"Go ahead, make my day."

[DarkStar50 679]

"Ever notice how you come across somebody once in awhile you shouldn't have f'd with? That's me."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/nyregion/14shoot.html?hp

Double thanks to Clint Eastwood.

[Race4LastPlace 31]

Wow, that was quite a graphic article.

[chippa13 1844]

I can't wait until the bleeding hearts start blaming all this on the store owner.

[chk hrd 164]

too bad he was only 2 for 4...would have done the world a favor by taking all of them out of the gene pool...oh wait, I hear Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton saying how they were find upstanding young men who were victims of thier environment.

[sitzlejd 0]

How would you feel if you were the only one on the block w/o the new Jordans? Can you even imagine??? (end sarcasm)

[TBLfan 25]

too bad he was only 2 for 4...would have done the world a favor by taking all of them out of the gene pool...oh wait, I hear Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton saying how they were find upstanding young men who were victims of thier environment.

Or Obama saying the store owner was "acting stupidly."

[Bmplam 1]

Wow, that was quite a graphic article.

It took 9 people to write it.

I can't wait until the bleeding hearts start blaming all this on the store owner.

"A law enforcement official said that the district attorney was considering a possible misdemeanor weapons charge against Mr. Augusto, indicating that he did not have a permit for the shotgun."

The DA is on it.

[dsjunior1388 81]

Shall we weigh the risk/rewards of knocking over a convenience store with a gun?

1. You get away with like $400

2. You get arrested for armed robbery and sent up the river for five years of nervous showering

3. Something goes wrong and you kill someone, and you go up for 25 or more instead or 5 or less

4. Someone kills you, either a quick responding cop or a proprietor protecting themself.

Sorry, just don't see the appeal. Not for that little money and maybe a few cartons of cigarettes.

[eric42434224 1]

I doubt that the people who rob stores spend time going over the pro's and con's of their actions.

That would show signs of intelligence.

\Haha....I said con.

[cptjeff 0]

Wow, that was quite a graphic article.

It took 9 people to write it.

I can't wait until the bleeding hearts start blaming all this on the store owner.

"A law enforcement official said that the district attorney was considering a possible misdemeanor weapons charge against Mr. Augusto, indicating that he did not have a permit for the shotgun."

The DA is on it.

While I applaud the store owner for defending himself, I do have to say it's rather stupid of him not to get a permit for the shotgun in an area where you need one. Nobody would have any objection to a shotgun for defending your store or home, just get the damn permit.

Also, all you people who say you need handguns to defend your home, take note. A handgun is a crappy weapon for that. It's not too powerful and can be hard to aim in an emergency. This incident shows why a shotgun is a much better weapon for that. Bigger, more powerful and it doesn't take a lot of effort to aim.

[Chadd 916]

Wow, that was quite a graphic article.

It took 9 people to write it.

I can't wait until the bleeding hearts start blaming all this on the store owner.

"A law enforcement official said that the district attorney was considering a possible misdemeanor weapons charge against Mr. Augusto, indicating that he did not have a permit for the shotgun."

The DA is on it.

While I applaud the store owner for defending himself, I do have to say it's rather stupid of him not to get a permit for the shotgun in an area where you need one. Nobody would have any objection to a shotgun for defending your store or home, just get the damn permit.

Also, all you people who say you need handguns to defend your home, take note. A handgun is a crappy weapon for that. It's not too powerful and can be hard to aim in an emergency. This incident shows why a shotgun is a much better weapon for that. Bigger, more powerful and it doesn't take a lot of effort to aim.

It can be very difficult to get permits in some areas.

[Rustpot 1]

Also, all you people who say you need handguns to defend your home, take note. A handgun is a crappy weapon for that. It's not too powerful and can be hard to aim in an emergency. This incident shows why a shotgun is a much better weapon for that. Bigger, more powerful and it doesn't take a lot of effort to aim.

Not to derail the thread, but the two weapons have their uses. I would not call a handgun a "crappy weapon" for defending your home, your business, or your person, though it is true one must devote many more hours for training with one.

Props to the shop owner. I hope his employee who was struck didn't get hurt very badly.

Just remember; guns don't kill people, but there are a lot of not-so-nice people with them.

[shotty 7]

Shall we weigh the risk/rewards of knocking over a convenience store with a gun?

1. You get away with like $400

2. You get arrested for armed robbery and sent up the river for five years of nervous showering

3. Something goes wrong and you kill someone, and you go up for 25 or more instead or 5 or less

4. Someone kills you, either a quick responding cop or a proprietor protecting themself.

Sorry, just don't see the appeal. Not for that little money and maybe a few cartons of cigarettes.

it should be obvious to you and everyone else who avoids committing serious crimes that most people who decide to do stupid shit don't put too much serious thought into it. and the people that DO put serious thought into it and still do it are psychopaths.

there have been TONS of social psych experiments & tests done on career criminals and felons and they clearly have a different thought process than the average law abiding citizen.

While I applaud the store owner for defending himself, I do have to say it's rather stupid of him not to get a permit for the shotgun in an area where you need one.

so true. anyone remember the story about that guy in vegas (or maybe reno) who shot and killed a guy who tried to mow the place down with bullets... dude not only had a permit, but a license to conceal his weapon. he was heralded as a hero, with no questions asked.

[DarkStar50 679]

Update:

Mr. Augusto said he had bought the gun, a Winchester 12-gauge pump-action with a pistol-grip handle, after a robbery 20 years ago and had a permit for it. “Not even touched in 20 years,” he said. “Not even touched. I wish I didn’t need to.”

The employee, who goes by J. B. and declined to give his last name, said that he “lost my mind” while the robbers tried to restrain him with duct tape, and that when he struggled, he was hit with the pistol. “Better him with a tag on his toe than my mother planning a funeral for me,” he said of the gunman.

[Ahriman 1]

Shall we weigh the risk/rewards of knocking over a convenience store with a gun?

1. You get away with like $400

2. You get arrested for armed robbery and sent up the river for five years of nervous showering

3. Something goes wrong and you kill someone, and you go up for 25 or more instead or 5 or less

4. Someone kills you, either a quick responding cop or a proprietor protecting themself.

Sorry, just don't see the appeal. Not for that little money and maybe a few cartons of cigarettes.

it should be obvious to you and everyone else who avoids committing serious crimes that most people who decide to do stupid shit don't put too much serious thought into it. and the people that DO put serious thought into it and still do it are psychopaths.

OR just maybe some series of events somewhere in the past caused them to be desperate and to NOT have $400 in folding cash that night and something even worse than jail time would happen to them or someone they care about. Desperation causes far more stick ups than it being a person's career path.

Besides, it's not like with good behavior for a first offense would someone actually serve five years.

[The Dangler 0]

It sickens me to think the old guy gets in trouble for this. I think he should be in line for a bravery award almost immediately . How many of us on the forum would have had the balls to do such a brave and heroic act? I think the guys who died deserved it. They go in trying to intimidate an old man trying to make a living and for what? Money for drugs and guns most likely. As harsh as I may sound, im glad to see the bastards dead. They thought they were taking advantage of an old man and probably at least partially targeted him thinking he was an easy target. Karmas a bitch.

[armada 0]

What? There is no way in hell you can try to justify a four man robbery in "desperation" for $400 in United States of America.

OR just maybe some series of events somewhere in the past caused them to be desperate and to NOT have $400 in folding cash that night and something even worse than jail time would happen to them or someone they care about. Desperation causes far more stick ups than it being a person's career path.

Besides, it's not like with good behavior for a first offense would someone actually serve five years.

[mack 44]

I don't know, Madden '10 dropped last night.

[shotty 7]

OR just maybe some series of events somewhere in the past caused them to be desperate and to NOT have $400 in folding cash that night and something even worse than jail time would happen to them or someone they care about. Desperation causes far more stick ups than it being a person's career path.

Besides, it's not like with good behavior for a first offense would someone actually serve five years.

if you needed $400 desperately, would you rob a store? probably not... because reasonable people don't think of armed robbery as an option... and if they do, they quickly realize the very likely possibility of negative repercussions, whatever they may be.

(keep in mind, in this instance, there's four robbers, so really it's $100 each).

and when i reference social experiments, i'm not talking about simple questionnaires that a bunch of bored psychologists came up with over a bottle of malbec, i'm talking about years and years and years of hundreds of interviews and studies... it goes much deeper than "career path". desperation has as much to do with it as the "fate" of one's "career". how a criminal assesses their level of desperation compared to the average law abiding citizen i mentioned is pretty much the basis of the study... because, as i'm sure you've heard desperate times call for desperate measures.

[Ahriman 1]

What? There is no way in hell you can try to justify a four man robbery in "desperation" for $400 in United States of America.

Right, no one in America, has ever gone hungry, lost every thing they own, been beaten down by the system, or raised in an environment where $400 couldn't be the difference between starvation or keeping a roof over their head, not even today.

OR just maybe some series of events somewhere in the past caused them to be desperate and to NOT have $400 in folding cash that night and something even worse than jail time would happen to them or someone they care about. Desperation causes far more stick ups than it being a person's career path.

Besides, it's not like with good behavior for a first offense would someone actually serve five years.

if you needed $400 desperately, would you rob a store? probably not... because reasonable people don't think of armed robbery as an option... and if they do, they quickly realize the very likely possibility of negative repercussions, whatever they may be.

(keep in mind, in this instance, there's four robbers, so really it's $100 each).

and when i reference social experiments, i'm not talking about simple questionnaires....

1) I understand how to divide 400 by 4. Do you know they'd all get an equal take for sure though? I mean obviously they lost 2, so it's not divided by 4 in case of an equal split now anyways.

2) I, having had the luck of a good education and far better circumstance, would find another way to get the money, easily. "Hey dad, I need $400 before this afternoon or a mob dealer is going to cut off my thumbs." Or maybe I just ran out trying to pay the bills, maxed out my credit, lost my job, couldn't get a loan, had no other person property I could sell, no collateral to leave a lone shark and my dead sister's 3 year old child was hungry. Perhaps the only way they could get that money was to rob a store. Sticking up random people on the street seems riskier to me, on account of having to do it more than once to get an equal value of money.

3) Reasonably people find themselves in unreasonable situations with no reasonable resolution all the time.

4) Reference social experiments? I dont see anything referenced in your post.

Jeez, forgive me for suggesting they may not just be wanton criminals who "just wanted some new white nikes", you know, acknowledge they are actually humans?

[armada 0]

OK troll. There was no other option but to attempt four man armed robbery.

What? There is no way in hell you can try to justify a four man robbery in "desperation" for $400 in United States of America.

Right, no one in America, has ever gone hungry, lost every thing they own, been beaten down by the system, or raised in an environment where $400 couldn't be the difference between starvation or keeping a roof over their head, not even today.

[Chadd 916]

I'm getting really tired of closing topics because of these arguments. Suspensions are the next step