Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

On my way home from Mass this morning I was listening to lament after another Patriots loss when the sports network switched to a quick news update noting that there was a man who shot someone is an Ocean State Job Lot Department store and was on the lam.

There is however a twist to the story as noted here:

The shooting occurred around noon inside the store, located at 105 Campanelli Industrial Drive (the site of the former Toys R Us), after the victim who was shot allegedly pulled a knife on an employee during an argument, Duarte said.

I object to the use of the word “victim” here as it implies he was some innocent instead of a person who drew a knife on someone.

I think it is very appropriate to shoot someone who pulls a knife on you, Once a person produces a weapon the game changes, it’s no longer an argument it’s life or death and nobody should consent to let themselves be killed or threated with death to appease someone else vision of propriety. Something like this happened to my father in the early 60’s when he and his brother were involved in a fight outnumbered 6-2 with some young punks when one of the six they were routing pulled a knife. Dad warned him to put the knife away promising him that he did he would escape the fight with nothing worse than bruises but if he didn’t it was life and death and he would get badly hurt.

The punk didn’t put away the knife, and while dad didn’t shoot him or use the knife after he disarmed him he did hurt him, badly. There were no legal consequences.

Of course this was the early 60’s when even in Massachusetts a man’s right to self defense was still considered a given. In this case the employee fled the scene perhaps figuring that in 2023 his right to self defense wasn’t a given or given this update.

An employee wanted in connection with a shooting inside an Ocean State Job Lot in Brockton that left a shopper injured over the weekend has surrendered to police, officials announced Monday morning.

The suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, allegedly shot the customer around 12 p.m. Sunday at the store at 105 Campanelli Industrial Drive, according to the Brockton Police Department.

Police said the alleged gunman was taken into custody without incident...

…A Boston 25 source said the employee in question is 18-years-old.

…it’s very possible that being an 18 year old kid he just panicked. Of course it’s also possible that he fled because it might have been an illegal weapon or that he was not legally able to carry a gun. That’s rather likely given his age.

Furthermore as a rule it’s a bad idea to argue with a customer in this way. If a customer becomes belligerent you call for the manager to handle it, that’s what he was there for. You don’t escalate the issue.

But even if he was wrong to argue, and even if the gun was not legal, once the knife came out as far as I’m concerned the 18 year old was quite right to shoot the man. You aren’t obliged to let yourself be killed so that some leftist in Boston can feel better about himself and it’s better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six.

Either way I find the best way to avoid being shot in self defense is not to produce a weapon and threaten someone life. I suspect this is a lesson the customer in question has learned very well and I suspect it will be a long time before another angry customer decides to produce a weapon in that store.

Closing thought: I suspect that in many US states this story wouldn’t raise an eyebrow and the idea of fleeing would never have occurred to the employee.