I'll add my .02 cents on the subject of this young man who was eventually arrested for terroristic threats(?). This caused a panic among the store employees and store customers.
At the time of his arrest all that he done was to legally open-carry a firearm with 100 rounds of ammunition into a Walmart store while making a video of himself while holding his cell phone. The situation became noticeably worse when a manager pulled a fire alarm to evacuate the building in an attempt to keep the shoppers safe from what they thought was a potential active shooter situation. The young man then exited the store and was detained by an off-duty fire fighter carrying a firearm with a valid carry permit.
I'm the first to admit that his timing could not have been worse. Just days earlier a man did the identical thing and proceeded to allegedly (he's innocent until proven guilty in a court of law!) shoot quite a few shoppers. Granted this recent incident was very poorly timed. If he was attempting to perform a 2nd Amendment audit with a long guns he should have given it a little more thought.
If I had been a shopper or Walmart employee I would have been more than a little concerned seeing a man carrying a long gun while holding a cell phone apparently making a video. This would have warranted a call to the local police. What complicated the situation was when the store employee pulled the fire alarm causing the shoppers and employees to evacuate the store.
The other aspect of this incident that concerns me is that the off-duty fire fighter with a valid CCW permit to hold this young man at gunpoint until police officers arrived on the scene to take the young man into custody. The off-duty fire fighter had the best of intentions when he held the young man at gunpoint. I cannot entirely blame him for his actions.
In closing, here are my thoughts on this issue:
(1) Albeit legal, he was open-carrying a firearm in a store
(2) There was an overreaction on the part of the store employees and shoppers
(3) It was poor timing on what may have been a 2nd Amendment audit
(4) The off-duty fire fighter did what he thought was a lawful act detaining the young man at gunpoint.
(5) This young man's freedom is now in jeopardy due to his poor judgment.
I hope that this young man's attorney does a fantastic job providing a strong defense for the alleged crimes in which he has been charged. He has his work cut out for him!
Well, this is my thoughts on this incident.
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