# A vengeful nutjob with a gun is coming for you RIGHT NOW. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424 "2015-08-10T03:40:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/101 "2015-08-12T02:05:17Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Can you specify these risks? The police are coming, after all. I only need to protect myself until they arrive. I wrote a long post about this yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Kimbosquee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@Kimbosquee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimbosquee)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/102 "2015-08-12T02:10:17Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Can you specify these risks? The police are coming, after all. I only need to protect myself until they arrive. You are right that being in transit makes you more vulnerable, but you don’t know how long police will take to get there. I’d bet most of the time, they get there only to find bodies. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/103 "2015-08-12T02:20:20Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > … > > So I’d shelter in place. And with that one phrase, you make all comments about body armor and lines of sight and caliber and shot size and response times immaterial. “Shelter in place” is a standardized decision based on evaluated risk and available resources; I am still sneaking out my back door, but I accept others’ risks differ from mine. > [@Lemur866](#): > > … And if you’re regularly finding yourself calmly gunning down maniacs with guns who’ve come to kill you, then well, maybe you should sit down and take a good look at your life and how you ended up here. > > … But getting into a firefight with a maniac is by definition a bad idea. You should, you know, avoid stuff like that. I laughed when I read that this morning. Then all day I insert a description of the current annoyance, and moved on. "And if you’re regularly finding yourself [imagining] calmly gunning down [perfectly normal people] who’ve … cut you off on the highway worn way too much perfume on the elevator used the last of the coffee and not made more screwed up the syntax in - no, never mind, I still want to shoot that one - used your work email for a personal message …then well, maybe you should sit down and take a good look at your life and how you ended up here. [Because] getting into a firefight with [just about anyone, but particularly anyone you do or might soon work with] is by definition a bad idea." So, thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/104 "2015-08-12T03:27:53Z")
Meh, being trapped in my house with a bunch of guys with weapons drawn expecting to take on an armed killer at any second is no more comforting than facing the nutjob alone. I’ve been around guns enough to know that I don’t want to be near a gun that sees daylight unless I’m behind it. We had a local case where an owner had his rental property burglarized and told the cop he was going to spend the night there with his pistol to catch the thieves. The 22 year old rookie cop came back at night to check on the property, peeked in a window, saw an arm and a pistol (that wasn’t pointed toward him), and took him out. It was the elderly owner, right where he said he’d be. I’m not saying I wouldn’t welcome the cops coming in to save my life, just that I’d rather not be there to need saving. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/105 "2015-08-12T03:47:01Z")
> [@j666](#): > > [Because] getting into a firefight with [just about anyone, but particularly anyone you do or might soon work with] is by definition a bad idea." This the way I see it. Any situation where you’re within range to shoot the invader means he’s also in range of shooting you. Sure you can shift the odds in your favor but I’d rather avoid a gunfight entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/106 "2015-08-12T03:51:00Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > I think if you tell the dispatcher that you yourself are armed (but not dangerous) with a legally-owned firearm, the dispatcher relays that to the responding units, and they take that into consideration in the response. Accidents happen. There are plenty of times where the police have shot the wrong person, where a civilian shot the wrong person, or even where a criminal shot somebody he didn’t mean to. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/107 "2015-08-12T10:31:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This the way I see it. … I have to acknowledge that I was paraphrasing Lemur above. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/108 "2015-08-12T11:16:43Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > You’re totally right: if you leave, you are vulnerable while leaving. But I’m thinking that this vulnerability pales in comparison to the many more risks of staying. I think I get your point. I’m just saying that he’s hunting you and that flushed game is usually “easy pickings”. Do everything with intent and resolve because simply reacting puts you at a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/109 "2015-08-12T12:19:29Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Now I feel all guilty, because if you had said _ **Lawrence** _, I would have started sharing tips on which streets were best. > > (The tortellini is at Tre Monte, the falafel at The Market on Market Street AND that new place on Merrimack, and just follow the mariachi for the Mexican. See you at the Folk Festival next year. We can discuss the American Labor Movement. Bread and Roses.) Deal! ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/110 "2015-08-12T12:36:37Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I think I get your point. I’m just saying that he’s hunting you and that flushed game is usually “easy pickings”. Do everything with intent and resolve because simply reacting puts you at a disadvantage. But I’m not saying one should simply do the opposite of what the killer wants. That would be reacting. It would also be reacting to conclude, “That basterd wants to come into MY home? Well, I’m going to blast him as soon as he comes through the door!” I’m saying that the scenario shouldn’t be treated as a choice between whether one has the fortitude to kill a person in a life-or-death scenario, or escape to safety and let someone else handle it. After thinking about this for 30 seconds after reading the OP, I came up with a much longer list of risks for staying than for leaving, notwithstanding that some people will have unique circumstances (e.g., a panic room, police station across the street, they live in a fortress, they are a Navy SEAL, they have 17 children and counting and there’s no way to pile them all in a car quickly, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/111 "2015-08-12T13:01:05Z")
I don’t own any guns for self defense, but it seems to me the worst way to use one is to wait for someone in the house where they expect you to be. Why not just take your rifle and hide in the yard with a view of the front door? Pick him off from hiding when he tries to enter the house. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/112 "2015-08-12T14:19:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t own any guns for self defense, but it seems to me the worst way to use one is to wait for someone in the house where they expect you to be. Why not just take your rifle and hide in the yard with a view of the front door? Pick him off from hiding when he tries to enter the house. There’s not one right answer on where is most advantageous to wait. During my time in the army the magic answer for tactical questions was “[METT-TC](http://metttc.com/category/mett-tc/)” dictates. The right situation in my location with a shotgun might not be the right answer in your home with a rifle. In my case there’s very few places to hide outside. I have a better chance of surprise at the point of contact indoors even if he knows I am inside. They have to breach the house to get at me; that’s an obstacle that may slow them a little while the police are on the way. I can better manage sight lines in my house so rounds aren’t aimed towards my neighbors in the case of misses/over-penetration. Having to punch out through my walls reduces the energy of those rounds further reducing the risks to my neighbors. Leaving my house to set up presents a risk of me being seen (if they are early) before I get set up in concealment; I prefer fighting a defense to a meeting engagement. If I have to justify using deadly force in the legal system, I prefer having them forcibly enter as a demonstration of hostile intent. I also like the indoors/outdoors separation when the police first show up (with that linkup deliberately coordinated through the 911 operator). That presents less risk of that linkup going bad IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/113 "2015-08-12T14:25:18Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > In my case there’s very few places to hide outside. I have a better chance of surprise at the point of contact indoors even if he knows I am inside. They have to breach the house to get at me; that’s an obstacle that may slow them a little while the police are on the way. Unless they set the house on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/114 "2015-08-12T15:46:56Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I wrote a long post about this yesterday. This post? > [@Ravenman](#): > > I start from the assumption that the OP is posing a question that is more complex than “would you prefer to kill someone in self defense or have the cops deal with it?” > > If this were a real life situation, I would immediately question the accuracy of the phone call. Am I certain there’s only one person coming for me? Am I certain there’s 10 minutes to put a plan together? Am I certain that he’s coming tonight and not 12 hours and 10 minutes later? I would take the threat seriously because of the specifics, but I wouldn’t bet my life that the specifics are perfectly accurate. In my view, these questions fight the hypothetical. My answer accepted the truth of the facts, as per the OP: “a person you know well and trust implicitly” advises me what’s happening. > [@](#): > > Then we get to how this confrontation might transpire. Is it going to be as simple as me laying an ambush for him if he arrives before the police? I’ve heard that police often miss a lot of their shots in a firefight. Am I assured that I won’t do the same? Am I certain that he won’t have a split second to get off a lucky shot? I addressed the “lucky shot” comment above. Briefly again: you indicated surprise that people were willing to risk staying st home. A “lucky shot” would be an unusual outcome, by definition. It’s possible, but unlikely. Therefore, a plan that weighs the “lucky shot” as unlikely is accurately assessing that risk. I assume you don’t do much shooting. Therefore, I think it’s very likely you’ll miss. But the question asked by the OP was what _I_ would do. Your follow-on question was why I felt comfortable in choosing to stay. Therefore, your inability to shoot isn’t really a factor – you should be asking about my training, skill, and practice. > [@](#): > > Am I certain that I have laid a better trap for him than he for me? Am I certain I have outwitted him due to this tipoff? Is his only intent to shoot me with this Glock 19, or might he have another plan? What if he doesn’t intend to invade the house, but rather set it ablaze and wait for me to run out so that he has the drop on me? If I barricade myself in the attic with only one way in or out, who has the advantage - is it me because I know how he must come in, or him because he knows how I must come out? Again, fighting the hypothetical. My trap is not a complex one. And it’s designed to slow him down so he can be apprehended, with a subcomponent of defending myself by shooting him if absolutely necessary. If this were a longer siege, or something happening during civil unrest when police response was more uncertain, your concerns about who has the advantage might take on more weight. But for the extremely brief interval between his arrival and the latest possible time the police arrive, the answer is that I have the advantage, not he, because I am in the basement – not the attic – with concrete walls and two entrances. > [@](#): > > What happens if the police show up and they can’t find the guy? Do I stay up all night just in case? What about the next night? How do I know when the threat is over? Once the police have arrived, I’d be much more comfortable leaving, perhaps with an escort, and getting far away. The question was what to do in the ten minutes between the call and the arrival of the malefactor. With these comments in mind, could you share any specific objections to my plan that you continue to harbor? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/115 "2015-08-12T19:04:51Z")
**Bricker** , I have to say, you’re using several key terms in an inaccurate way. > [@Bricker](#): > > In my view, these questions fight the hypothetical. My answer accepted the truth of the facts, as per the OP: “a person you know well and trust implicitly” advises me what’s happening. “Trust” and “accuracy” are not synonyms. My dearest friend would never betray me, but that doesn’t mean he is infallible with respect to everything he tells me. And besides, I’m not fighting the hypothetical. I’m not saying, for example, that I am so well-liked that it is impossible for someone to want to murder me. In my opinion, I’m placing the scenario in the real world, not a fantasy one in which the only considerations are whether one would prefer to pull a trigger or exit the back door. > [@](#): > > Therefore, a plan that weighs the “lucky shot” as unlikely is accurately assessing that risk. I think you’re referring to “odds,” not “risk.” Risk is the odds AND the consequences. A five percent chance I will lose my finger is far less risky than a one percent chance I will lose my life, for example. > [@](#): > > I assume you don’t do much shooting. Therefore, I think it’s very likely you’ll miss. But the question asked by the OP was what _I_ would do. Your follow-on question was why I felt comfortable in choosing to stay. Therefore, your inability to shoot isn’t really a factor – you should be asking about my training, skill, and practice. I do a fair amount of shooting - enough to know that my ability to knock down an Ivan at 300 yards does not confer upon me combat skills. But you raise a fair point about your shooting skills: if police officers miss roughly half their shots in shootouts, do you believe that in this scenario that you are better prepared than when a police officer fires his gun? > [@](#): > > And it’s designed to slow him down so he can be apprehended, with a subcomponent of defending myself by shooting him if absolutely necessary. If this were a longer siege, or something happening during civil unrest when police response was more uncertain, your concerns about who has the advantage might take on more weight. But for the extremely brief interval between his arrival and the latest possible time the police arrive, the answer is that I have the advantage, not he, because I am in the basement – not the attic – with concrete walls and two entrances. Very well, I understand your thought process. > [@](#): > > With these comments in mind, could you share any specific objections to my plan that you continue to harbor? If you go back to my post raising these questions, and any of my subsequent posts, I never said your plan was crap. I think I’ve said three times that I understand if each person has special considerations for their own situations. Mainly I had asked what gives people such great confidence that they will prevail in a gun battle. The question was further emphasized when **Airman Doors** , who has written many times on this board about his proficiency with guns, who I believe has been in combat zones (not sure about actual combat, I defer to him), and is often among the first to jump in the debate the importance of the Second Amendment for self-defense purposes, said that he would hit the road and avoid putting himself in a position where it would be likely he had to use lethal force. His taking that position certainly caught my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/116 "2015-08-12T19:20:58Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I think you’re referring to “odds,” not “risk.” Risk is the odds AND the consequences. A five percent chance I will lose my finger is far less risky than a one percent chance I will lose my life, for example. Very valid point. > [@](#): > > I do a fair amount of shooting - enough to know that my ability to knock down an Ivan at 300 yards does not confer upon me combat skills. But you raise a fair point about your shooting skills: if police officers miss roughly half their shots in shootouts, do you believe that in this scenario that you are better prepared than when a police officer fires his gun? No, because you’re comparing apples to the temperature of spit in Sumatra. A shootout is not a fair description of lying in wait, as I am. And while officers may miss half their shots with a handgun, I’m firing a 12-ga shotgun loaded with 0000 buckshot at a distance of roughly 10 yards. I don’t believe that many police officers would miss under those circumstances and I don’t believe I would either. > [@](#): > > Mainly I had asked what gives people such great confidence that they will prevail in a gun battle. The question was further emphasized when **Airman Doors** , who has written many times on this board about his proficiency with guns, who I believe has been in combat zones (not sure about actual combat, I defer to him), and is often among the first to jump in the debate the importance of the Second Amendment for self-defense purposes, said that he would hit the road and avoid putting himself in a position where it would be likely he had to use lethal force. His taking that position certainly caught my attention. I might have answered that way if I lived in a more central area with many cross-streets. My primary purpose in deciding to stay home was not my confidence in shooting first – I don’t want to shoot at all – but in my concern that because there are only two ways out of my neighborhood, I’d encounter the would-be assassin on the road. And, indeed, if that happened, I wouldn’t be nearly as confident – THAT would be a gun battle, and I’d have two non-combatants in the car to protect. I’m not nearly as sanguine about winning in that circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/117 "2015-08-12T19:38:35Z")
You know, I’ve posted it here often enough that I won’t in this thread, but I have actual experience with calling the police about a guy trying to break into my house while I had a very large knife in my hand and was on the phone with 911, and it didn’t slow him down in the slightest. Cops didn’t even drive by for 45 minutes. Zero chance I think that calling the cops and doing nothing to defend myself but wait for them is the right course of action. If I was non-white, I’d be more terrified of calling the police in fear that THEY would shoot me in my own damned house. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/118 "2015-08-12T19:57:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Unless they set the house on fire. Controlling for some risks inevitably creates others. Where I live, unless I can imitate a really tall garden gnome, the risk is probably less even if they get a fire going. It’s at least slow acting while the police are still on the way. The attacker doesn’t don’t know how I’ll exit if I have to before help arrives. If I do have to exit, then we have the meeting engagement anyway. Hoka hey. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/119 "2015-08-12T20:05:36Z")
We recently had a meeting at work to plan what we would do if we were to have a gunman enter our offices. After a great deal of discussion, it was decided to provide the receptionist with a panic button that she was to use to alert the office to the gunman’s presence. Those of us in the offices were advised to turn off our lights and shelter under our desks. This seems logical, as a gunman would be less likely to shoot into an unoccupied office. But our poor receptionist was just expected to stay at her position and attempt to dissuade the gunman from entering the offices area. Essentially, this means sacrificing her so that others have time to find shelter. I have significant issues with this, although at this point I don’t have a better solution. We are on the top floor of our building and if the gunman is in our offices, he has already bypassed building security. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424/120 "2015-08-12T22:51:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t own any guns for self defense, but it seems to me the worst way to use one is to wait for someone in the house where they expect you to be. Why not just take your rifle and hide in the yard with a view of the front door? Pick him off from hiding when he tries to enter the house. Is no-one else going to address this? I’m pretty sure this would be illegal even in Florida, but I’m from Massachusetts, where most things are. > [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > We recently had a meeting at work to plan what we would do if we were to have a gunman enter our offices. After a great deal of discussion, it was decided to provide the receptionist with a panic button that she was to use to alert the office to the gunman’s presence. Those of us in the offices were advised to turn off our lights and shelter under our desks. This seems logical, as a gunman would be less likely to shoot into an unoccupied office. But our poor receptionist was just expected to stay at her position and attempt to dissuade the gunman from entering the offices area. Essentially, this means sacrificing her so that others have time to find shelter. > > I have significant issues with this, although at this point I don’t have a better solution. We are on the top floor of our building and if the gunman is in our offices, he has already bypassed building security. Put a shield around her desk knee hole, give her a kevlar vest, and turn up the AC. But “attempt to dissuade the gunman from entering”? What, is she former SAS? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vengeful-nutjob-with-a-gun-is-coming-for-you-right-now/727424.md?page=7)