PPS-Safety

The police in Mumbai would not shoot, and the photographer wishes he had a gun. For those who do not know, firearms licenses are very difficult to obtain in India.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article14086308.ece

Mumbai photographer: I wish I’d had a gun, not a camera. Armed police would not fire back
Jerome Taylor talks to the photographer whose picture went around the world
Saturday, 29 November 2008

It is the photograph that has dominated the world’s front pages, casting an astonishing light on the fresh-faced killers who brought terror to the heart of India’s most vibrant city. Now it can be revealed how the astonishing picture came to be taken by a newspaper photographer who hid inside a train carriage as gunfire erupted all around him.

Sebastian D’Souza, a picture editor at the Mumbai Mirror, whose offices are just opposite the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji station, heard the gunfire erupt and ran towards the terminus. “I ran into the first carriage of one of the trains on the platform to try and get a shot but couldn’t get a good angle, so I moved to the second carriage and waited for the gunmen to walk by,” he said. “They were shooting from waist height and fired at anything that moved. I briefly had time to take a couple of frames using a telephoto lens. I think they saw me taking photographs but theydidn’t seem to care.”

The gunmen were terrifyingly professional, making sure at least one of them was able to fire their rifle while the other reloaded. By the time he managed to capture the killer on camera, Mr D’Souza had already seen two gunmen calmly stroll across the station concourse shooting both civilians and policemen, many of whom, he said, were armed but did not fire back. “I first saw the gunmen outside the station,” Mr D’Souza said.

“With their rucksacks and Western clothes they looked like backpackers, not terrorists, but they were very heavily armed and clearly knew how to use their rifles.

“Towards the station entrance, there are a number of bookshops and one of the bookstore owners was trying to close his shop,” he recalled. “The gunmen opened fire and the shopkeeper fell down.”

But what angered Mr D’Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply refused to shoot back. “There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything,” he said. “At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, ‘Shoot them, they’re sitting ducks!’ but they just didn’t shoot back.”

As the gunmen fired at policemen taking cover across the street, Mr D’Souza realised a train was pulling into the station unaware of the horror within. “I couldn’t believe it. We rushed to the platform and told everyone to head towards the back of the station. Those who were older and couldn’t run, we told them to stay put.”

The militants returned inside the station and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D’Souza added: “I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera.”

There is no reason to deny people the human right of self defense - ever.

A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

AP / Photo By SEBASTIAN D’SOUZA

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A woman who was attacked as she got out of a cab early Monday morning said her pepper spray saved her from further harm.

Chicago police said they were looking for a man in connection with the attempted sexual assault of a woman in the Lakeview area early Monday morning. The attacker was described as a male white Hispanic, between 25 and 30 years old with short hair combed back and a medium complexion.

NBC5’s Anna Davlantes reported that the victim, identified as “Elizabeth,” spoke out about the incident, she said in the hopes it would help others. The victim said she used pepper spray to fend off the attacker.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God!,’” she said. “I start spraying my Mace everywhere and he just takes off. So, luckily, thank God, I had that in my hand.”

According to an alert from Belmont Area detectives, the woman was walking to her home in the 500 block of West Briar Place about 2 a.m. when a man threw her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her.

Elizabeth showed the scrapes and cuts she received after being thrown to the ground by the attacker, but said she knew it could have been much worse.

The victim said she left her job at a bar at 2 a.m., got in a cab, and when it pulled away, the man attacked her.

“He came out of nowhere,” Elizabeth said. “All of the sudden, I’m attacked from behind and pushed down.”

Police said it has been a long time since they have heard of a victim fending off an attack using pepper spray.

“She was very courageous, and I give her a lot of credit for doing that,” said Chicago police Sgt. Debra DeYoung.

Elizabeth urged everyone to buy a can of pepper spray and have it at the ready.

“Go and buy Mace,” she said. “When you have it, and you get out and you know you’re going to be outside alone, physically have it in your hand ready. Because if I hadn’t had it ready, it would have been in my bag –what’s the use of having it?”

Davlantes reported that police said they hoped someone would have information on the case. There have been attacks in the area with a similar description, but currently, there wasn’t enough information to link them.

Story and information provided by Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

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