DGU- gunshots across the street.

Everything’s fine, but I’d like to share the experience I just had.I live in a small tourist town with next to no violent crime. My town also has a no-shooting ordnance that is observed to the point of never needing to be enforced.Across the street from me is an American legion hall. A little past 11am, I heard 3 shots come from that direction. I opened the back door and saw my landlords, who were also freaked out, and asked them what the hell was going on. They said they didn’t know but that it sounded like gunshots.I ducked back inside and grabbed my pistol (m&p shield 2.0, if it matters— I typically see that included in DGU posts). I told my landlords to get inside and call the police. I crouched behind my landlord’s car with my pistol in the pocket of my hoodie. I had one hand on the grip and the other on the holster.At that point, 3 more shots were heard. Now I was sure they were gunshots (I could hear shell casings clinking onto the pavement. It’s a quiet street). I unholstered my pistol but kept it low and pointing at the ground. Again, my town has a no-shooting ordnance, so it’s not like people might have been target practicing in their backyard.As my landlord was on the phone with the police, a man carrying a rifle walked around the corner of the legion hall, into my view. Once I saw the rifle, I cocked my pistol (I’m sure I’ll catch some flak for not keeping a round in the chamber). I still kept the pistol pointed at the ground.Whether or not I should have cocked my gun is something that I’ve been reflecting on; the man holding the rifle wasn’t carrying it in a way that suggested he was planning to fire again: the strap wasn’t over his shoulder, he didn’t have either hand on the fore grip or pistol grip, and he didn’t appear to be in any rush when he walked back inside the building.My landlord came outside and told us that everything is fine. They were just checking the guns for the upcoming Memorial Day parade. I asked if she was sure and when she said yes, I ejected the mag, cleared the chamber, and holstered my pistol.So, obviously, everything’s fine. I was scared shitless, though— I’ve never even felt the urge to reach for my gun, let alone unholster and cock it.To the best of my knowledge, this is the first year that they’ve checked the guns at the legion hall. My landlord has lived here for 20+ years and is retired, so she’s home nearly all the time— often enough that she would have been aware of this happening in years past. I called my town’s PD to tell them that we weren’t aware that we would hear a few gunshots and thus were terrified, thinking there was a shooter. I also wanted them to know that I had drawn my gun. If I had made the wrong decision in those moments, someone could be dead.A few minutes later, after some of the adrenaline had worn off, I decided to go over to the legion hall and tell them the same thing that I had told the PD. I wasn’t angry at all (the first words out of my mouth when I walked in were “I’m not here to yell at you”). I just wanted them to know that we weren’t warned ahead of time and that I’d drawn my weapon because I thought we were in danger, which in turn puts them in danger (rather, could have put them in danger, because thank fuck I kept my head and didn’t do anything rash).All told, the guys got a kick out of the story. These guys are war vets, and I’m a girl in her early 20s walking into the legion hall to tell them I was ready to shoot them (exaggeration) a few minutes ago. They said they had told the local PD, and they thought the neighbors were warned, but that they’d make sure of it next time.They also asked what I would have done if it was a real shooting. I told them that I would’ve stayed the fuck over there (pointing at my house) and hoped that the shooter didn’t come my way. They offered praise and said that was the smart thing to do if this had been a real threat.We ended up chatting for over a half hour and I came away from the conversation with their contact info and over a hundred acres of land that I can deer hunt on come November.TLDR: Heard gunshots across the street, prepared to defend myself, found out that it was a couple war veterans checking rifles ahead of my town’s upcoming Memorial Day parade. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/2Sdpteh