Clackamas man, armed, confronts mall shooter

[Yavapai]

PORTLAND -- Nick Meli is emotionally drained. The 22-year-old was at Clackamas Town Center with a friend and her baby when a masked man opened fire.

"I heard three shots and turned and looked at Casey and said, 'are you serious?,'" he said.

The friend and baby hit the floor. Meli, who has a concealed carry permit, positioned himself behind a pillar.

"He was working on his rifle," said Meli. "He kept pulling the charging handle and hitting the side."

The break in gunfire allowed Meli to pull out his own gun, but he never took his eyes off the shooter.

"As I was going down to pull, I saw someone in the back of the Charlotte move, and I knew if I fired and missed, I could hit them," he said.

Meli took cover inside a nearby store. He never pulled the trigger. He stands by that decision.

"I'm not beating myself up cause I didn't shoot him," said Meli. "I know after he saw me, I think the last shot he fired was the one he used on himself."

The gunman was dead, but not before taking two innocent lives with him and taking the innocence of everyone else.

From KGW TV (NBC-affiliate) http://www.kgw.com/news/Clackamas-man-armed-confronts-mall-shooter-183593571.html

I just seen this, don't know if it has been posted already.

[NMDemDist2]

1. i don't get how hiding behind a pillar = 'confronting'

just saying

[Politicalboi]

7. Shhhhh!

It's supposed to win us over on carrying concealed weapons.

[NMDemDist2]

11. yeah, shame of me for

being logical eh?

[rsmith6621]

9. maybe because he felt like Secret Agent MAN....

..... BOND...JAMES BOND.

[NMDemDist2]

13. ....

There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow

yeah, that's the ticket......

[rsmith6621]

16. or like T.J. HOOKER

[RomneyLies]

2. Armed Clackamas man hides behind pillar during mall gun rampage, kills nobody.

FIFY

[Kolesar]

3. Another post from "Firearms Fantasy Island"

Where CCW dreams live

[RomneyLies]

19. Dear Gun and Rifle,

You're never going to believe this, but...

[Happyhippychick]

4. Can we move this gun tripe to the proper forum?

[Yavapai]

14. I think it is in the proper forum.

Is there a discussion going on or just a rant?

[XRubicon]

21. Do you get paid by the post or number of words?

Just wondering...

[renate]

5. I'm glad he wasn't so fixated on being a hero that he tried to shoot the guy anyway

Thank goodness he was smart enough not to fire once he saw the other person (and thank goodness he saw the person... what if he hadn't, and had hit them?).

[arthritisR_US]

12. My thoughts exactly! n/t

[cascadiance]

15. And what if someone on the other side of his shooting also had a "concealed gun"...

And thought there were two shooters and started shooting back. And someone else with a "concealed gun" thought he needed to stop the shooting and shot at the third shooter, etc.

Just the kind of "Wild, Wild, West" these wingnut bums seem to want... NO THANK YOU!!!

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. "what if he hadn't, and had hit them?" That is reality. n/t

[warrior1]

6. he would have opened himself up to

lawsuit probably arrest. And the police would have thought he was the second shooter and may well have ended up dead.

[Chorophyll]

8. What a hero.

If only everyone had such wit, skill, and weaponry.

[cascadiance]

10. Thanks for posting this in GD... I'd posted in LBN earlier where it got locked...

Google news seems to even want to point to a right winger's blog of his account rather than KGW's... Thanks for saving me the hassle of having to post another link here. This guy IS a first grade idiot!

Anyway, to see the link there and the discussion, go here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014339029

[kestrel91316]

18. Macho hero fail. He did NOT confront him - he went and hid.

He and his gun proved completely useless. He's a cowardly lion.

[RomneyLies]

20. Brave Sir Robin ran away.

Bravely ran away, away!
When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin!