A couple of weeks ago, there was a shooting in Seattle. We didn’t cover it for whatever reason, even though it likely was presented as an armed citizen story.
Now, I’m kind of glad we didn’t.
See, video of the incident dropped earlier this week, and there’s so much to look at and consider for the future that I needed a bit of time to consider all the potential ramifications, and I’m probably missing more than a few.
Let’s start with what happened.
A gunman who once plowed his car into a Trump voter registration drive is accused of shooting a wheelchair-bound Washington man in the chest at point-blank range over allegations of stolen valor.
The chaos unfolded in downtown Seattle along the popular Alaskan Way boardwalk on July 31, when the suspected shooter, Gregory Timm, allegedly confronted the 68-year-old about his military service, KOMO News reported, citing charging documents.
Prosecutors allege Timm, 32, demanded to see the victim’s military ID and removed a military patch from the victim’s belongings, moments before the shooting.
This prompted the victim to unholster what investigators identified as an airsoft gun, according to video obtained by the outlet. Timm stepped back, reached into his bag, and aimed a real pistol at the victim.
Startled bystanders shrieked as Timms, only feet away, fired one round into the victim’s chest, sending onlookers — including families with children — fleeing for cover.
Now, Timm is facing first-degree assault charges, which are a felony in Washington state.
He and his attorney are claiming self-defense since the victim pulled out an airsoft gun. However, prosecutors are unmoved.
However, King County prosecutors said Timm was the aggressor in the incident.
“If you’re the one who’s the first aggressor who provokes an altercation, you lose the right to claim self-defense effectively under state law,” a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Casey McNerthney, told King 5.
Timm potentially faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree assault under Washington law.
And Timm most definitely started the confrontation.
Further, let’s also note that the victim was in a wheelchair. The level of threat required for someone who is physically disabled to respond with lethal force is going to be lower anyway, meaning even pulling out an actual gun might well have been justified when you’ve had property ripped away from you–likely an assault all on its own–and harassed by an able-bodied person who is clearly being aggressive toward you, making demands he has no right to make, and generally being an ass.
Of course, I’m also going to point out that pulling out an airsoft gun when you’re fearful of being harmed isn’t a sound strategy. Sure, it might run off the bad guy, just like racking the slide on a shotgun might. It might also be a terrible idea and get you shot.
As we can plainly see.
However, the victim still didn’t deserve what happened to him based on what we can see.
Timm, who was carrying off-body and took forever to draw his weapon–which is a prime example of what not to do if you’re carrying lawfully and otherwise aren’t a complete idiot–has a history of unhinged behavior. In 2020, he plowed into a Trump voter registration booth in Jacksonville, Florida. You may remember the video of that incident.
He was charged with criminal mischief in that case, which is a misdemeanor; thus, he could still lawfully own firearms. However, it also suggests that he’s not a rational person in any appreciable way.
In the end, remember that if you don’t start nothing, there generally won’t be nothing. Don’t get aggressive with random people, and you’re likely to be good to go in life. Don’t carry an airsoft gun, thinking it’ll be treated like a real one, because you might be right in all the worst ways. Finally, if you did start something and you think someone pulled a gun, your best bet is to disengage, apologize, and get out of there, because you will not like the results.
Lessons to live by, my friends, Lessons to live by.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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