harry wrote:

An unarmed OLD lady. Where were all the American heros with their
concealed weapons? Probably wetting their pants. Cowardly scum.

Many carry a weapon for SELF defense, not for the defense of a third party.

If one uses deadly force on behalf of someone else, many consequences can
flow - almost all of them bad.

These consequences, such as shooting someone who was not REALLY an aggressor
or shooting a bystander, are not the problem. The thing that is really wrong
is criminalizing these inadvertent deaths instead of treating them as
justifiable or excusable. It is this threat of going to jail that
disincentivizes a would-be rescuer, not cowardice.

I, personally, run to the sound of gunfire (as would many who've served in
the military). But unless I see a perp actually drinking the victim's blood,
I'm going to be quite circumspect before I start piling up the bodies.