John Hendricks recalls a split second between impulse and action before he took aim and shot
Everardo Custodio just before midnight on April 17 after Custodio opened fire on a group in Logan Square.

Hendricks was not charged for shooting the 23-year-old because he had a concealed carry gun license and
was determined to have acted in self-defense. But he said he was questioned for hours by detectives after
the shooting and, seven months later, hasn't gotten his Springfield Armory .45 back from authorities.

They have no right to keep,his weapon when they already determined he acted in self defense. Why did they have to question him for hours?  All of this BS is why I already decided that I will not shoot to save the life of a stranger.  If I was in Nevada or any state where I have a CCW permit and there was an active shooter in my location and I can get away safely with my loved ones, I would.  I would not engage unless me and those with me was threatened.  I don't need or want to be a hero or face legal problems and spend hours being questioned.

At Front Sight one of the range masters said what happens if you did shoot someone in self defense depends a lot on where it happens.  He said if you shot someone who broke into your home and was armed with a firearm in San Francisco, the DA would want to prosecute you.  If it happened in Lubbock Texas, the Sheriff would probably give you a round to replace the one you shot the guy with, pat you on the back and say good job.  I think in Hawaii the cops would arrest you and you would probably have to go to trial.  Hawaii is F'd up like that when it comes to guns.  Still that would not stop me from shooting someone who broke into my home.

Flapp,
I hope you realize your life will change for the worse, no matter how justified the shooting was.  I said I would not shoot to save the life of a stranger, if I saw people I knew there I would engage.  If I was walking somewhere and saw a guy raping a woman I would pull my weapon and stop it.  I have given careful thought to what I would do in various situations ahead of time, so that if SHTF, I don't have to wonder what I am going to do.  Think about this true situation.  A CCW holder came out of the store and saw a man trying to pull a woman out of her car who was screaming for help.  Draw your gun and confront the car jacker?  He decided to wait and the woman managed to speed away.  Then he finds out later the man was an undercover cop trying to apprehend a woman who had a arrest warrant out on her.  I hope you will think carefully ahead of time as to what will happen to your life after you decide to engage anyone.  No matter what, your life will turn for the worse, not better.  I rather be there to provide for my family instead of spending a few months in jail awaiting trial because of some over zealous DA.  That would be enough to make my family homeless and suffer for years.  I am not willing to do that for a stranger.  What you do is your choice.  I personally don't care what other people think about my decision to engage or not.  That is MY choice, I am the one who will live with it.

No one is judging.  I'm simply saying there are consequences to both sides of your decision.  I would personally find it harder to live with myself if I allowed others to die knowing I had the means to stop the threat.  As for legal action, people deal with lawyers and court costs all the time without losing their freedom or becoming destitute.  Sitting in jail?  You assume there will be no bail?

In my opinion, a stranger is no less deserving of rescue than yourself.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

They have no right to keep,his weapon when they already determined he acted in self defense. Why did they have to question him for hours?  All of this BS is why I already decided that I will not shoot to save the life of a stranger. 

I think we jump to conclusions when we hear about being "questioned for hours".  That doesn't mean he was treated poorly or detained against his will.

To me, a few hours of questions and a few hundred bucks for a new gun is worth the lives I might have saved -- including my own.

Consider concealed carry firearms to be disposable items.  If you ever have to really use it, then the cost of the gun doesn't really mean much.  I could see you not getting the gun back for years as once the gun is returned it can no longer be used as evidence later.

“Protect your family, friends, neighbors…we live in a crazy world and the only way to make it better is to help each other and protect one another.”

Dylan DeBoard was in his Mount Vernon, Ohio, front yard putting his grill together when he saw something alarming.

A few houses down, a police officer was struggling with a suspect on the porch, and from what DeBoard could see:

    “The suspect had the upper hand.”

The suspect, who was under the influence of meth, managed to pin down Officer Michael Wheeler and then went for his gun.

He’d also ripped off Wheeler’s shoulder mic, which prevented him from calling for backup. With his back against the porch and the suspect pounding on him, Wheeler felt like he might not make it back home to his wife and children.

But suddenly, the suspect stopped the attack and raised his hands. Standing there to save the day was DeBoard, with his handgun drawn on the criminal.