Mark Mireles sent me a video of what looks like a police briefing. It seems to be covering this incident here. From the news report and watching this video, here’s what seems to have happened:
An 18-year old man is standing near his house and a group of men are close to him. They are looking for people involved in an earlier attack and think he’s part of that group. He says otherwise, but they attack him anyway.
As always: we weren’t there. Anything we say about this is purely an opinion (and we all know about those…)
That said, take a look at the video first:
Some thoughts about this incident:
- Leave. When a group of people confronts you about your part in an alleged attack, leave immediately if you can. Nothing good can come of that. The young man seems completely unaware of any danger.
- Blind spot. The big guy who was watching cross-armed suddenly moves in to the man’s blind spot. It looks like he was cued by something the aggressor said/did, perhaps they did this dance before and know the routine well. Regardless, the way it’s done here, it’s a blatantly obvious move. If you see this happen: act immediately.
- One-shot KO. The sucker punch lands and he’s knocked out. There is no fight, there is only one punch and he’s unconscious, at the mercy of his attackers. They show very little mercy…
- Excessive force is always on the table. He gets robbed, punched, kicked stripped of his pants and stomped. Some of those attacks are potentially lethal blows. Once you’re out, there is no way to know just how far your attackers will take it. It might be nothing at all, it might be all the way to your grave.
This kind of incident is best seen as a warning. The most practical defense against it is not being there. Learn to spot pre-attack cues and get out of there, even if that means trying to go through that group to get to safety. Chances of winning the day when you stand and fight are pretty low, so try to avoid the fight altogether.
Leave a Reply