Some new details from the Tacoma Mall shooting

[Paladin]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/250 ... ded29.html

"Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Mall shooting victim is glad he held his fire
More might have been hit, he says

By SAM SKOLNIK
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

In one of his first interviews since the shooting at the Tacoma Mall on Nov. 20, victim Brendan McKown said Monday he feared that if he had taken a shot at the man firing into the crowds, he might have only caused other shoppers to get struck by bullets.

When the shooting started, McKown, a mall store assistant manager with a license to carry a firearm, said he didn't know who was firing at whom. So he made a snap decision not to stand up and fire back. "It could be three policemen firing at one guy, and I could come out and be another target," he said.

So he yelled at the man to drop his gun -- a move that only caused the gunman to pivot and fire at McKown, striking him, he said, five or six times. The shots blew him back several feet, he said.

"When I changed into another position, I see just the most surreal sight," McKown said from his bed at Tacoma General Hospital in a pool interview conducted by KOMO/4. "It's a young Arabic-looking boy ... with a ball cap on and an AK in his hand," he said, referring to the weapon he thought the shooter was firing, an AK-47 assault rifle.

"So I said, 'Put down the weapon!' " continued McKown. "Obviously, he was faster on the draw than I was."

Of six shooting victims, McKown, 38, was the most seriously injured. He said he has no movement in his left leg and only 10 percent normal movement in his right. He isn't sure if he'll ever walk again, though he's hopeful and determined to do so.

Police arrested Dominick Sergio Maldonado, 20, in the shooting. They also say he took four hostages at a Sam Goody music store at the mall. Pierce County prosecutors charged Maldonado with eight counts of first-degree assault, four counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

As an assistant manager of the Excalibur Cutlery and Gifts store, McKown was on his way to make a deposit at the time of the shooting. Tacoma police said he was legally permitted to be carrying a pistol at the time.

"It's a stupid statement, but I have a concealed weapons permit in case some idiot shoots up a mall," said McKown, who added that he likely would return to his job, and may also start doing stand-up comedy again.


McKown on Monday was upgraded to satisfactory condition, said Todd Kelley, a spokesman for Tacoma General. Kelley said McKown might be discharged in the next couple of days to a rehabilitation clinic.

McKown was struck twice in the abdomen, and he also suffered an injury to his spinal cord. Surgery to remove bullet and bone fragments from his spinal canal was successful, though he faces the possibility of partial or permanent paralysis.

McKown said that in the end, he was thankful to be alive. "I'd be lying if I thought I was doing great," he said. "But I sure got off light, all things considered.""

[HighVelocity]

Why is the shooter being charged with assault and not attempted murder? :x

[Paladin]

McKown sounds like a great guy. I know he was in a coma, and he's fortunate to be doing as well as he's doing now. Hopefully he has a full recovery.

I also respect his hesitancy to shoot without having a clear shot. But truthfully he shouldn't have yelled out the whole 'drop your weapon' thing. Carrying concealed gives you the benefit of surprise, and he ruined it by announcing himself.

I think McKown could have won the fight using cover, concealment, and surprise. Without a clear background he could have gone down on a knee and fired a head shot.

Just some observations with 20/20 hindsight.

[anygunanywhere]

But truthfully he shouldn't have yelled out the whole 'drop your weapon' thing. Carrying concealed gives you the benefit of surprise, and he ruined it by announcing himself.

Great point. If they were to inclined to "drop the gun" they would not be doing what they are doing in the first place.

[orc4hire]

[KBCraig]

Great point. If they were to inclined to "drop the gun" they would not be doing what they are doing in the first place.

If you're in such a situation and tell someone to drop the gun, you should expect them to not drop the gun, to turn towards you and threaten you, and you should already be halfway through your trigger squeeze by the time the words leave your mouth.

If I issued such a challenge, it would be with the expecation that I was about to shoot the guy.

Kevin

[Bubba]

Great point. If they were to inclined to "drop the gun" they would not be doing what they are doing in the first place.

If you're in such a situation and tell someone to drop the gun, you should expect them to not drop the gun, to turn towards you and threaten you, and you should already be halfway through your trigger squeeze by the time the words leave your mouth.

If I issued such a challenge, it would be with the expecation that I was about to shoot the guy.

Kevin

Ahhh, but that makes too much sense ! The flamers will never go for it.
:)

[BenGoodLuck]

"It's a stupid statement, but I have a concealed weapons permit in case some idiot shoots up a mall," said McKown, who added that he likely would return to his job, and may also start doing stand-up comedy again."

If he made a decision to get involved by shouting "drop your weapon", he should also have been ready with firearm out to drop the assailant if he didn't comply. I think the whole story stinks. What does stand up comedy have to do with anything? He didn't fire because he might have hit innocent bystanders, but he lets the BG shoot him without stopping the threat.

[ElGato]

My take on this is that the poor guy is like me and can't do two things at once, he just got the shooting and the shouting in the wrong order.

Tomcat

[Charles L. Cotton]

. . . he just got the shooting and the shouting in the wrong order.

Pearls of wisdom Grasshoppers!