Hypothetical: School Shooting in Progress

[TheSpark]

Okay, hypothetical question here:

You are legally walking down the sidewalk with your sidearm in tow. You notice people running out of a school building screaming "shooter" and hear continuous shots being fired inside the school. Police are not on scene yet and you quickly realize there are kids being killed inside. Disregarding your own safety you decide to enter the building to attempt to stop the threat with you own gun. You are successful in finding the threat and terminating it. You are hailed a hero by the local community. Despite this could you also now be looking at a felony for having a gun on school property?

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

In today's society, I don't see why not.

 

[jdmack79]

I feel deceived by this thread's title.

 

[red46239]

Okay, hypothetical question here:

You are legally walking down the sidewalk with your sidearm in tow. You notice people running out of a school building screaming "shooter" and hear continuous shots being fired inside the school. Police are not on scene yet and you quickly realize there are kids being killed inside. Disregarding your own safety you decide to enter the building to attempt to stop the threat with you own gun. You are successful in finding the threat and terminating it. You are hailed a hero by the local community. Despite this could you also now be looking at a felony for having a gun on school property?

IANAL... but I would say yes you could be. As far as I know the IC that states that guns are not allowed in school does not have an exception for emergency situations... I would hope that the powers that be would apply some common sense to the issue though...

 

[red46239]

I feel deceived by this thread's title.

And this ^. Glad it was not what it appeared to be though...

 

[TheEngineer]

bad form on the thread title

 

[Snapdragon]

I feel deceived by this thread's title.

Me too.

 

[billybob44]

Good Guy or Bad Guy??

You address the problem with a firearm on school property..

What happens when the LEO's show up???

YOU are THE "Active Shooter"..

NOT a position that I would want to be in...Bill

 

[Bobby]

Okay, hypothetical question here:

You are legally walking down the sidewalk with your sidearm in tow. You notice people running out of a school building screaming "shooter" and hear continuous shots being fired inside the school. Police are not on scene yet and you quickly realize there are kids being killed inside. Disregarding your own safety you decide to enter the building to attempt to stop the threat with you own gun. You are successful in finding the threat and terminating it. You are hailed a hero by the local community. Despite this could you also now be looking at a felony for having a gun on school property?

I would say "yes" if you lived through the whole school shooting episode. One of my main concerns is that I might be accidentally shot by responding police units who are clearing school buildings classroom by classroom. The adrenaline level of the police officers is going to be through the roof and they might not take time to identify friend from foe. Unless it is unfolding right in front of my eyes, it might be better to stay out of the way lest I add to the mayhem.

 

[TheSpark]

You address the problem with a firearm on school property..

What happens when the LEO's show up???

YOU are THE "Active Shooter"..

NOT a position that I would want to be in...Bill

Well, that could go for any situation where you use your gun to stop someone robbing a bank, store, or whatnot. There is the chance the police think you are the bad guy when they show up.

 

[Mark 1911]

I feel deceived by this thread's title.

Should have picked a different title. My first thought when I read this was, "oh no, not again". I was relieved that the actual post did not match the title. Should not mess with people like that just to get them to read your post.

 

[87iroc]

bad form on the thread title

Can someone please change it. Sheesh.

 

[singlesix]

OP maybe you should request the mods change the title.

 

[Gluemanz28]

OP maybe you should request the mods change the title.

He might be too Conservative to ask the Mods for help.
They are the INGO government aren't they.

The title freaked me out.
I would not enter unless I called 911 and Identified myself as a good guy and gave a description of myself.

 

[eldirector]

In today's legal world - you would be best served to mind your own business, regardless of how many kids are shot. Someone will surely want to nail you to a wall for intervening: the police (literally), prosecutor, parents, or even the shooting perp's family. People want to lash out at someone, and good Samaritans are easy targets.

That said, I hope I would have the courage to do ANYTHING I can to save a child. Even if that means putting myself at risk (physically or legally).

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

You address the problem with a firearm on school property..

What happens when the LEO's show up???

YOU are THE "Active Shooter"..

NOT a position that I would want to be in...Bill

It's the same for any situation where a firearm is used for defense. With the threat neutralized, secure the firearm, call 911 to give your name and description, be aware that you will be treated as a threat until LEOs get it all figured out. If they put you on the ground and cuff you, realize they're just doing their job.

 

[findingZzero]

POLICE SHOOT GOOD SAMARITAN BY MISTAKE.
Good samaritan had shot another good samaritan by mistake.
4 good samaritans found dead in school shooting.
No perp was found. Apparently the whole incident was started by a truck backfire.
Fog of war is the reason given.
They would've all been charged with a felonies anyway, so where's the harm.
Services will be held on Fri.
The funeral home suggests no weapons please.

Always wear your good guy T-shirt and a white hat.

 

[Dead Duck]

I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.








Sometimes you have to just DO, before you THINK..............Basically- Doing whats right isn't always legal.

 

[MisterChester]

What about it being legal to use your gun to stop a forcible felony? Ok, let's say you enter the building and you take out the perp before cops arrive. What then? It would be technically illegal, but taking out the perp plus making sure cops don't shoot you could be difficult. If all that happened, and you're hailed as a hero, I doubt any prosecutor is going to press charges on your gun.

 

[Motorhead302]

i think if it looked like i could do something, i would grab one of the adults, tell them to call 911, and that i was an armed citizen going in to try to help the kids. then if i did stop him, i would clear my pistol and leave it out of reach while i waited for the police.

granted, who knows what would really happen, but i'd like to think i'd do something if i could.

frankly, though, i don't know if the press would hail you as a hero. they seem to have a tendency of glossing over things like that.