arizona shooting

[kryptonian]

i have been listening to wdet public radio at work when i leave the building and of course the shooting and the rhetoric is all the talk as well as gun control. when this story first broke someone on here or ocdo said they heard an OC was there and part of the scene. today i heard that a CC was there and heard the shooting and ran towards the scene weapon out. one of the bystanders who took down the shooter grabbed the glock out of his hand and the first thing he saw was another man with a gun in hand rushing towards the scene and told the police that he almost shot the armed man with the glock thinking that he was another assailant and part of a group of armed attackers. he hesitated and not sure what transpired to diffuse the situation but turned out ok.
makes you think - if you're involved in a similar scenario how do you reassure fellow bystanders you are not one of the bad guys? also even if you are standing in a crowd and close enough to use deadly force towards an assailant how do you shoot knowing innocent people are in the crowd path of your shot? justified shot but innocent bystander struck from an exit wound. any ideas guy?

[RenegadeMarine]

I saw interviews on FOX News with the CC'er and the others who took down/disarmed the shooter. They all said the CC'er never drew his weapon. The CC'er ran up and grabbed the arm of the man who had the shooter's Glock in his hand after disarming shooter, then the others told the CC'er that he was not the shooter, the young guy was.

[skunkworks]

A good reminder though, to keep in holstered until you feel the need to engage it.  Then, re-holster.
A situation like this could get real messy, real quick if there were multiple legitimate armed citizens that felt the need to play "cop" but were not aware of what was really happening.
I'm not trying to offend anyone, so please don't take it the wrong way.  I think many of us would help out a fellow citizen in trouble without a second thought.  We just need to be really sure of what we are doing before engaging a suspected threat.  I'm responsible for everything that leaves the muzzle of my firearm.  I don't want to be part of the problem or be shot myself.

I wonder how off duty police officers are trained to handle a situation where they could be mistaken for the BG?  Uniforms make it easier for those on duty.