normal person might deal with that situation, she was already standing by her car. The attacker KNEW she had retrieved a gun, and that he could be shot, and yet he made the decision to attack anyway. Not siding with anyone here, but if we are to compare, lets compare apples to apples and fruit loops to fruit loops.

 

[giovani]

My wife and daughter took a women's self defense class last year ,at no time did the instructor tell them that once they moved away from danger of made space between themselves and the attacker that they should come back and reengage the situation.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

If I was at a gas station and was being similarly accosted, and I had a gun in my trunk, I would do exactly as she did and immediately retrieve the gun.

You don't know if she had paid for her gas yet, so maybe she couldn't leave. The video that I saw started with the gun already in her hand, so I can't tell how easily she could have gotten into her car and left instead of reaching in to unlatch the rear. But, again, if I was in danger, I'd get my gun wherever it was ASAP.

 

[giovani]

Why would you care if you paid for the gas if your life was at stake

 

[bingley]

Now, a comment on the video mentions something interesting, and it may change my mind. There is a possibility that she fired into the ground before he lunged at her. Look at the moment when she's walking around him with the rifle in hand. Something made both of the bystanders jump for cover. Maybe they were responding to gunfire? In that case, this is a woman looking for a fight. She's like the sort of person who is told by 911 to stay in his car rather than following s suspicious hooded person, but who decided to follow instead.

Also, in that case, the guy was standing his ground. Or maybe they were both standing their ground.

As for opening the trunk, some people are interpreting it as: "she felt threatened, and so she popped the trunk to get the gun." But there are other reconstructions. For example, she rebuffed him, and feeling safe enough, she went to the trunk to get a bottle of water, and that was when he decided to approach her a second time.

 

[mrjarrell]

I think in the situation that you are refering to, mrjarell, the lady had to actually LEAVE the house to retrieve a gun, then returned to the house, and fired a warning shot. The 20 years wasnt ONLY because of this incident, but the second strike for her in the sentencing structure in that state.

In the OPs article, while perhaps showing poor judgement, and maybe not going about things in a manner that the normal person might deal with that situation, she was already standing by her car. The attacker KNEW she had retrieved a gun, and that he could be shot, and yet he made the decision to attack anyway. Not siding with anyone here, but if we are to compare, lets compare apples to apples and fruit loops to fruit loops.

Nope. You're mistaken in your assertions of priors. They had nothing to do with her conviction. She went to an attached garage to her car and retrieved her firearm and fired a warning shot. She was found guilty of aggravated assault with a weapon and unjustly sentenced to 20 years. No true differences between these cases, other than the state they occurred in. She tried to argue her case as a stand your ground defence and was railroaded because she had to go retrieve a weapon. Just like this woman in Texas. She could have left, she chose not to and took things to a whole new level.

Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case - CNN.com

 

[bingley]

You don't know if she had paid for her gas yet, so maybe she couldn't leave.

Or if she had a child at the gas station store. God help those who get in between momma bear and her cubs.

We're just guessing, of course. I personally believe safely retreating when possible should be the first option we consider in a self defense situation.

 

[jbombelli]

From the article: “She just had the gun pointed down to the ground and said get back. I guess he didn’t expect or like that.”

Well, let that be a lesson. If someone has a gun in their hand, and says "get back", you might just want to get back instead of attacking them.

 

[bingley]

Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case - CNN.com

Thanks for the link. Let me quote for the record:

She said she escaped and ran to the garage, intending to drive away. But, she said, she forgot her keys, so she picked up her gun and went back into the house. She said her husband threatened to kill her, so she fired one shot.​

 

[mainjet]

The trunk was open before she pulled out the gun and after she pointed at him looking like she was telling him to get away. He then continued to advance toward her in a fighting posture. She then pulled the gun from the trunk.