Man Becomes Enraged At Convenience Store, Comes Back With Shotgun; What’s Your Exit Plan?

Pay with card at pump and don't go inside

It was a big mistake to draw on that guy in the first place. Really escalated the situation.

As the clerk why draw on that guy? Let the dude vent and move on with his day. The clerk over played his hand hoping to intimidate and scare the customer. In this case the customer was willing to walk the walk. Now what? Now as the clerk you gotta hope the customer doesn’t escalate to a gun fight. Once you win that gun fight you have to articulate to the jury why you pulled the gun in the first place.

Hard to second guess the clerk without audio. The guy could very well have been threatening him with physical harm as he started to get wound up and toss things around.

masterswimmer said:

Pay with card at pump and don't go inside

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They dont sell Chocodiles and jerky at the pump.

Calculon said:

Hard to second guess the clerk without audio. The guy could very well have been threatening him with physical harm as he started to get wound up and toss things around.

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Even without audio, other than acting like a 10 year old and throwing some shit around, the customer never attempted to get behind or jump over the counter. Words can prove intent, but the customer didn't have the means at that moment. The sight of the clerks gun seems to enrage the customer more and escalate the situation. Very easy to Monday morning quarterback this video but I feel clerk went to gun too soon.

speedkills27 said:

Even without audio, other than acting like a 10 year old and throwing some shit around, the customer never attempted to get behind or jump over the counter. Words can prove intent, but the customer didn't have the means at that moment. The sight of the clerks gun seems to enrage the customer more and escalate the situation. Very easy to Monday morning quarterback this video but I feel clerk went to gun too soon.

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You may be right. Never draw to intimidate.

In NYS that would be a brandishing charge.

speedkills27 said:

As the clerk why draw on that guy? Let the dude vent and move on with his day. The clerk over played his hand hoping to intimidate and scare the customer. In this case the customer was willing to walk the walk. Now what? Now as the clerk you gotta hope the customer doesn’t escalate to a gun fight. Once you win that gun fight you have to articulate to the jury why you pulled the gun in the first place.

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I agree that it seemed as if the clerk pulled it out with more of an intent to intimidate. Typically you shouldn't pull it out unless you plan to use it. However, in this case, the attacker was throwing items at him that could cause physical harm, or possibly render him unconscious (the paint can), and the attacker may have been saying things that would lead him to believe it was his only choice.

Personally I wouldn't pull a gun out in a situation like that. To me, pulling a gun out would only be a last resort, but my last resort will be different from somebody else's last resort. Someone less able to physically defend themselves will surely go to using a weapon sooner than someone that can.

"Am I or is someone around me going to be killed or gravely injured if I don't do something RIGHT NOW?"
No.

The clerk was a tool.

Odd how we’re all conditioned to blame the victim vs the aggressor. Congrats NY you’ve beat us down.

Customer lucky he didn’t get one between the eyes.

While I don't envy the clerk, this was poorly played by him.

At the moment of the draw, after the 'customer' had knocked over a few objects and hurled the can, he already appeared to be backing away, if only for a fraction of a second. He's holding the gun almost gangster-style with one-hand, and then extending it out nearly to the 'customer's chest within his easy grabbing range. Then to top it off, he pulls out his cell phone with his other hand to start recording. There's a surveillance camera for a reason. I get that he may want to get audio, but in a situation where you have a gun on someone that is presumably life-and-death, the only reason you should be fumbling for a phone would be to call 911, not to get Worldstarhiphop footage.

So at about 33 seconds the clerk flags his own cell-phone-wielding hand with his pistol! This guy seems like the type that would shoot his own nuts off.

I don't envy him and I get that it's a high-stress situation, but he needs better training.

Gonzobird said:

In NYS that would be a brandishing charge.

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I think it would be menacing

It’s scary to me how some people (usually drunk, but sober ones too) aren’t afraid of having a gun put in their face. It shows how delusional and detached they are.

Personally I think that showing your intent (i.e. brandishing) via lifting shirt, assuming stance is a good potential deterrent/defuser but only if you’re ultimately willing to shoot and in a situation that would legally warrant it. If it scares the aggressor off, you’ve saved yourself a legal battle and trauma and some asshole’s life. If it doesn’t, you were gonna shoot them anyways.

That being said, clerk really didn’t need to draw. While not really applicable to this video, I have been thinking a lot lately about how our right to self defense has been severely eroded. NY is obviously especially bad, but it really has become a case of protecting criminals and prosecuting victims that dare defend themselves.

Yes the draw looks bad in hindsight because we clearly see the customer walking away as the gun comes out, but it looks like he begins the draw when the customer is throwing the shit on the counter at him and the customer's hand comes within a foot of his face. Doesn't seem like an escalation to me without the hindsight that the customer was ready to walk away, as it's been previously mentioned, the other points on how he needs more training are valid...