2 Apr 01

>From a friend in South Africa:

"Last Sunday morning, five thugs barged into a local shopping center (Port=20 Elizabeth) armed with several pistols and one R5 rifle, which is a locally=20 made copy of the Israeli Galil. They were trying to rob the supermarket, bu= t=20 in the process were confronted by an off-duty police officer.

The officer, despite the suspect's rifle being in plain view, did not draw=20 his own weapon and did not take cover. He stood in the open and verbally=20 challenged them. Upon being thus challenged, the suspects went berserk and=20 started shooting in every direction. Happily, they were as incompetent with= =20 weapons as they were at the art of armed robbery, and no one, including the=20 officer, was hit.

The suspects then exited the store, hijacked a car, and sped off. Several=20 blocks away they collided with a police van, and a running gun battle among=20 local residences ensued. Two of the suspects were shot to death at the scen= e=20 by police. The third escaped and is still at large. One bystander was hit=20 by a ricochet. His wound was not serious. Over one hundred rounds were=20 discharged before the incident ended.

Curiously, this shopping center has a large contingent of private =E2=80=98s= ecurity=20 guards,' most of whom are armed. They are all uniformed and maintain a high= =20 profile. However, their 'profile' quickly changed when the shooting started= !=20 They were last seen fleeing like mice. Not one of them ever fired a shot o= r=20 became involved in any way.=20

This particular shopping center is just around the corner from where I live,= =20 and my family and I are there quite often. One wonders what coming next. =20 Anyway, that is life here."

Lessons:=20

>Waiting too long to draw your gun and go to cover can be fatal. If you=20 perceive a direct, lethal threat, that is what guns are for! Going into=20 potentially injurious confrontations in condition white is a recipe for=20 disaster. You have to have your head in the game!

>Counting on "security guards," armed or otherwise, for protection is the=20 province of naive fools. If you don't provide your own protection, you won'= t=20 have any.

>Staying out of "the bad part of town" is good advice, but it is no guarante= e=20 of safety. A "bad part of town" is coming to a place near you!

/John