Hypothetical Situation: You see your neighbor being robbed...

iwillsucceed0444 · January 2015

Okay so it's a Wednesday, around 4:45 p.m., you're minding your own business and suddenly you hear a scream. You look over and see that your neighbor is being robbed. She's a very petite woman who isn't very strong at all and has 3 young children with her. They have no way to protect themselves. The husband is still at work and he won't be home until around 6 p.m. The two robbers have one baseball bat and one knife each, but a gun is not anywhere to be seen. However, just because you don't see one on them, doesn't mean that they don't have one gun or one gun each. It does seem silly to bring a baseball bat and knife if they have guns, but who knows what they are thinking. One robber is guarding them, and the other is gathering things up. The robbers haven't noticed that you've seen them yet. You don't know if they just want money/things or possibly more. Time is running out, you have to act quickly.

You are the only one who noticed the crime and you are the only one who can help.

What would you do in the situation?
Would you call 911 and hide in your house and pray the police come in time? Nothing is guaranteed with this option and they could possibly break in to your house too...
Would you call 911 and go rush to help your neighbors? Your safety is not guaranteed...
Would you call 911 and lock up your house and drive away to a safe place? If you do this option you will be safe, but your neighbors safety and the safety of your house too isn't guaranteed.
Would you call 911 and then lock your house then make noise or something to let the robbers know that you know that they are there, but leave after that to protect yourself?
Would you do something else?

-You are living by yourself and have no one to help you go against the robbers. You also aren't married and don't have kids. Your weapons from your house include one gun (fully loaded and you know how to work it), lots of knives, pepper spray, tear gas, and a baseball bat. You have been good friends with the neighbors for years and they are a really good, kind family. You would be very upset if they got hurt in any way.

I'm curious what others would say. I'm wondering if responses would differ from men and women.

ilfaith · January 2015

I would set off the car alarm in my driveway in hopes that If the noise doesn't scare off the perps, it will at least startle them enough to cause a momentary lapse so the neighbor can get away. I would call 911 from my front porch to provide an accurate description of the robbers and their vehicle.

Tigg_er · January 2015

I choose this option-- call 911 and go rush to help your neighbors? Your safety is not guaranteed...

with the gun----because I am well trained in its use.

EZDUZIT68 · January 2015

I'd grab the heaviest thing within my reach that could do some serious skull-cracking and run across the street screaming "I'M GONNA KILL YOU MOTHERF%#&@*S!!!!" And start swinging at them. I'll call 911 after they're either gone or out cold.

Tigg_er · January 2015

ilfaith wrote: »

I would set off the car alarm in my driveway in hopes that If the noise doesn't scare off the perps, it will at least startle them enough to cause a momentary lapse so the neighbor can get away. I would call 911 from my front porch to provide an accurate description of the robbers and their vehicle.

That would be the smartest thing to do !

MKEgal · January 2015

So there are 2 criminals, each with 2 deadly weapons,
threatening the lives of (what I presume to be) an innocent woman & 3 children?
What's the dilemma here??
Is there really anyone who would not help?

Personally, I wouldn't waste time calling 911. I'd head over, yelling at the criminals to leave, drawing a pistol (possibly 2, depending on how I was dressed) & pointing it at them.

If they were stupid enough to still be there, still threatening those 4 innocent people with their deadly weapons, when I got close enough to where I'm pretty sure I'll hit them (and can use the house as a backstop), I'll shoot.

What might be more satisfying is to stay across the street & pick them off. I can hit a person-torso-sized target at 50 yards with my full-sized pistol Not sure about the subcompact. (And if the hypothetical firearm you've given us in your stated conditions is a rifle, it would be even easier to make an accurate distance shot & stop the threat.)

Hopefully they'd be smart enough to drop what they're holding & run away, or better yet lie on the ground until police get there to rescue them.
(Once they were under control, I'd call 911 or tell her to get the kids inside & call on the house phone... including telling police that I'm the good guy, how I'm dressed, etc., so they don't get trigger-happy on me!)

BTW, is this happening in their driveway, and the criminals are ransacking the car?
Is that how I can see it happening?

Knives are deadly weapons. Baseball bats are deadly weapons. They brought the deadly weapons to the confrontation. If they didn't intend to use them, they wouldn't have brought them. So presume they will use deadly force.

There are 2 criminals (most likely young men) against 1 small woman & 3 small children. That's called disparity of force.

I don't know of any state (except perhaps NY or IL) where it is not legal to use deadly force in defense of the innocents in that situation.

MKEgal · January 2015

OTOH, if this woman has chosen to not be able to protect herself & her children, isn't that her choice?

Maybe I could just protect them & leave her to the consequences of her own decision.

MKEgal · January 2015

If she didn't make herself known as an anti-self-defense type, once things calmed down we'd be having a discussion about self-defense, fulfilling her duties as a mother & protector of those precious children (even if she didn't care for her own life), and I'd teach her basic firearm safety then take her to the range for some practical instruction.

Hopefully she'd be better prepared in the future.

sparky00721 · January 2015

I am assuming that this scenario is not set in Canada (reference to your having a baseball bat instead of a hockey stick, and also ready access to a loaded gun, pepper spray and tear gas are all pretty clear hints!). If this scenario were to play out in Canada, I would be inclined to choose the “do something different” option: unleashed my pet wolf and let her run amok on the baddies.

However, I have learned from lurking on the forums for a while that really none of these or any options make the slightest difference, and that the only thing that matters is CICO.

maeld51 · January 2015

I know I would immediately call 911 and keep them in sight without being seen.
Then I think my second instinct would be to get my gun, but with children present, I don't know.
Fortunatrly my community has a very vigilant police force with a response time of about 1 minute.
Most homeowners around these parts are well armed.

You'll keep me wondering about this scenario.

TrailBlazerMN · January 2015

Too many "what ifs". I would throw a molotov cocktail on their vehicle since I can find some alcohol and a rag. Once they see their vehicle on fire and run out of the house because they would be thinking "WTF?!", I'd run after them, yelling in tongues with a satanic tone. They obviously would run off because who would stay and fight someone screaming in some ancient language?

llUndecidedll · February 2015

I would call 911. I am not trained in any way, so simply alerting them to my presence would accomplish nothing. We [the woman, her children, and I] are outnumbered by them and their weapons.

If I try to take their vehicle out, then that may lead to them taking one of the kids as a hostage.

It all depends on what kind of people these thieves are. Will they do whatever's necessary to remain free? If so, then my interference will do no good, I think.

Unknown · February 2015

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SwashBlogger · February 2015

Wow. Lots of cowboys here tonight. I'd call 911 and yell loudly that police are on the way. I'd be sure to be able to provide descriptions of criminals and vehicle if there was one. Loud noises are good too. Some one above suggested car alarm and such.

Hypothetical Situation: You see your neighbor being robbed...

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