“But for the grace of God, I would be a dead man,†the motorcyclist, Keith Randell, 49, of St. Ann, said Tuesday, reading from a statement at his attorney’s office in Clayton.
“This is the result of an aggressive driver,†Randell said. “He chose to shoot me when he was not in fear of any serious injury.â€
Now this is funny. The shooter was a 65 year old man (Mr Setchfield) who had his wife and grandchild in the car when Mr Randell decided to approach and accost him. According to the article, the 65 year old man pulled his .380 and put it on his lap when the 49 year old man approached him in a rage. Words were exchanged, Mr Rendell spit on Mr Setchfield, Mr Setchfield spit back, Mr Rendell reached into the car window and punched him, Mr Setchfield put a round into Mr Rendell's chest. Mr Setchfield dropped off his wife and grandchild, went to the police and turned himself in. According to the article, Mr Setchfield was within his rights (IAW Missouri's Castle Doctrine law) to ventilate Mr Rendell and Mr Rendell is very lucky to be alive. Had Mr Setchfield been carrying a .45 with Hydra-Shok rounds (my personal favorite "stop button"), Mr Rendell would not have thrown another traffic tantrum ever again.
I think that there are several lessons one can take from DUmmie proud2bstupid's post:
- Mr Setchfield needs to purchase a larger caliber handgun and appropriate self defense ammunition. When you yank a gun on somebody and pull the trigger, the only side of a story that should be left to tell is yours. If your assailant is dead and you terminated him according to the letter of the law, you most likely will not be liable for his hospital bills.
- Mr Rendell should take this encounter as a "come to Jesus" moment and reevaluate how he interacts with other citizens. Approaching a man in a vehicle that contains his flesh and blood, while in a rage, is never a good idea. Deciding to reach inside the vehicle and swing a fist is an even worse one. With the current self defense laws now swinging towards a citizen's right to protect themselves from bodily harm, you never know who is carrying the means to end your life and who is not. Giving civilized, decent citizens a legal green light to make the wind whistle through your torso is just plain stupid. Mr. Rendell is lucky all he ended up with was two broken ribs.
- Like NHSparky says: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If your aggression provokes someone to shoot you, don't whine about it like a bitch; like you were the one wronged. Don't be an impulsive ass, think twice before you open your mouth, count to 10 if you are angry, realize that if you are on a motorcycle you need to look at other drivers like they don't know you are there, and (last but not least) don't ever threaten an old man - if he decides that he can't go toe to toe with you, he'll just shoot you.
- Proud2bretarded should be more careful when posting articles that clearly demonstrate why Castle Doctrine and SYG laws were enacted lest she fall victim to $kinner's gestapo.
Did I miss anything?
