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If even 20% of men were like OP there would be no crime.

If you think OP did wrong you are the reason we have crime. You are bad and you should feel bad.
I declare that any person critical of OP or who makes OP the butt of their joke has low T and should seek help immediately.

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You were lucky you weren't shot.
Just because you can't carry doesn't mean they can't.

You would have died over someone else's shit

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Your a fucking idiot. Remember, you asked.

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You're not going to lose a dime. Think of your family. Don't risk your life. Don't try and be a hero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_971Lltr4k

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"You're"

Something about people in glass houses.

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TLDR: Either learn to read for 45 seconds or go back to burning the last two braincells you have on tiktok.

Went shopping with my mother and step father for my wife's upcoming birthday at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa CA today. For the majority of ya'll that have never heard of that place, it's one of the two higher end malls in Orange County, 15 minutes from Newport Beach, all the top end brands, every high-end watch manufacture (PP, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne, Rolex, etc). The clientele is predominately Chinese, lots of money, we walked by a Maybach parked in the middle of all the other pleb cars on the way in, I parked in the middle of nowhere next to five Porsches. After completing our shopping and grabbing a bite to eat we made our way out to the exit we entered from near Bloomingdales. Around 100 feet before the hallway that leads to the exit, I witnessed approximately six black males in hoodies and black covid masks enter from the exit we were planning on leaving though. Their attire and masks were a big red flag as no one is wearing masks around here it was rather warm today. As we got closer to our exit, and the entrance to Bloomingdales, the youths entered Bloomingdales went from a casual saunter to leaping over a roped off section just inside Bloomingdales. I wasn't sure if they were just messing around or they were up to no good. I saw a few security guards start to attempt to close off some sliding walls, apparently to no avail.

We finally are at the hall where we either go right, into Bloomingdales, or left to the exit. Where I was standing the entrance to Bloomingdales was 30 feet to my right and the door to exit the mall were 70 feet to my left. I am basically right in the middle of the aisle that leads to the exit. The next thing I know I see two of the males running directly towards the exit, and by virtue of where I was standing, running directly at me. Their arms were full of high-end purses and bags. For whatever moronic reason, something in my head snapped and my inner voice said something dumb to the effect of, 'not today." The lead runner ran to my left, between the hallway wall and myself. I dropped my packages, took a few running steps and put that gentleman into the wall and subsequent trashcan that he went ass over teakettle into. He collected himself and continued towards the exit. Then I see the remaining gentlemen (5-6 of them?), all with arms covered in purses and bags, running toward me with my mom and stepdad in between us. I took aim at the lead runner of the second pack and had to cover about 15 feet back to my right to put him into the glass window of whatever clothing store was on the corner. He fell on his face then scrambled to recover with me on top of him. As I was on the ground, one of the upstanding citizens that was behind this dude that I was on top of either jumped over me and his foot hit my head, or he intentionally kneed me in the back of the head. I can't be too sure as I never saw it coming.  He called me some name as he passed me, can’t recall what it was.

The first hit was no big deal, the other guy got the brunt of it, this second hit rung my bell but good, I was pretty shocked once contact was made, and the blow I took to the head wasn't fantastic either. The fist guy I made contact with was around 5"10 - 6' ish, maybe 150-165lbs, the second dude was taller and heavier as the impact was much greater. For reference I am 5'10" 210, not in bad shape but could be a damn sight better, I use to be a personal trainer back in the day and also played hockey a ton, but age and injury have taken a toll over the last 15 years. I'm 43, my mom and step dad are 69. At some point after I made contact with the first guy my stepdad decided to get into the mix, I guess he tried to tackle one of the guys to some degree of success and hold him. The guy he grabbed wiggled away and escaped. The fleeing track stars dropped around 10 bags in total as a result of the scuffle.

I gathered myself up, made sure my EDC blade was still on my person (CA so having a CCW is a joke) as my EDC flashlight had come out in the skirmish and was on the ground. It was at this point my rational brain kicked in to take a better picture of the situation and regain some semblance of situational awareness. My mother was screaming obscenities at the youths as they made their way out of the exit. The 6 or so security guards finally made their way over to use to see if we were ok. They never intervened in the situation as it unfolded, as I'm sure they are forbidden to do. About 10-20 seconds after the dust had settled two of the security guards ran out the doors of the exit in some form of pursuit, and apparently, they said they were able to get the plates on the getaway vehicle. I'm sure as stupid as the thieves are, the car was either stolen or had swapped plates, who knows. The guards told us that they were expecting to be hit by this group, but just didn't know when as I guess this gang of winners have been making the rounds hitting other stores in the area.

A small crowd gathered and various people came up to us to see if we were ok, "thanked" us for trying to do something, and a few of the people expressed how sick they are of stuff like this happening and nothing being done about it. There was one funny older Asian lady, all 4'10" of her, yelling about how these people shouldn't be getting away with this stuff. The security guards gave us a few ice packs, took our names and DOBs and shook our hands and we were on our way. No on requested us to stay or take any statements. No PD was on site as we were leaving. I did jokingly ask the security guards if I could get a clip of what just happened for YouTube.

My step dad hit his knee when he fell, but was not worse for wear. When I fell after making contact with the second individual I hit my right anklebone, skinned my right knee on the polished marble floor, bruised my right hip and skinned my right elbow. My neck and head are killing me as the whiplash from the second hit was substantial, having an already jacked up C-spin from a rear-ending accident years ago isn't doing me any favors at this point.

Looking back on what happened, I would have not intervened if the suspects had all come out as one group, but seeing two guys making a break for it I thought I might be able to do some good. When the second group came out, I figured I was already in this deep, might as well keep swimming. I know this was probably not the right course of action to take. I am not some billy bad ass, no military/LEO background, no MMA wannabe, just some regular dude who is sick and tired of seeing the highlight reel of these losers robbing places blind. The second guy to pass me after I made the hit on the second pack leader could have easily put a blade in my neck or a bullet in my head. I was realizing this fact as I was getting up off the ground.

To be honest I'm not even sure why I am typing this, I'm not looking for recognition or anything, I guess at best it's for posterity so I can remember the sequence of events should I need to remember this in the future correctly. I guess it's also to ask the question of anyone who has read this far, if you were in the same situation would you have attempted to do anything? General thoughts on my less than stellar idea to intervene?

Should I bother contacting the cities PD to make a statement? Better to not talk to PD? My life's interaction with police has been limited to a speeding ticket when I was 19.


Thanks for listening, I'm going to go back to my ice packs, Advil and the hole I've been living in for the last 5 years.

ETA: FWIW and the race bingo card, I'm white as is my mother and my stepdad is half white half Mexican.

EETA: Not MS paint, just snipping tool.

EEETA: For total clarity, I never threw a punch or kick, simply placed me person, mainly my shoulder, in front of the fleeing rocket scientists.

https://i.imgur.com/bU8VFtZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/y0kEVf5.png

Red X is me, blue X is first contact, green X is second contact.

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As someone who married a widow, I can assure you, sir, that you are not irreplaceable.  A father should set an example.  OP set an example for his children today.

Someone else in this thread says he always does the right thing and always gets home safe.  Those two things are mutually exclusive.  You may get home safe to your family tonight - or you may get hit by a drunk driver helping a little old lady change a flat on the side of the highway.  The example you set is irreplaceable - you are not.

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You, sir, are why our country is in such dire straights.  Theft is not just damage to Bloomingdale's.  Theft, even petty theft, is an attack on the fabric of society.  We have failed as a country to penalize misdemeanor crimes such as petty theft and illegal immigration - thus, now we are unable to penalize major crimes, such as stealing thousands in broad daylight, or pushing hundreds of illegals across the Rio Grande in an hour.

Because you desired peace in your day - your children must fight in theirs, or succumb.  Godspeed to them.

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TLDR. Is it worth having your wife and kids hold a funeral for you, over a loss the business's insurance would cover.

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Never seen such a hateful TL;DR

Fuck you OP. I refuse to read this text wall. If you have to ask, you are stupid for intervention.

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OP is a dumbass

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Never seen such a hateful TL;DR

Fuck you OP. I refuse to read this text wall. If you have to ask, you are stupid for intervention.

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Was this on Sunday?

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As much as the world needs more of this, it's a dumb move.
You stand to gain nothing and actually possibly face injury or worse.
Society stands to gain nothing because these people have learned nothing and will just do it again.

It's shitty but until theft has *real* consequences, there is no reason to inject yourself into stopping it unless you're the one being stolen from, and even then it's iffy.

For whatever moronic reason, something in my head snapped and my inner voice said something dumb to the effect of, 'not today."

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As a fellow California resident (I know, I know) you’re a complete fucking idiot for getting involved.  

Theft is a misdemeanor that the prosecutor having zero interest in prosecution with. Assault & battery, especially on a special minority, you’re looking at multiple felony charges for. If those thieves find out who you are and report you, you’ll be: arrested, charged with assault, have all registered firearms removed from you and very likely lose your #2 rights for life.

I really hope you weren’t stupid enough to in someway file a report or have your information recorded.

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After 4 pages, am I really going to have to be the one to ask for pics of the foul-mouthed mom or angry asian lady? And the OP has been here since '01!

This fucking place; it's circling the drain!

Seriously though, I'm not going to judge your actions. You made a decision and came out mostly OK. That's a win. I whole-heartedly agree with the other posters saying we need more people out there like you.

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As a fellow California resident (I know, I know) you’re a complete fucking idiot for getting involved.  

Theft is a misdemeanor that the prosecutor having zero interest in prosecution with. Assault & battery, especially on a special minority, you’re looking at multiple felony charges for. If those thieves find out who you are and report you, you’ll be: arrested, charged with assault, have all registered firearms removed from you and very likely lose your #2 rights for life.

I really hope you weren’t stupid enough to in someway file a report or have your information recorded.