Kid pulled a knife on me today. He now wishes he hadn't.

That wasn't any fun for me, but it was less for him. had been a nice day, up till then.

Redstone

dozen teenagers sitting at one of the tables, and one of them must have been huffing glue or something; the kids in this town are for the most part good kids and real polite. But this one was "fuck this, fuck that, fuck the other motherfucking thing" loudly, and when the woman who works at the rec center went over and told him to leave (there were younger kids in the room too), he told her "fuck you, bitch," and pushed her. I walked over and said "you need to leave now" and he took one of those retracting flat box-cutter things out of his pocket and said "fuck you too" while coming toward me, so I speared him in the gut with the pool cue, then broke the fat end of the cue across his face. He dropped like a stone, the cops came and took him to the hospital, asked everyone questions, thanked me for making sure he didn't cut anyone though at the same time telling me I should have called them first, like there was time for that. I checked later and he only has a broken nose so at least I didn't crack his skull, and I'm glad for that. It's been a long damn time since I've done anything like that and it was indeed self-defense, there wasn't a damn thing else I could have done, but still did not make for the best day. Thanks for listening.

Redstone

They have no place in America.

Glad you're okay, but that little cretinous freak will undoubtedly embellish the course of events and try to make things a living hell for you.

cops, and the cops wrote everything down, so I don't expect any problems.

I'm going to buy a little spray-thing of Mace tomorrow and put on my keychain.

Redstone

If people are drunk enough, or stoned enough, or mad enough, it doesn't even slow them down. Also, if you punch someone after you mace them, your hand will hurt like hell for a long time.

... it sounds to me like the guy got exactly what he had coming.

I bet he'll think twice before threatening the next guy.

That cannot have been any fun, but good on you for handling things with that kid. You can be in my corner any day of the week!

Good that you got involved man. He'll hopefully think twice about pulling a stunt like that again.

Clint Eastwoodian of me to have said that, wouldn't it? Great line. Wish I had thought of it. But the best I could come up with was "someone want to get some paper towels?"

Redstone

brain shuts the witty part off when the fisty part comes online

I hope if I am ever in a difficult spot you happen to wander by. You really are a good man in a crisis!

Have a couple of beers on me, 'kay?

You can call it a day now.

Glad you're here hanging in the Lounge :hug:

BTW--You did what I would have done.

Two young guys sneaked into my house years ago during the day in a burglary attempt. I was there with two little kids I had living with me temporarily who were, fortunately, taking naps.

I jumped up, yelled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?", then I grabbed my camping hatchet that was on a nearby shelf and chased them all the way down the alley.

They got away, but were caught later. Turns out one of them had just been released from jail for rape of an 80-year old woman.

Sometimes you have to react, and you try to get it right the first time.

he's asking for everything he gets. :crazy:

This isn't some bullshit thing like when I was in high school and one of my buddies pulls a knife on me just fucking around. I knew he was just fucking around but I grabbed his hand, ducked under his arm, twisted the weapon away from him, and snapped off the blade in one of the lockers. I was 17 then.

This is probably where I part ways with some of the DU crowd. I am licensed to carry CCW in my state and given the scenario described, I would have drawn and tried to clear some distance by backing away. For one thing, I'm no longer 17 and defending myself with a pool cue stick against a knife would be pretty much touch and go.

Pepper spray is for some drunk asshole that won't leave you alone. And forget about the keychain pepper spray stuff, carry something about the size of a small flashlight if you are going to carry it at all.

Two of my closest friends have been forced to defend themselves with firearma. One one the street and one is his home.

That guy with the boxcutter makes one step towards me, and I'm unloading. God help me.

Cops would do no different. My days of fighting with cue sticks are long gone.

wound, aka a shot in the leg to disable the attacker?

Because if you're unloading a magazine into someone with a boxcutter you're an asshole.

Shooting someone in the leg? Why not simply shoot the knife out of his hand? As I said, I would have "tried to clear some distance by backing away." The first rule of thumb is distance.

We'll have to disagree but I think the guy threatening people with a knife is the asshole. Two of my closest friends have been forced to defend themselves with firearms. It isn't a fucking game.

And doubly glad that you are on my side. :hug:

God Bless you, Redstone.

Dont be a bully. Dont be a victim. But never be witness to a victim being bullied.

:yourock:

I'm glad no one was seriously injured, and that the aggressor took it all. Hope he can learn from it.

They should have been called first. Violence never solves anything. Now the kid will be looking for you. I hope this doesn't excalate.

They should have been called first. Violence never solves anything. Now the kid will be looking for you. I hope this doesn't excalate.

If I am armed at the time, I drawing and backing away and calling for someone to call the cops. I'm not an officer but my work involves riding around with law enforcement officers. I am trained and licensed to carry CCW. I swear to God I hope I never have to use it. There is something called the 21 foot rule. Feel free to google it. That is the distance at which a subject can wound or kill a LEO before he can defend himself.

"It's just a boxcutter, not a real knife."

We have several major arteries and veins pretty close to the surface. Amnd even just manually defending myself against someone with "just a boxcutter" could result in serious damage to my hands, severed tendons, etc. Career ending injuries.

In this case, pepper spray is not an option. The first priority when dealing with an edged weapon is distance. Ask any LEO. I can't effectively shoot pepper spray from 21 feet. Pepper spray is for instances when lethal force is not reaquired. But anyone who carries a firearm should also carry pepper spray because it allows you to moderate your response.

The cold harsh reality is that there teally are monsters out there, And they are walking on two legs. This guy in the pool room may or may not qualify as a monster, but if he's threatening me or my own with a lethal weapon, I'm going to defend myself.

Feel free to kick me out here.

...yes, in a perfect world, this thing would have been "slowly developing," and you (or the woman that got pushed) could have called them and waited for them to arrive.

This kid was asking for it, and he got it. Hopefully he's smart enough to not look for "payback" (and the cops are smart enough to keep a close eye on the rec center for the next couple of weeks).

:patriot:

Danny Lerner? Or Kevin Moore? Or Anthony Hickox? Or Paul de Souza?

That would explain why movies starring this fellow tend to suck as of late.

Redstone

is another day. Best wishes.

Not your kid, right?

:hug:

Redstone

I hope you're not too stressed over the incident. It takes a while for the adrenaline to settle out...

With some luck, you may have done him a favor and woken him up before he did something more destructive. One can hope...

you were nicer to him than I'd have liked you to be. I commend you on your restraint and am glad you're okay.

That was quick thinking on your part to use the pool cue to your advantage. Kudos to you!

Glad your reflexes are still good ;)

And I can't lose the guy who helped me with my now infamous sig pic!

(Thanks again for that by the way!)

You are very cool in a fight.......And that is a very good thing, IMHO!

I sure hope he learned his lesson...but I rather doubt it....

:yourock:

Does that make sense to you?

Redstone

But I still stand by what I said....You are cool in a fight!

Because you have it built into you......INTO! And that's why it just happens.....

:hug:

Not the kind of thing you want to go home and say "Honey, guess what I did today!"

Full disclosure is desirable in the abstract, but sometimes not in the reality. I touched on that briefly when we talked the other day. Though Mrs R does know about what I told you about, because she's the first one I EVER told about that, it's not something we discuss frequently.

I'm rambling, aren't I? I think this will have to be enough of this for one night. I don't like violence very much, even though it's been too much a part of my life at certain periods. That sentence is a grammatical hash, but I bet you understand it.

I'm going to go out for a walk.

Redstone

Once that adrenaline gets flowin, it is hard to control it. I would have had a hard time not givin the kid on more wack with the cue once he was down.

Glad you're OK. The world doesn't have enough people like you.

Glad everyone--except the criminal--is okay.

friends and wasn't in the room. He came in later and asked why the police cars had been in the parking lot and I told him someone had fallen down and hurt themself, which neatly got me out of having to tell Mrs R what happened, because she worries so about me, and I'd have gotten a lecture, not that I'm complaining about her (you know I'd never do that) but she worries and I don't need to be worried over, mention a knife and she'd freak (though just a bit and in a good way) because she knows my past and how I, well, the psychiatrist called it "a pathological lack of fear" which, I guess is not a desirable trait to possess...best we keep some things to ourselves and I'd rather do that about this. I've been cut with a knife before and would just as soon I didn't again.

You're a good friend.

Redstone

Doesn't have to be a bad thing... It all depends on how and when it serves you.

It could happen...I fear it's not likely--but it is possible. Then perhaps this day would be worth it.

situations like that can spin outa control real fast, as you so obviously discovered.

But I tell you what, if anything like that ever went down when I was around you, I'd want YOU in MY corner, friend. :thumbsup:

:hug:

Redstone

If I'm ever in that kind of spot, I hope I can handle myself like you did.

:hug:

I know it was in self-defense, but it is never pleasant to be put in such a position or to be forced to have to hurt someone. :hug:

Violence is a young man's game. But when it happens, it's there.

I'm going to try to sleep soon. Thank you for being here.

Redstone

just like I know that you are always there for me.

Sleep well. :hug:

If so, may I say, whoa. With all due respect, of course.

It's late and I'm tired and I've had a long day, but still, whoa.

Redstone

I have the link in my signature so folks can see more images of Katrina's wrath and can see how others have helped here.

I'm just a simple paralegal in a small office, nothing "whoa" here.

Please go get some rest. :hug:

Redstone

Simple mistake, no harm, no foul.

Good night, sweet friend. :pals:

I'm glad you were able to bring the situation under control. I hope you don't have problems like this again. And I hope that kid learns how to face his anger without acting upon it.

Peace, my friend... :beer:

:hug: Glad you taught the kid a lesson, but what a way to have to do it. Hope you slept well and are doing better today.

Delete Post 6.

plenty of witnesses.

I doubt Redstone's gonna worry too much about a lawsuit. That idiot kid's damn lucky to have only gotten his nose broken.

The only party looking at a lawsuit is the Rec Center since they have a higher threshhold of responsibility to maintain order

It doesn't take much to file a suit.

Delete the post.

it ain't that easy...he's fine and doesn't need to delete the post...he wasn't the initial physical aggressor and there are witnesses to that fact

...who attacked my car with my ex-wife and kids (4 & 6 at the time) while we were parked at a store. I guess I had pulled in front of them too slow or something on the way there and as soon as we pulled into a parking space they parked their car behind me blocking us in. They were both on my side kicking my door and pounding on the glass. I jumped out and it was literally the two hit, I hit you you hit the floor, type deals. They got up a couple of times and tried to get me but I'd bust them in their face again and they'd hit the ground. When they got up for the last time to leave I left them alone and let them drive off. We called the cops and a half hour later they were there too with cops saying that I had assaulted them first for no reason. The cops told me that even if they had started the events that I had acted more in retaliation than in self defense and were considering charges against me when all of a sudden the driver's dad showed up, apologized and asked if me and my family were okay, told the cops his son was a punk and somebody had needed to knock that big old chip off his shoulder. You wouldn't believe how bad the cops wanted top arrest me though, not even the protests and accounts from my ex would persuade them. The kid's dad finally protested enough for them to finally let us go and get out groceries after almost an hour and a half. I heard from the father later that night where he apologized again and despite his kid, (never heard from the other's parents) and his wife's protesting, he was taking away and selling the punk's car the next day.

Glad your okay, you're a stand-up guy, we need more like you but apparently law enforcement doesn't think so.

I'm glad that you are okay

And I hope they charge him with assault with a deadly weapon. He needs to get into the system and get some help before he becomes an adult. I hope it is not too late for him.

I can say that
1. Glad you're okay, and the kid will be too, hopefully scarred but smarter;
2. Glad you were there. God knows what MIGHT have happened were it someone with a less-cool head than you;
3. Glad his "friends" were wiser than to get involved, as well;

Good show!

You handled it about as well as possible under the circumstances (like there's time to call the cops first when the heat's on!) It's also a very good thing your son wasn't around - like you said, fewer explanations required.

Go get some sleep. You did good. :hug:

What a bummer. Glad nobody got seriously hurt, at least.

stick....just sayin'

That kid has serious problems.

Thank you for taking quick action to protect that woman, and everyone else in there. Sometimes, doing the right thing feels awful - but you're not a violent person, and this case was clearly an exception to the path of non-violence I would advocate.

Rest up, and don't be surprised if there's some psychological residue for a couple of days.

:hug:

today I take my kid there every Saturday and Sunday when it's too cold to ride bikes), but there were different people working, and none of them gave me the hairy eyeball, and none of that group of teenagers was there either so it worked out OK. What's so bizarre is as I said that the kids in this town tend to be shockingly polite to adults and good kids in general; the high school even requires they all do a community-service project before graduating.

Bad dreams last night recalling other things buried for long years. Tonight should be better,yes? Why is it that I do not feel entirely comfortable with having done what I did so quickly, no thought, just done and done; that bothers me more than the whole meta-package of the occurrence, questions about alternative actions, etc. Just action/reaction, almost on a spinal-reflex level without brain involvement. That's a young man's game and I played that game once already and once was more than enough. Damn.

Redstone

learned something.

learned something.