Read another story that the thief told Russell and DeCaro that his girlfriend was kidnapped and he needed cash for ransom and then Russell offered prescription medication to the guy and not cash or other valuables. On TV report this morning Russell said she slipped gun into her purse gave it to her husband and asked husband if there was anything in it to give thief and DeCaro then said yes there is and he then yanked gun out of purse and started blasting. Cops are investigating this homicide and will sort all this stuff out.
Thief was apparently able to get outside and then collapsed. DeCaro sounds like emptied first gun shooting and then did a New York reload and started shooting with second pistol.
@HIMom: "Just curious about how the assailant was found in the parking lot after being shot so many times in the motel room. Maybe I’m not understanding the storyline and timeline. "
Adrenalin. Most people see a shooting victim drop instantly on TV and can’t figure out why, for instance, a police officer shoots a suspect more than once. They shoot until the threat is eliminated. In this case the threat was eliminated when the suspect ran out of the room.
In the 1986 Florida shootout where two FBI agents were killed and five agents were injured, it was determined that one of the suspects managed to kill the two agents AFTER he himself had been mortally injured. He had been shot twelve times. Exsanguination takes a while.
I’m glad they are okay. This is a very unusual situation. Since when does a street robber demand a briefcase? They want wallets, cash and jewelry; maybe the keys to the victim’s car. I have a feeling they will be the darlings of the NRA; perhaps even get a cushy spokesman contract. Sigh.
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Then again, maybe the media got it wrong
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When these first reports come out, there are often some details that aren’t reported correctly. Usually after the dust settles.
If there was any “what should we give him” thoughts or discussions, it was probably just a distraction so that she could get the gun to her former Green Beret H who’d likely be the better shot.
I can’t imagine staying at a Motel 6, pets or not. All Marriotts accept pets as do many other hotels. A pet shouldn’t be an excuse for a Motel 6, in my opinion.
I don’t have any theories. Or, for that matter, enough interest in a couple of ex-CNN “reporters” to think of any theories. The story just smells fishy to me.
The whole thing seems like the kind of story you would tell the police when you don’t really want to explain how you came to be involved in a shootout in a Motel 6 room in the middle of the night.
I don’t discount the remote possibility that this story is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Having said that, it sure seems like there might be a few teensy weensy little details that have been left out.
People obviously DO stay at Motel 6 and similar hotels, which is why they still exist. For some its financial reasons, for others perhaps impulse and/or convenience. In retrospect, probably most other options would have been preferable.
Just last month we stayed atva Days Inn with exterior corridors and staircases (unsecured). The hotel was 2 blocks from the SF Opera House and 2 blocks from City Hall. The location trumped esthetics. It was not cheap, at nearlyv$200/note for an older motel that has seen better days. My aunt & her friends have been staying there when attending the opera for over 15-20 years! It was her idea.
I personally try not to he walking alone in a dark parking lot at midnight. In her interview, the W said she did it twice that evening, even after being asked for a cigarette by assailant the 1st time.
Well, we definitely won’t hear the corpse’s version of events.
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I personally try not to be walking alone in a dark parking lot at midnight.
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Yes! You’re just more vulnerable late at night.
@interesteddad There are usually details left out of short news stories, especially just days after the event. Once the dust settles, we’ll probably hear a more complete story.
While many of us wouldn’t opt to stay at a Motel 6, others do for a variety of reasons. I know that when some people are driving a long distance and are only using lodging to shower and sleep, they often don’t want to spend any more than they have to. I don’t know what time they arrived, but if it was a 10pm arrival with the intention to head back out at 7 am, then looking for something cheap would be something many would do if they don’t have “hotel points” to stay elsewhere cheap/free.
According to Russell, they tried to negotiate with the thief and convince him they didn’t have anything.
Isn’t the number 1 rule of a robbery to just give the thief whatever they ask for??
Add me to the list of “something’s missing”
When there is a “crazed” person (words from news story) with a gun trying to get something from you at midnite and has broken into your hotel room, you negotiate? I’ve been told you try to throw something of value away from you so they’ll go after it and hopefully not harm you. Has that changed now to negotiate?
We stay at Red Roof Inn with our pet. Motel 6? Sounds like a drug deal (in the parking lot) gone bad to me.
Yea, H always suspects shootouts in seedy locations are failed drug deals. This one just has so many odd aspects, but who knows?
My 2 cents …
I think, because they knew they had guns of their own, they felt emboldened to negotiate, thinking that eventually they’d come out ahead. If they’d just given the guy whatever, perhaps no one would have been shot.
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Not if the purse has a gun in it. lol. she handed the purse to her H to ask him to look in it for valuables to give to the intruder because she wanted her H to use the gun that was inside, since he’s a former green beret and a better shot.
I liken it to a kidnapper telling you to get in his car. You do what you can to NOT get in the car. When you have a gun in your purse, you dont want to hand it over to the bad guy.
The details at this point reported by different media sources are not consistent. That is typical. One report says he stuck a gun in her stomach and pushed her into the motel room. Another report says that he stuck a gun in her back. These errors in reporting happen all the time. It doesn’t mean that the couple weren’t innocent victims. I know that some of the gun control folks desperately want this couple to be guilty of something. lol
I was in a life or death situation when I was 7 months pregnant at an ATM. It’s not like some people seem to think it is. I talked a lot and I stalled a lot. Not only did I have my own life to protect, but also my unborn child. (oh, and there isn’t “more to that story” either. I was 100% a victim, but please, do try to claim that there was.)
Another alternative would be to just give him the wallet, before she put the gun in the purse.
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yes, we can always second-guess what others should do in a life or death situation. But guess what? Each situation is different and you try to do what you think is best in the heat of the moment when fear is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Sometimes what you do works out and sadly, sometimes it doesn’t.
Whenever you’re confronted by someone with a gun, it introduces a bunch of additional issues that are scary and can result in folks getting hurt or killed. If you give someone with a gun what they ask for, who knows whether that would be enough or you might be shot as well? Second-guessing isn’t very useful. Glad I wasn’t in that situation–very scary!
I guess I was a little weirded out by one of the stories where she was gushing about her hero, and he was talking about protecting his dream girl, and how it was a Wild West shootout. Sounds like a little too much macho going on, when just passing over the wallet might have done the trick. Then again, these news reports can be dead wrong.
OTOH, sometimes passing over the wallet, valuables just infuriates the robber, especially if you don’t have much cash and they feel you aren’t being straight with them (many of us don’t travel with much cash). I have heard of that happening and the robber getting angrier if they don’t like what you have and offer them. An angry person can shoot to kill.
It’s really hard to know how stories are written and the total context and what was edited out; I’m sure both had an adreniline rush after all the excitement and knowing that they are both alive and that the H will likely survive.
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she was gushing about her hero, and he was talking about protecting his dream girl,
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lol…they’re newlyweds.
And, his goal was to protect her even if it meant losing his life. That’s not so strange. My own H has said that a million times. He’d sacrifice his life to save our kids or me.
As for the Wild West Shootout words…likely that’s just “funny talk” that people sometimes resort to after a traumatic experience.
Anyway, I wouldn’t want to pass any harsh judgements onto these people. They did what they thought was right while they were in an extremely scary situation. It may not have been what I would have done, but they have different experiences to draw upon.
A few weeks ago, when that DC-area family cooperated and got the $40k to their intruder, he still killed them all. That’s why you can’t be harsh with people who try other methods in hopes of surviving.