Reopened for additional discussion after the video was released
Video has been released and (surprise, surprise!) the incident didn't come down the way it was reported in the media.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local...cle_431cfceb-5292-5c81-ac36-26df32a068b1.html
The armed robber was no longer threatening the clerk and was on his way out of the store when the "hero" citizen gunned him down. I watched the video several times and I don't see Bush charge the armed citizen. The attack on the clerk was over before the armed citizen entered the store and the robbery was over and the armed robber was making his escape. While no charges were filed in this case it could very easily have gone the other way. There are a lot of things that go into a charging decision and this might not have had a good outcome for the armed citizen in another jurisdiction.
The article states
Bush runs from behind the counter and in the direction of the bystander, and the bystander raises the gun and points it at Bush. As Bush ducks behind an aisle, heading closer to the bystander, Bush has a backpack in his hand and says, “I got something for you.”
The bystander then fires four shots at Bush.
If that description is accurate, wouldn't Bush "charging at" the bystander, known to be in possession of a knife, and threatening with the backpack be sufficient grounds for a self-defense claim?
I agree with your statement that in the video you don't see Bush "charging" the bystander, but given that we can't actually see everything he does, it's possible that if there were video from another camera positioned elsewhere in the store we might have seen that.
I disagree with your statement that the clerk was no longer in danger, Bush was still standing right next to her, presumably with the knife still out (I don't see well enough to
ever see the knife in the video), bystander had no way to know what Bush would do next. We always think if we give BG the money he will go away, but that doesn't always happen, sometimes they think they have to kill the victim to avoid being identified when caught by police.
I agree with your comment (maybe in a different post here) that it was scary to see him shooting at Bush when Bush was between him and the clerk, very good that the clerk hit the floor.
Also, I wouldn't say the bystander exactly "challenged" Bush... at least his first statement to him was not said in a challenging manner. Only when he said "we're not doing this" did he present a "challenge".
So, my $0.02.