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Video Released of attack on Open Carrier in Mandeville, LA (Attacker Shot)

ccwinstructor

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Jul 11, 2008
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Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
On Monday, April 4th, about 11:00 a.m., a firearms instructor who was openly carrying a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, shot and killed Shawn Breland at a gasoline station and convenience store. Twelve days later, I wrote about the incident and published the article on Gun Watch and The Truth About Guns. There was some disagreement about the incident as described, and people at the Truth About Guns (TTAG) forum were of varied opinions.

From TTAG

From askandyoumayknow

This is a case of a bystander getting involved in a common argument between an employee and customer. How many of you have gotten mad at an employee somewhere due to the way you were being treated? This man threatened an unarmed man with a firearm, and when he couldn’t handle the man, he shot and killed a husband, father, and honorable veteran. He should have not gotten involved. The police were already on the way. If he wanted to be in law enforcement, then he should have joined the Mandeville police dept. The man was getting in his car to leave when this wanna-be cop came out telling him he was getting his license plate. He is not a trained law enforcement officer and his mishandling of the situation caused a good man having a bad day to lose his life.

JR_in_NC says:
April 19, 2016 at 10:29 (Edit)

“The shooter followed Breland outside to get the license plate from Breland’s white minivan. Breland got out of the minivan and physically attacked the shooter, Ruple said.” If you are going to make claims that contradict what is published, please provide a source for your information.

I am commenting specifically on the information I have available which is: He (the shooter) went outside to get the plate number and Breland RETURNED to the continue the confrontation.

Did the shooter contribute to the escalation? I don’t know, and I am not commenting on that.

What I am commenting on is the completely idiotic, Statist notion that we all have to be “trained law enforcement officers” to act in any situation.


Dean Weingarten says:
April 20, 2016 at 02:34 (Edit)

There was video of the event. I wonder if it will be released.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The video has been released, so you can look at it and determine which version of events was closer to the video. One thing was not mentioned in the written description of the events. Shawn Breland had a passenger in the mini-van. It may be the man in a white T-shirt that came into the store after him. That man takes a drink from the counter that Breland pays for. It might have had an impact on his mind-set. It is clear from the video that Shawn Breland was an exceptionally large man. From nola.com:

A legally-armed citizen who fatally shot an attacker at a Mandeville convenience store in April will not be prosecuted, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Warren Montgomry said Friday (May 27). Mandeville police investigators concluded Shawn Breland, 42, of Folsom, was the aggressor at the Shell gasoline station and convenience store at 3959 Louisiana 22.

"Although Mr. Breland's death is a tragedy, this office agrees that the shooting was legally justified under the circumstances and will not pursue criminal changes based on the evidence submitted to date," Montgomery said in a news release that included surveillance camera video of the incident. (See video above. Warning: graphic content).

Link to Video
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/05/legally-armed_citizen_wont_be.html#incart_river_index

Here is another claim that was made during the TTAG discussion. From askandyoumayknow:

I personally spoke to a man that was there during the entire situation. The shooter did not walk quietly out to get the license plate. He confronted him stating that he was going to get his license plate, in turn escalating the situation. THE MAN WAS LEAVING. If the shooter would have minded his own damn business, a good man would be alive today. Armed citizens trying to play cop have far too often lately found themselves in situations that end in them shooting and killing UNARMED people.

-----------------------------------------------------

As you watch the video, much that happened becomes clearer. Pictures convey so much information that multiple replays may be necessary to catch relevant details. Digital recording is making "he said" "she said" controversies less common.

The video greatly increased my understanding of this case of an open carrier defending himself and others.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2016/05/followup-la-video-of-open-carrier.html
 
Last edited:

solus

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here nc
snipped>>>

Here is another claim that was made during the TTAG discussion. From askandyoumayknow:

I personally spoke to a man that was there during the entire situation. The shooter did not walk quietly out to get the license plate. He confronted him stating that he was going to get his license plate, in turn escalating the situation. THE MAN WAS LEAVING. If the shooter would have minded his own damn business, a good man would be alive today. Armed citizens trying to play cop have far too often lately found themselves in situations that end in them shooting and killing UNARMED people.

snipp...

one each instructor got a free pass from the prosecutor, pure and simple!!

this 'bystander' interjected himself into the situation, exacerbated the situation by insisting on getting the agitated individual's vehicle plate number, not discretely but blatantly, which antagonized the overall situation.

ipse
 

utbagpiper

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Utah
one each instructor got a free pass from the prosecutor, pure and simple!!

Bullspit!

And frankly I tire of Monday-morning quarterbacks presuming to pile on when someone does something a little differently than they think they would have done it.

nola.com article said:
The man pulled out his weapon, ordered Breland back and retreated into the store, but Breland followed and continued the attack, grabbing for the gun, according to authorities.

After backing into a corner of the store and still under attack, the man fired one round, striking Breland, and fired twice more when Breland kept coming at him, police said.

Even if the OCer had somehow incited, by the time he has backed up all the way to the corner of the store, drawn his gun, and ordered the aggressor to back off, he is within his rights--morally and legally--to keep the aggressor from grabbing his gun.

Sure, he might have avoided the whole thing if he'd slipped out the door and left. And instead of a deceased violent criminal, we might be reading about an innocent store clerk beaten to death or shot by some enraged lunatic.

Again, from the nola.com report:
nola.com article said:
[The aggressive jerk] left but re-entered the store several times, becoming more aggressive each time, Ruple said. The clerk then called police.

It was then that the OCer intervened. He made a decision to protect an innocent 3rd party. Maybe not the decision you would make. Maybe not the decision I'd make. But he made it. And when the aggressive jerk then turned on him, even attempted to grab his gun, continuing his attack even after being shot the first time, the OCer defended his own life by ending the threat.

Remember what folks like to post around here: "An armed society is a polite society." Let us not forget the rest of that quote: "Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."

The lesson here seems to be don't advance on or attempt to grab a gun from a man pointing a gun at you. Both of those are bad manners and downright stupid.

Carjackers who attack innocent women and then try to grab guns when good Samaritans intervene, are not "victims". They are violent thugs.

And jerks who verbally abuse store clerks with racist epithets, and then try to grab the gun when a good Samaritan intervenes is not a victim either.

Tell me the cops and prosecutor gave a pass to one of their own and I might listen.

Tell me that gave a pass to a private citizen who gunned down an innocent person in cold blood, and I'll tell you that you are full of crap until you can provide solid evidence to the contrary.

It is a shame that a man thought so little of his own life as to allow his rage to overcome common sense. The deceased failed himself, and whatever family he has by forfeiting his life in the pursuit of proving he could do whatever he wanted.

And it is a shame that even among those who claim to support OC, there are those who prefer to see bullies, thugs, and criminals allowed to do as they please than to support a guy who even prosecutors and cops say was fully legal and justified.

The risk of getting myself hurt or killed, or of serious legal consequences is sufficient to cause me to be very careful about getting involved in someone else's fray. That doesn't require me to castigate someone who makes a different decision and has things work out well for everyone involved except the criminal.

Charles
 

BB62

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Aug 17, 2006
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
...Here is another claim that was made during the TTAG discussion. From askandyoumayknow:

I personally spoke to a man that was there during the entire situation. The shooter did not walk quietly out to get the license plate. He confronted him stating that he was going to get his license plate, in turn escalating the situation. THE MAN WAS LEAVING. If the shooter would have minded his own damn business, a good man would be alive today. Armed citizens trying to play cop have far too often lately found themselves in situations that end in them shooting and killing UNARMED people. ...
My response to the TTAG claimant's statement:

#1) I don't see any such confrontation in the store which one would reasonably expect if such a statement ("I'm getting your plate #!") were made, #2) there is a noticeable delay from when the now-deceased individual leaves the store and when the OCer does so, and #3) the now-deceased individual doesn't act like he knows someone is following him for the stated purpose of obtaining a license # when he makes his exit/entry to his car.

None of the above is proof-positive of course, but it's worth considering.
 

stealthyeliminator

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Dec 29, 2008
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Texas
Wait a sec, askandyoumayknow thinks that's how "good men" act? Does he think everyone is good regardless of their actions and choices? The aggressor had a multitude of opportunities to live, many of them only by the grace and restraint of the shooter, and the aggressor continually chose not to. If askandyoumayknow wants to blame the shooter here I think he might as well join the gun prohibition crowd and outlaw self-defense all together...

IMO we can't tell even with this video whether or not shooter's going to get license plate changed the eventual outcome of the scenario. As was mentioned, the guy had already left and come back several times, so why assume he was really going to leave and not come back that time? Regardless, getting a license plate seems like a reasonable thing to do, I'd hardly consider it provocation!
 

Va_Nemo

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Lynchburg
Linked in newspaper report with the video says it pretty clearly and accurately. I see nothing remotely criminal on the part of the shooter. Much much criminal conduct on the part of the shootee.

Va_Nemo
 

Grapeshot

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The decision has been made. The system is alive and well. So endeth the lesson.

You may now listen to the choir sing. :)
 

HeroHog

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
628
Location
Shreveport, LA
Best quote:
Police Chief Rick Richard has said the customer was lawfully carrying the firearm on his side in plain view. "Louisiana is an open-carry state. The guy was straight-up legal," Richard said on the day of the shooting.
 
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