A saturday hypothetical

With both men equally matched, and no way to determine good from bad, I would be strongly inclined to create distance, seek cover, and observe for more contextual information.

Find cover. Be a good witness.

Or, alternatively, screw bring a witness. GTFO. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

Throw my kids behind a counter of the closest food shop...dive in behind them...crawl and look for the back door. Every food place has a back door leading to a hallway. START RUNNING!!!

I wouldn't run with the crowd and take the chance of my kids getting trampled.

If I can't positively identify which side of a gun-fight is "the right side" then I stay out of it. Even if I can (cop engaging guys in masks leaving a bank for instance), I would stay out of it unless it was overwhelmingly obvious that my assistance was both needed AND will be recognized as assistance. I'd imagine in the overwhelming majority of cases, those criteria would not be met.

take cover, GTFO if possible. any ideas about "being a good witness", or trying to figure out who the good guy is will only put you at further, unnecessary risk.

It not my fight to break up. I would get out as quickly as possible.

Some of us believe interceding to stop a murder is not "unnecessary", even if it does place us at great personal risk.

If I can't determine who they are, and who is "good" or "bad", I'm not getting in the middle of it.

AtlPhilip said:

Some of us believe interceding to stop a murder is not "unnecessary", even if it does place us at great personal risk.

Click to expand...

in general, i don't disagree with that. but if the bullets are already flyin, you don't have time to figure out what's what. OP said shootout had already started.

finish eating my lunch.

guns are not allowed in the malls, duh!;-)

For some odd reason my wife likes me to come home alive.

Assuming I am alone and a gunfight starts, it would be easy to determine that I do not have the slightest clue as to who is being naughty or nice.

As long as I can get the hell out, I will. I do not get paid to be a witness, but I will give what info I have to the proper authorities if they ask. They will have to understand that I was rather busy getting out of Dodge at the time.

I'm getting my family behind cover, then looking for he way out with the most available cover.

Find suitable cover, observe what else I can and dial 911.

Not my place to intervene in an unknown dispute.

Too many are blinded by delusions of grandeur thinking rushing headlong into a problem they know nothing about is smart, hoping to gain some recognition as a hero. That often makes matters far worse than they already were.

HCountyGuy said:

Find suitable cover, observe what else I can and dial 911.

Not my place to intervene in an unknown dispute.

Too many are blinded by delusions of grandeur thinking rushing headlong into a problem they know nothing about is smart, hoping to gain some recognition as a hero. That often makes matters far worse than they already were.

Click to expand...

Bingo!

I carry to protect myself and my loved ones.

Get my family to safety while remaining with them, and then exit the mall if safe to do so. Otherwise, huddle in somewhere until it's over. Of course, I will be armed to defend against any shooters wanting to hurt us.

In general, my actions will be dictated by whether my family is with me or not. If they are with me, we're seeking cover and figuring out how to exit quickly. If I'm by myself, I'm seeking cover and trying to be a good witness, if I think it is safe for me to do so. And my default in any case is, no intervening with a firearm, unless and until I could determine good guy and bad guy definitively. If I can figure out it is a psycho randomly shooting people, I might try to engage. If it is a shootout between two thugs or two unknown armed people, not likely I would even go there.