Another ‘Worst Possible Case’ – Interrupting a Murderer
As I have commented before, there is no single ‘Worst Possible Case.’ Several news outlets reported the murder of an entrepreneur and venture capitalist this past Monday (7/13/2020). The murder occurred in his expensive ($2.25 million) high rise condo in New York City. It was a gruesome crime with the apparent intent to ‘disappear’ the victim.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/14/decapitated-dismembered-body-found-in-nyc-apartment/
There are several pertinent points but one that is seldom talked about is our reaction to finding a body. We have no idea what a killer’s timeline is nor even if the killer is still present or nearby.
Another source added it appeared that the killer had been “interrupted.”
A working theory is that because the body parts were still present and the saw still plugged in, the murderer hadn’t finished with the grisly task of dismemberment. Although the victim was attacked and most likely killed early Monday afternoon, his relative (either sister or cousin, the reports conflict) discovered the body on Tuesday afternoon. All things considered, the ‘cleaning up’ may have been going on for over a day.
Probably the best Course of Action upon discovering a body is to RUN the other way as fast as you can and when in a safe place, call the POlice. Secondarily, if you are armed, be prepared to engage the killer without hesitation. If they’ve already killed someone else, they may not think twice about trying to kill you.
Note also the macabre, but most likely unintentional, dark humor of the POlice describing the decapitated victim as “unconscious and unresponsive.”
As is often the case, follow the money to the alleged murderer.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/us/fahim-saleh-killing/index.html
To avoid any confusion, I won’t list my books in this post because they’re not free. If you would be interested in purchasing any of my shooting workbooks for handgun or rifle, they are available from the menu at the top of the page. As the American Insurgency escalates, you may find having a functional knowledge of the weapons you own to be useful.
‘I live in a nice neighborhood’
This week, a 50-year-old transient man (aka bum) was sentenced to 141 years to life in state prison after being convicted for a 2014 crime spree in the high end Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/man-sentenced-carjacking-kidnapping-pacific-palisades-crime-spree
Note from his picture that he was already a violent bad actor. The criminal used a box cutter as his weapon for this series of crimes. The crime spree occurred on August 11, 2014. He was sentenced on July 6, 2020.
There were three crime scenes in the high end neighborhood where the day’s drama began on a sunny Monday morning at 7:45 a.m. First, there was a home invasion in an apartment complex, which currently has a rental rate of $4,800 per month. After two subsequent crashes, including a second car that he carjacked, he invaded a home which currently has an estimated value of $2,705,500. In that home, he threatened the female occupant and stole the occupants’ Lexus.
Lessons to be Learned
Keep your doors closed and locked. Have a plan and be ready for unwelcome visitors. Serious crime knows no borders, regardless of how nice your neighborhood is.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
In Memoriam and Lessons to be Learned
Twenty-two years ago today, two Border Patrol Agents, Susan Lynn Rodriguez and Ricardo Guillermo Salinas, were murdered in a shootout with a dangerous criminal who was on the run.
https://apnews.com/f7fa562c42655a5874bf491be86adff7
The criminal had previously murdered two people and wounded another. He fled the crime scene. Local deputies gave chase and asked the Border Patrol for assistance.
Agents Rodriguez and Salinas set up a perimeter around where the criminal was suspected to be hiding. As they walked back to their vehicle, the suspect emerged from a cornfield and began firing with an AK rifle on them and the other law enforcement officers on the scene. During the ensuing gun battle, Agents Rodriguez and Salinas were killed.
Lessons to be Learned:
The criminal had gone to the home of the initial victims in search of a former girlfriend. When sheltering someone who has been a victim of Domestic Violence, it’s wise to increase our level of Awareness and Defense Condition.
Rifles are devastating weapons in pistol distance gunfights. Although there has been a lot of discounting the efficacy of .22 rifles as deadly weapons lately, this is ill-advised and foolish. Regardless of caliber, rifles are dangerous weapons.
RIP Agents Rodriguez and Salinas.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF) (not Free)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Responsibly Armed Radio Podcast
We had a great inaugural episode of Responsibly Armed Radio. Lou Ann Hamblin and I were the guests. Tatiana Whitlock and Judi Wells were the hosts with Special Guest Appearance by Dave Stall.
Our topics were definitions of Use of Force, Critical Decision-Making, Reasonableness, and Next Steps for those new to our Art.
Here is the link to the show: https://responsiblyarmedradio.libsyn.com/responsibly-armed-radio-season-1-episode-1
I wasn’t nearly as serious as the picture looks. 🙂
Tactical Professor books (all PDF)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
- Package deal of Serious Mistakes, Indoor Sessions, Concealed Carry, and Shooting Your Black Rifle (20% off) https://store.payloadz.com/details/2644448-ebooks-sports-shooting-drills-package.html
Law Officers Killed FBI Report (2019)
As reported on The Tactical Wire https://www.thetacticalwire.com/releases/78c296b0-c471-40f8-a6d0-0627f774292f today, the FBI has released the 2019 Law Enforcement Officers Killed in 2019 report. This is a section of the annual Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Report. https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka/2019 The Assaulted section is due to be released in the fall of this year.
The report is filled with statistical data about how Law Officers are killed in the Line of Duty, both intentionally (Feloniously) and accidentally. However, the most valuable part of the report is what is called Summaries: Officers Feloniously Killed. https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka/2019/resource-pages/summaries-officers-feloniously-killed The statistical data, while slightly interesting, provides no information about the circumstances that led to the murder of the officers. Reading about the circumstances is what provides insight into how we might avoid a similar Negative Outcome. The off-duty incidents should be particularly of interest to Private Citizens, especially those who believe that Intervention in the affairs of others is an appropriate action.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF)
- Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
- Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
- Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
- Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
- Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
Know The Rules
#fridayfundamentals
Along with learning gun safety principles and procedures, new gunowners should begin to acquire an understanding of the Rules pertinent to defensive use of firearms. Periodically, long time gunowners should also review them. This is especially true for those who have programmed their Orient Phase with platitudes such as “Better tried by 12 than carried by six, I’ll shoot anyone I find in my home, Don’t draw your gun unless you’re going to shoot,” ad nauseum.
There are two good initial sources for this review. The first is the legal statutes for using Force and Deadly Force of your State. For instance, in the State of Georgia the use of Force and Deadly Force is covered by OCGA 16-3-21, https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-16/chapter-3/article-2/16-3-21, OCGA 16-3-23, and OCGA 16-3-24.
The Statute(s) for every State are available online with a little searching. Some States’ laws are relatively easy to read. Others are confusing tangles of legal gobbledygook. If reading your particular State’s law makes your head hurt, think about what it would be like trying to justify your actions in a criminal court using that miasma.
Keep in mind that there is a significant legal difference between Force and Deadly Force. Discharging a firearm intentionally at another person is a use of Deadly Force, even if the other person isn’t injured. The legal justification for using Deadly Force is very high in every State. Displaying a firearm MAY be a use of [non-deadly] Force in your State or it MAY be a serious felony, such as Aggravated Assault.
The second source is the pamphlet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law. https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/learn/what-every-gun-owner-needs-to-know It is a general document based on the Model Penal Code that gives an overview of what the process can be like but does not go into the specifics of State laws because they vary so much. The Network will send a free hard copy upon request and a PDF is available at the link.
Normalcy note
I sat on the deck while having my morning coffee today. There were lots of birds out and I like watching them and listening to their calls. A group of three Cardinals flew into a small tree just beyond the deck. At first, I thought one of them was a Sparrow because its plumage wasn’t very colorful but in a little bit it came into better view. The bird had the distinctively colored beak of a Cardinal along with the crest on the head. It must have been immature, although it seemed to be bigger than the two brightly colored one. I’ll have to research the species a little more.
Dale Carnegie note
Please stop berating those who have recently bought guns in a panic, those who don’t have many everyday staples on hand, or who rushed out to buy 27 years’ worth of toilet paper. Doing so is a variation of the psychological game “I told you so.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1177/036215377600600306?journalCode=rtaj20
It’s nicer to keep in mind Dale Carnegie’s number One principle from The Golden Book summation of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Become a Friendlier Person
Don’t criticize, condemn[,] or complain.
Tactical Professor books (all PDF)
Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make http://seriousgunownermistakes.com
Indoor Range Practice Sessions http://indoorrangepracticesessions.com
Concealed Carry Skills and Drills http://concealedcarryskillsanddrills.com
Advanced Pistol Practice http://bit.ly/advancedpistolpractice
Shooting Your Black Rifle http://shootingyourblackrifle.com
Fair Disclaimers:
- I am a member of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network and a local affiliate trainer. However, I receive no compensation for providing the link to it.
- I am NOT a lawyer and nothing in this post constitutes legal advice.
Stifle yourself
As I sat there, I contemplated Werner’s Pentagon of Performance, particularly the ‘Stifle Yourself’ corner.
Several times the question came up about what ‘stifle yourself’ means in my Pentagon of Performance.
“Stifle yourself” was a catchphrase used by Archie Bunker in the series All in the Family.
What it means to me is to exercise a bit of conscious self-control. We’ve all experienced situations where we have verbal diarrhea, we allow ourselves to become excited when deep down we know it’s not in our best interest, or we do something that we know we’ll regret. Whenever we say to ourselves “I’ve got to do something [now]!,” it’s often a cue to stifle ourselves.
Numerous examples of where ‘Stifle Yourself’ are applicable to personal protection.
- Talking to the POlice
- Telling others about the extent of our preparations for the Apocalypse
- Rushing the shot
- Not practicing despite knowing our skills are weak
- Chasing criminals after they cease to be a threat
- Closing with predators when we could just as easily move in a different direction
- Intervening in matters that don’t directly affect you and your loved ones
- And many others
Numerous examples of where ‘Stifle Yourself’ are applicable to life in general.
- Buying more paper products than your family can use in a year
- Selling or buying assets when the market isn’t favorable
- Reposting memes about popular topics for the 1000th time
- Talking when we should be listening
- Offering unwanted advice
- Offering unwanted emotions
- And many others
Stifle yourself can apply to both action and inaction. Procrastination is a good example. Procrastinating is merely giving in to the desire to put something off that needs to be done. That desire to procrastinate (inaction) is something else that can be stifled.
Often fear is often at the root of actions and inactions that need to be stifled. Uncertainty is another. My friend and colleague Nick Hughes has a very pertinent question that is often worth spending a second to ask ourselves.
Am I doing [or not doing] this because I need to or because I want to [because it makes me feel better]?
Vallejo Parking Lot Shooting – Collateral Action
off-duty cop shoots and kills father-of-six
How about that as a way to describe a convicted felon who kept “a semi-automatic handgun with a 30-round magazine [in] its hiding place under the hood”
Hat tip to my friend and colleague Greg Ellifritz https://www.activeresponsetraining.net for bringing up the incident. Greg mentioned the fact that concealing weapons [and drugs] underneath the hood is a common technique for the criminal element.
The Vallejo POlice Department posted several videos of the incident on YouTube.
Video #4 is very useful from the collateral action (avoidance of becoming collateral damage) perspective.
It wasn’t these folks’ first rodeo; you don’t see them trying to get video for WorldStar.
Get Ready
It’s often apparent in classes how much time it takes people to switch gears and ‘Get Ready.’ Transitioning our Defense Condition, both mentally and physically, from Not Ready to Ready may be the most important skill we develop. We don’t necessarily have to deal with the Tueller Principle but even if a criminal is moving at a brisk walk, we seldom have 12 seconds to ‘Get Ready.’
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Felix Fimbres
Ten to 12 seconds is a common response time to a Ready command during firing squad practice on the firing line during classes. That’s a luxury of time we will seldom have prior to a criminal attack. Often people will look around to see what others are doing before Getting Ready. When a criminal comes for you, others will seldom even notice, much do anything to give you an Alert.
Get Ready is actually what Jeff Cooper’s Color Codes are about. They describe a state of mental readiness to act.
Mental condition comes first and can be followed by increasing our physical Readiness status.
- Ready positions worth practicing
- Hands in front
- Hand on gun
- Transition from OC (OC canister at arm’s length)
- Low Ready
When is Low Ready appropriate? Avoiding Aggravated Assault charges is just as important as avoiding the assault itself. Either can change our lives forever. A good guideline comes from the Los Angeles POlice Department.
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