Give Them What They Want and They’ll Go Away

We hear advocates of gun control constantly repeat variations of the phrase “If you just give them what they want they’ll go away.” What happens when they want your life? From what I can tell about this recent murder in North Minneapolis that was the case:

A food delivery to a neighbor three blocks away turned deadly for Jody Lynmarvin Patzner Jr., 22, on Monday night when three boys confronted him as he biked on Fremont Avenue in north Minneapolis, according to family members and a witness.

The boys yelled at him that they wanted his bike, then shot at him twice, running away as Patzner continued to bike for 30 feet before collapsing on the sidewalk. He died moments later in the 3500 block of Fremont Avenue N. as neighbors along the street tried to help, according to a witness.

Three people approached Patzner, demanded his bike, shot him dead, and didn’t even take his bike. To me that shows this case had nothing to do with Patzner’s bike, the three punks were probably just looking for somebody to murder that night. From what the story states I must say Patzner did the right thing, unfortunately the right thing doesn’t always save you life:

A neighbor who said she witnessed the attack said the three assailants were walking on the east side of the street when they confronted Patzner, who was biking past.

“They was harassing him and stuff,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. “He didn’t give them no feedback or nothing.”

“They said ‘Give me your bike … give me your bike …’ Pop! Pop!”

The assailants ran off as Patzner biked on, passing the witness before collapsing.

When the three punks began harassing Patzner he ignored them and continued on his way. In a situation like this I must say I’d have likely taken the same course of action. When you’re on a bike you’re far more mobile than persons on foot so if a situation looks bad it’s best to ride away as fast as you can.

The value of running is a topic often overlooked when discussing self-defense. A fight always carries the risk of bodily harm or death, so it is in your best interest to avoid fights whenever possible. Often it is not possible but if you’re in a position to be far more mobile than a potential attacker, whether by car or bike, it makes sense to run. I bring this up because several people have commented to me that this cased is why everybody should carry a gun.

While carrying a gun is a great way to increase your chances of survive an encounter with a violent attacker it’s not a magic talisman. Realistically, were Patzner armed, he would have had to come to a complete stop and dismount his bike in order to draw a weapon. In that span of time he could have easily been murdered by his assailants. Although I don’t like to speculate on self-defense situations as they’re are too many variables to know what the right course of action would be, I find myself thinking I would have taken the same course of action as Patzner were I in his position but armed. On a bike you have movement and it’s always best to be moving when in a self-defense situation unless you have appropriate cover available. Moving targets are harder to his but a target on a bike coming to a complete stop is an much easier target. The path a stopping bike follows is fairly predictable, usually it’s straight forward until the bike has come to a complete stop. Because of the ease of predicting the path a stopping cyclist will follow it’s easier to gun them down than if they keep moving, especially if they move erratically.

Unfortunately I don’t know if there was a way for Patzner to escape his fate that night, the situation just seems entirely bad. Had he stopped his attackers would likely have killed and moving away didn’t save his life either. From the details provided in the story I don’t believe being armed would have helped in either, the assailants had the element of surprise and motive to kill. Situations like this are important for those of us who carry to consider, because we may very well be in a situation where using our firearm may not be the best option available.