A 22 year old guy with a concealed carry license

Poll - Total Votes: 55

Hero

Vigilante who should have called the Police.

Something else, please explain.

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You can only vote on one answer.

Shot and killed a potential mass murderer.
Some on the anti gun side are calling him a vigilante.
What do you call him?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/07/17/us/indiana-greenwood-park-mall-shooting/index.html

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MistyCee

I'd call him a vigilante without regard to any judgment as to to whether he "should" have called the police or whether he's a hero.

I get that dictionaries define the term differently, but the term generally fits most definitions and I don't see why any non-cop good guy with a gun stopping a crime or shooting someone with a gun can't be called a vigilante.

carpediem · 61-69, M

@MistyCee OMG are you kidding? The time the police would have arrived how many more could have been killed?

FreeSpirit1 · F

@MistyCee Vigilante is not being used in a positive way, it's labeling him as an above the law self appointed crime fighter, when he was just a citizen doing what's right.

TexChik · F

@MistyCee In this age of liberal defunding of police departments it seems it is now incumbent upon the citizen to step up and practice his or her constitutional right to self defense. Sure it takes away the big media frenzy and talking points , but lives were saved. It seems that is not as important to libs as having the talking points . Sorry.

MistyCee

@FreeSpirit1

See the following definition:

a person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime, or to catch and punish someone who has committed a crime, especially because they do not think that official organizations, such as the police, are controlling crime effectively. Vigilantes usually join together to form groups.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/vigilante

By this definition, he seems like a vigilante even if he's doing the right thing.

I don't see why vigilantes can't be heroes, btw.

Now, at the same time, they can be problematic

MistyCee

@carpediem see the definition I just cited. I'm not condemning what this guy did.

I don't generally think it's a good idea for citizens to have to take the law into their own hands, but in this case, I can see it and applaud it.

MistyCee

@TexChik I get it. Vigilantes can save lives and it looks like this guy did.