Brothers who disarmed gunman felt it was their duty

[Guest 0down]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/article/0,2845,MCA_25340_5402238,00.html

By Alex Doniach and Jody Callahan

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March 8, 2007

It played out like a scene in an action movie.

Two brothers from East Memphis were driving to Back Yard Burgers to pick up dinner Tuesday night when they noticed a red Mustang stalled at Perkins and Park. Thinking it was just car trouble, William Webber, and his older brother, Paul Webber, ignored the car and the man standing beside it.

"And then I heard the pop, pop, pop of a gun," said Paul, 29. Added William, 23: "I said 'Dude, you got to turn this car around, that dude is shooting at people!' "

They saw the man, identified later by police as Dementrius Roberson, fire three shots from his 9 mm gun.

"He was shooting right across traffic," Paul said. "Those bullets could have ricocheted off cars and hurt a lot of people."

No one was injured although one bullet hit a woman driver's car door.

Paul and William, both licensed to carry weapons, made a hasty U-turn, jumped out of the Jeep and held their guns high so Roberson could see them.

"Get on the ground!" yelled the Webbers.

"What are you going to do?" Roberson yelled back.

"Get down on the ground or I'll blow your head off!" screamed William. He feared for his life at that moment.

Roberson gave the brothers a "wild and deranged" look, William said, then dropped to the ground.

William inched toward Roberson and picked up the gun. The Webbers held him at gunpoint until police arrived five minutes later.

Roberson, 56, said Wednesday evening that he'd been rear-ended by a black car carrying six men. Roberson said he called police, then when the men got out of their car, he reached down, got his gun and tucked it into his back pocket.

At some point, Roberson said most of the men dispersed, leaving just the driver and a "heavyset" man. Roberson said the large man then pulled a gun.

"I didn't know what his intentions were, so I came out with mine. I started shooting," said Roberson, who is licensed to carry a gun.

Roberson, who was charged with reckless endangerment, admits to some regrets about the affair.

"I probably could've handled it a little better," added Roberson, who said he'd put his gun away before the brothers arrived. "Just leave it ... alone."

Memphis police spokesman Sgt. Vince Higgins praised the brothers for their actions.

"These men should be commended for stopping another man in the middle of a crime," he said.

The Webbers, who live with their mom in a quiet East Memphis neighborhood, said they felt obliged to act.

"There are not enough men and women out there willing to step up and say, 'Don't do that,' " Paul said. "I don't want to sound like some Neighborhood Watch salesman but it's important to look out for the good of mankind."

Both Webbers are 6 feet tall and share the thick build of former football players. Born and raised in Missouri, they moved to Memphis with their mom and three siblings after their dad passed away in 1998.

Paul played football at the University of Nebraska and at the University of Missouri. He is a substitute teacher and coach at Harding Academy. William graduated from Harding Academy in 2002 and works at Lenny's Sub Shop in Arlington.

Both men enjoy target practice. They sought "carry and conceal" permits because "it's a constitutional right," William said. Added Paul: "I'm a major advocate of citizens carrying guns as long as they are responsible."

The permits require eight hours of training and written and shooting tests. According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, about 25,000 Shelby County residents owned a handgun permit in 2004. This was the highest number of permit holders in the state, followed by Davidson County with about 11,600 permit holders.

Paul, who got his license a few years before his brother, said he's pulled his .380 caliber Kel-Tec three times, once in the drive-through of a Krystal restaurant when a panhandler grabbed his arm. He did not fire his weapon any of those times.

Tuesday night was Willliam's first opportunity to pull his .40 caliber Kahr, which he generally keeps slung on his hip.

The Webbers said citizens need to take security into their own hands.

"Our dad always told us not to put ourselves in a situation where we can't protect ourselves," William said.

Added Paul: "He said always be prepared."

-- Alex Doniach: 529-5867

[molonlabetn]

Tuesday night was Willliam's first opportunity to pull his .40 caliber Kahr...

"opportunity"???

I would never look upon any situation in which I was required to use lethal force as an "opportunity". A "necessity" perhaps...

And, his brother has pulled his gun 3-times?

Plus, they TURNED AROUND to engage a shooter, in a situation which they were otherwise not involved in?

Can we say "looking for trouble"?

Just a hypothetical question...

What if the shooter which the brothers engaged had been an under-cover cop who was trying to apprehend BGs that the brothers hadn't noticed?

Answer:

They'd be dead or in jail right now.

[Marswolf]

Always a judgment call.

[TGO David]

Having personally witnessed the media take a person's exact words and quote them out of context, I'd go out on a limb and say that what this reporter wrote and what these two fellows said might be night and day apart from one another in intended meaning.

Don't judge them based off of what was written in the paper.

[Marswolf]

I'd give them some slack too. At least they did something rather than rationalize why they shouldn't act.

I had a friend in Columbus, Georgia who stopped at a traffic light. Guy came out of his girlfriend's apartment, where he had just killed her and opened up on people in cars. Killed my friend. I wish someone had been there to take out the shooter.

[molonlabetn]

True... Like I said, I'm glad that they did what they thought was right and appropriate. And it is also true that the report likely took their statements out of context...

But still, I dunno if I would have willingly engaged that situation when I was unaware of who the good guys and bad guys really were...

[Guest GlocKingTN]

Always a judgment call.

I agree!

[shaftbass]

That worked out well. Good for them. It could be your wife or girlfriend in one of the cars or standing in the direction that guy was shooting.

[Guest db99wj]

I saw the article have you seen the pic that was with it on the front page of the paper?

Well, here you go.

[shaftbass]

Well, it's two guys with guns.

[Guest db99wj]

Looks as if a finger on the trigger (It doesn't look like it on the full size picture in the actual paper, but it is not straight out and it is kinda hard to tell), guns pointed at each other...not the best picture for pro gun folks, IMO.

[Guest jackdog]

They did what they thought was correct at the time. They stood up to help others. good for them, glad it worked out as well.

Jackdog

[Guest jackdog]

Question: Would you guys have engaged.???

Not sure under those conditions that I would have. A whole lot of what if's. Plus my gun stays holstered up to the point that I feel I have no other options. If I draw I will probably fire the weapon, so I want to be as correct as possible. The one brother drawing his gun three times is kinda scary to me as well. It's a judgement call, these guys made it and it wirked out for them.

Jackdog

[Marswolf]

Yeah, I have some problems with these guys.

They saw the shooter fire, they say. I doubt that since they were past him. Then they drew on him. There seems to be conflicting information of whether the guy had put his gun away.

If the gun had been put away, I would have called 911 and just watched the guy to make sure he didn't leave. If he still had the gun in his hand, I would have acted with more force to prevent addition shooting.

[Guest jackdog]

Guess we are of the same mindset. If a fellow is armed and shooting a weapon (hmm if that is how it went down), And I draw my weapon I'd be shooting. I don't think drop your weapon is a very good approach, you could get killed that way. Of course than you would not be suffering the getting older blues.

Jackdog

[Punisher84]

They are both tools. Idiots looking for a gunfight. They look thrilled as hell they almost got to shoot someone. Not necessarily a bad article, because it does show citizens who carry can be of help, I wish it had been someone other than the doofus brothers. Oh well take what you can get I guess.

[Guest LegalRaptor]

Police Quote:

Memphis police spokesman Sgt. Vince Higgins praised the brothers for their actions.

"These men should be commended for stopping another man in the middle of a crime," he said.

Wonder what the quote would have been if the subject of the shooting had been an Undercover engaging a drug dealer, and the brothers had intervened on the wrong side? Same scenario, different facts? Every professional I have talked to said the brothers were WAY off base in their actions. Glad it worked out for the best for all of us, though.

[Guest RN MEDIC]

Glad it turned out well. It could have turned out very badly, but I'm glad it didn't. As one writer said, it is always a case by case basis as per judgement. Guess as long as one comes out well for permitted gun guys we are very fortunate. Also, when such a case is reported in our favor we are REAL fortunate.

RN

[Guest db99wj]

...and in Memphis, the police need all the help they can get, they are out numbered and out gunned and under supported.

I did see 4 of them running radar, the kind where they are on a side street off of a major road, out of their vehicles, jumping in front of speeders, on Walnut grove across from Galloway golf course....

[Marswolf]

Maybe if they didn't have to get their quota of moving and non-moving vehicle stops on each shift, maybe they could actually find time to work on the crime problem.

[Guest Hyaloid]

When I lived in Memphis several years ago, seemed like the MPD officers were always wrecking their patrol cars.. into homes, poles, etc. These are the folks giving out tickets, just seems ironic

I think, had it been me in the brother's places, I would have dialed 911, hung back and assessed quite a bit more. I don't think I would have engaged, just would have done my best to be a good witness. If I did engage, pretty sure I wouldn't scream anything to the effect of "I'll blow your head off", doesn't sound good to jurors if you do have to shoot. But, maybe with adrenalin, I dunno, never been in a situation like that, but I would certainly TRY to control my verbiage a bit better.

[Guest Hyaloid]

I saw the article have you seen the pic that was with it on the front page of the paper?

Well, here you go.

I wish I could remember who originated the quote.. I picked it up off of the internet somewhere...

KEEP YOUR BOOGER HOOK OFF'A THE BANG SWITCH!

[Guest Fuel]

For some reason these two guys remind me of the McKenzie brothers:

Maybe it's just me, but I think there could be a genetic link in there somewhere.

[Marswolf]

You think so, eh?

[Guest Fuel]

You think so, eh?

Yeah, just replace the pistols in the first pic with "beeeers" and they are practically twins.