Random attack at city park

[KD5NRH]

Can't copy-paste the story, since I don't have a subscription to see the whole thing online, but the first bit pretty much sums it up.

http://www.empiretribune.com/articles/2 ... 697036.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mother stabbed at City Park
By SARA VANDEN BERGE
Managing Editor
sara.vandenberge@empiretribune.com
Published: Monday, March 15, 2010 1:23 PM CDT
A young mother of two is reportedly paralyzed after she was stabbed in the back at Stephenville City Park Sunday while she was sitting on a park bench watching her children play.

The incident occurred about 3:30 p.m. at the playground near the baseball fields. Brandi Janell Todd, 28, of Morgan Mill, was sitting on a bench watching her children, ages eight and four, play when a complete stranger walked up behind her and plunged a knife in her back, Police Chief Roy Halsell said.

From the print edition, it looks like the paralysis is permanent, with severe spinal cord damage. The suspect is apparently a long-time mental patient, who is blaming his actions on not being able to get proper mental healthcare.

Maybe this will help clarify reality for some of the folks who were posting "nobody needs a gun in a park" comments back when Chili shot the pit bull.

[seamusTX]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Mom-stab ... 34277.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know what kind of garden spot Stephenville is. Most parks that I'm familiar with have shady characters hanging around.

- Jim

[M9FAN]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Mom-stab ... 34277.html

Most parks that I'm familiar with have shady characters hanging around.

- Jim

True in my experience too.

[davidtx]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Mom-stab ... 34277.html

I don't know what kind of garden spot Stephenville is. Most parks that I'm familiar with have shady characters hanging around.

- Jim

Probably all the trees.
Sorry, I couldn't help it.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Mom-stab ... 34277.html

I don't know what kind of garden spot Stephenville is. Most parks that I'm familiar with have shady characters hanging around.

- Jim

According to the video she has some tingling in her legs. Let us pray for a miracle that she regains feeling and is able to walk again.

[MechAg94]

The suspect is apparently a long-time mental patient, who is blaming his actions on not being able to get proper mental healthcare.

I've heard it is pretty hard to get off based on mental health in Texas. I hope that is the case here.

[seamusTX]

Successful insanity pleas are quite rare, but it doesn't do the victim any good whether this guy goes to jail or a mental institution.

I don't the details of being adjudicated criminally insane, but he might stay locked up longer in that case.

- Jim

[OldSchool]

Let me be devil's advocate (or just a ).

In this case, the situation is not one of being unarmed; the attacker should not have known if the victim were armed or not, so the presence of a weapon would not have prevented the attack. The attacker came up from behind in a surprise move. Thus, I believe a CCW would have been useless as this event unfolded, except maybe after the fact.

Situational awareness was obviously lacking, but is that the only answer?

How would you discuss this with someone who is not prepared to peer into all the shadows on a sunny day in the park?

[KD5NRH]

In this case, the situation is not one of being unarmed; the attacker should not have known if the victim were armed or not, so the presence of a weapon would not have prevented the attack. The attacker came up from behind in a surprise move. Thus, I believe a CCW would have been useless as this event unfolded, except maybe after the fact.

For her, yes, but the area that WFAA shows is in a section of the park that is pretty much wide open and usually has quite a few people around. (It's a relatively new playground, and the only trees within a hundred yards were planted in the last few years.) I would be surprised if none of the witnesses saw him preparing to stab her, but without a gun, they'd pretty much have to already be within arm's reach to do anything about it. (Even then, it would come down to fighting unarmed against a knife, which is very bad without a lot of training. According to the people I've known who had the training, 10-15 years experience gets it down to only fairly bad.)

[seamusTX]

How would you discuss this with someone who is not prepared to peer into all the shadows on a sunny day in the park?

You need to carry on continuous 360° surveillance in all public places, unless you can get your back against a wall. Then it's 180°.

If someone can't see the reality of that need, you can only hope that their eventual mugging does not leave permanent injuries.

- Jim

[03Lightningrocks]

Maybe this will help clarify reality for some of the folks who were posting "nobody needs a gun in a park" comments back when Chili shot the pit bull.

A gun would not have helped this poor lady one bit. She didn't see the scum bag coming at her. Don't get me wrong, I think we should carry anytime we are out in public and my prayer is always that I will see it coming. Some folks may want to be realistic about the protection a concealed handgun provides. It isn't a shield and it isn't a force field.

Snippet from story....

"The incident occurred about 3:30 p.m. at the playground near the baseball fields. Brandi Janell Todd, 28, of Morgan Mill, was sitting on a bench watching her children, ages eight and four, play when a complete stranger walked up behind her and plunged a knife in her back, Police Chief Roy Halsell said."

[JNMAR]

I've to got admit this kind of thing just leaves me shaking my head. I have a CCL but have become somewhat lackadaisical in my daily carry habit. I work in a rural setting on a ranch not too far north of where the lady is from. I always have one rifle and/or shotgun and at least one or more pistols in my truck. So I'm never "bare handed" except sometimes when I'm out of my truck in the city. The ordeal that went down in Carrollton between the LEO and the CCL holder honestly makes me a little skiddish. I wonder if it's worth it should that happen to me. On the other hand, something like this with the young lady in Stephenville, makes me wish I had been standing there with my carry pistol ready to protect her. But then I ask myself if the crazy dude didn't make any verbal threats or didn't make any threatening moves until he was right up on her back, what would or could I have done. In my heart I don't want to shoot somebody so I know it would take precious seconds for my mind to authorize any actions...then there's the question of do I pull it and attempt to subdue and disarm or just pull the trigger a few times and not have his word against mine. Beyond defending myself, family, home, and property the whole deal of having to keep it concealed and not pulling it on someone leaves so many unanswered scenarios in my feeble mind.

My first post and I'm so thankful I ran across this forum. I know I've rambled along off topic, please forgive me. I do pray for a miracle healing for the young mother.

[TexasGal]

Perhaps the lesson here is that you need to live in condition yellow. Had she had her back to a wall or other structure, she might have realized a stranger was intent on approaching her without a known reason. It could just have easily been one of her children he attacked. We watch over our kids in a public place, but forget we must protect ourselves as well. She was in condition white. Had she been watchful and armed, the day may have turned out differently. I pray she will recover far more than is currently feared by her doctors.

[Abraham]

JNMAR

CCL...is something from another state?

You don't have a Texas CHL?

[Excaliber]

Let me be devil's advocate (or just a ).

In this case, the situation is not one of being unarmed; the attacker should not have known if the victim were armed or not, so the presence of a weapon would not have prevented the attack. The attacker came up from behind in a surprise move. Thus, I believe a CCW would have been useless as this event unfolded, except maybe after the fact.

Situational awareness was obviously lacking, but is that the only answer?

How would you discuss this with someone who is not prepared to peer into all the shadows on a sunny day in the park?

One of the news reports stated that the victim had seen the attacker enter the park and acting in an unusual manner. Her initial situational awareness was OK - she simply failed to maintain it.

The 20/20 hindsight lesson here is to either leave the area when this situation is detected, or never lose visual contact with or allow approach by such an individual.