Police in Johnstown, Pa., said shots were fired at a local Sheetz gas station during a dispute that began with a man coughing and not covering his mouth last weekend.

The suspect, Guillermo Alvarez, allegedly fired into an occupied vehicle Saturday, prompting the driver, William Sauro, to drive home from the scene and call 911, a local NBC affiliate reported.

Officers arrested Alvarez, who dropped the gun when told to, and found that he did not have a concealed carry permit.
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Surveillance video shows Alvarez stopping at the front door of the building, looking back at Sauro in his vehicle and appearing to converse with him. The footage eventually shows Sauro striking Alvarez with his vehicle, at which point Alvarez pulled out the gun.

Pennsylvania man opened fire after confrontation over coughing without covering mouth: report

Echoing some of the campaigns from World Word II I have to ask, Was that confrontation necessary? And specially in times like we are having where tension is ratcheted so high and people lose their minds because our collective fuse is about a millimeter long.

Don’t be a Dick and avoid exchanging “dickness” with other Dicks. Your goal is not to win the argument but to sleep in your bed that night. Your self esteem should be adult enough to withstand some dumb comments and insults thrown your way.

Words Don’t Hurt. Hollow Points Do.
Lawyer Fees Hurt.
Felony Sentences Hurt.
Be smart.

Your number one philosophy for personal security should be a life long commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.

Avoidance: The act of avoiding or keeping away from (Three Stupid Rule.) If you can safely retreat from the encounter, by all means do so. For instance, if you are out for a walk and feel threatened or intimidated by an occupant of a car, you should retreat in the opposite direction that the car is traveling.

Deterrence: The act of discouraging someone from taking hostile action against you by being aware of them and their possible intent.

De-escalation: The act of decreasing in intensity. To not let your ego or emotions get the best of you, to refrain from escalating the problem into more than it already is. As a CCW you may need to back down from non-life threatening, argumentative encounters in order to not allow things to spiral out of control.
When these things do not work, then and only then may you need to show or use the gun. Just because we are carrying does not mean that we need to use the gun. You want to do whatever is reasonably possible to avoid using the gun. But when your well researched, well thought out “line in the sand” has been crossed you need to act without hesitation.

Roger Phillip.

Hat Tip Mark C.