Could you shoot a 10 year old

[larrymeyer]

"When I suggest that you try to imagine every dangerous scenario you might find yourself in, I really mean every scenario. It is easy to imagine using force against a crazed crack head bent on attaining his next fix over your dead body. It is not as easy to imagine placing two hollow points in the center mass of a 10-year-old boy or a 110-pound female. Yet you may have to defend yourself from someone you normally do not consider a threat."

This possibility is real. An increasing number of juveniles are committing violent crimes, guys; you need to consider the possibility. Not only that, but gangs recruit them young. The History Channel "Gangland" program on MS13 included a cheery tidbit about them recruiting members as young as 8.

I don't like this idea, and I don't expect anybody else here does, either. But it's real, and it's a real possibility. Prepare as best you can now to handle the shock.

[brewguy]

Originally Posted by larrymeyer

"When I suggest that you try to imagine every dangerous scenario you might find yourself in, I really mean every scenario. It is easy to imagine using force against a crazed crack head bent on attaining his next fix over your dead body. It is not as easy to imagine placing two hollow points in the center mass of a 10-year-old boy or a 110-pound female. Yet you may have to defend yourself from someone you normally do not consider a threat."

This possibility is real. An increasing number of juveniles are committing violent crimes, guys; you need to consider the possibility. Not only that, but gangs recruit them young. The History Channel "Gangland" program on MS13 included a cheery tidbit about them recruiting members as young as 8.

I don't like this idea, and I don't expect anybody else here does, either. But it's real, and it's a real possibility. Prepare as best you can now to handle the shock.

I don't think I would have a problem shooting anyone if i had too.

[craigc]

Exactly;I have a good friend that had to pull the trigger on a 12 year old while in Panama during "Just Cause".He had no choice and yes it haunted him for a long while untill he made peace with it.

[ChamberedRound]

I can imagine how such a situation would be tough for anyone to handle. However, if a 10 or 12 year-old has the presence of mind to pick up a weapon, threaten me, and make me choose between his life and mine, I choose mine. I'm not going to allow a little punk to make my wife a widow and my children fatherless. I imagine I would be screwed up for a good long time over it if I was ever in that situation, but I'd rather that than be dead or have my wife/kids be more screwed up as a result of me not being there.

[Autonomous]

OK LM,
So normally i would not take this type of thread seriously. No offence but i don't put much stock in the "what if" type scenarios (with the obvious exception of zombies...i know one day...). I just read the other thread you started about what to do after a shooting so i know you are serious.
It is my personal opinion that people are created equal. I believe that god made every person on the face of this planet. I also believe all life is equal. With that being said I believe fully that there are situations where killing a person is the better of the two options (the other option being die yourself or watch some one you love get killed/violated first). It is very often traumatic for people who have been placed in a situation where they have to kill. Even in what seems to be the most clear cut circumstances people often feel guilt or remorse. To prepare ourselves mentally is all we can do. So saying it could be a 10 year old or a 110 lb woman raises an interesting point. Often we let our "guard" down around people we don't see as being a threat. This is a mistake. Being aware can go a long way. (I'm not saying that we should go around twitchy paranoid but instead if we work on our situational awareness it could go a long way in preventing something real stupid from going down)
Oh yea preparing is only a step in the right direction. No matter how much one prepares there is a "moment of truth" when unfortunate things happen. I sincerely hope you never have to be in that situation. And am sorry if you have already been in that situation. Thank you for raising this point.
-A

[Emptymag]

Someone else could put this in writing better than I, but here goes...

If a 10 year old has the mental capacity to violently attack someone, that 10 year old is NO CHILD.

(No matter what the sobbing mother says to the news camera shoved in her face while they cover her "baby" being led into a courthouse in shackles)

[Story]

There was a civil war that raged across the Democractic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) from 1997 to 2001 or so.

For the most part, it was ignored by the western media - probably because the white wine spritzer crowd in London decided it wasn't a cause celebre.

But it was legitimately the first Pan-African War, with an *estimated* 160,000 troops from ten nations comittted at it's height and an *estimated* 3 million casualties when all was said and done. *Estimated*, because no one really knows the hard figures.

The majority of those soldiers were children, usually under the age of 15.

Something to think about.

For additional perspective, read (or re-read) LORD OF THE FLIES.

[XD45]

last night in pittsburgh there was a 13y/o who pulled a gun on her mother, I guess it was her fathers shotgun. the police go outside to figure out what they are gonna do and the mother calls and says she stabbed her with a knife and took off running.



hardest thing about this is determining if the gun is real or fake and that sort of thing.. I couldnt imagine finding out later it was an airsoft or something like that.


obviously the whole situation is different if your talking about in a war. But if a kid jumps out behind a tree while i'm walking my dog with a gun i'm going to assume he's playing cops and robbers.

[DaveM55]

Not stepping on anyones toes...

One can come up with a thousand "what if" scenarios.

Fact is none of us know what we'll do unless the situation actually presents itself.

Hopefully none of us will ever have to make that choice.

If it does happen you won't have time to think, you're training (or lack there of) will kick in and take over.

We can all be Monday morning quarterbacks, but I hope that's as far as I ever have to take it!

[XD45]

Originally Posted by DaveM55

Not stepping on anyones toes...

One can come up with a thousand "what if" scenarios.

Fact is none of us know what we'll do unless the situation actually presents itself.

Hopefully none of us will ever have to make that choice.

If it does happen you won't have time to think, you're training (or lack there of) will kick in and take over.

We can all be Monday morning quarterbacks, but I hope that's as far as I ever have to take it!

I agree with that.


Although I think if a kid wanted to shoot me he'd win, because I just don't think i'd take him serious atleast not until it was to late. I'd think it was a fake gun and he was playing cops and robbers or something probably.