Perhaps he should have called 911 first, but I am by no means sure of that. Equally likely: the 911 operator's SOP would be to keep the caller on the phone as long as needed to get all the details needed for response, and at the point where he heard the screams, he did not have those details. IMHO the time involved with the 911 operator would have kept him from going to the victim's aid.

As I read the article, when he saw the victim's injuries, he handed the shotgun to a bystander while he applied a tourniquet. How the bystander handled the gun when police arrived is not clear, but since there is no mention of his arrest, etc., the emergency response personnel apparently did not feel threatened by the situation. The point is, the guy who was fired can hardly be accused of brandishing a weapon, and I don't agree that he used poor judgment under the facts made public so far.

Frank 2135

"Colin demonstrated extremely poor judgment in responding to this situation," the complaint said. "Colin's failure to immediately report this incident ... could have serious ramifications to the property, its associates and residents."

Just how would his calling at 2 a.m. (and probably getting a recorded message) have changed the situation?

I think the bottom line is that he was fired for simply getting involved. Pathetic.

A follow-up article said "The story hit a record on Jacksonville.com with more than 485,000 page views, and the Times-Union received more than 300 e-mails from as far away as London and Australia - all but one in favor of Bruley. Many of the responders mentioned their support for Bruley to carry his weapon."

It also said the gunshot had severed an artery in his neighbor's leg. She could have bled out in 1.5 minutes if it was a large artery (which wasn't specified).

BTW, did you notice the poll results to the question "Should Colin Bruley have been fired?"
1577 votes NO (96%)
57 votes YES (3%)

Sue