AN ORGANIZATION OF VOLUNTEERS IS DEDICATED TO BYSTANDER INTERVENTION
The Guardian Angels were originally set up in 1979 to protect New York City subway riders, but now has many chapters across the globe. Read about their activities here.
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THREE HEROIC AMERICANS THWART AN ATTACK BY A HEAVILY ARMED LONE TERRORIST ON A TRAIN IN FRANCE. BUT THEN ONE OF THEM GETS STABBED IN A BRAWL OUTSIDE A NIGHTCLUB IN HIS HOMETOWN
Illustrates Type a), the best possible response, in the typology meant to encourage studies in “Bystanderology,” in Box 1-3 on p. 21 in the 9th edition.
Three Americans, two of them in the military, overpower a heavily armed man who started shooting passengers on speeding train headed for Paris. They were hailed as heroes by the French government and by the American public for courageously intervening as a terrorist attack was unfolding right before their eyes. Unfortunately, one of the trio, the 23 year-old member of the Air Force who was slashed by the terrorist, was stabbed in the back by an assailant during a fight outside a club in his hometown in California, as shown here.
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A MAN IS THROWN TO THE TRACKS AND IS RUN OVER BY A SUBWAY TRAIN
No one came to the aid of this victim of a sudden fight between strangers waiting on a platform.Why didn’t someone try to rescue him?
Read the columnist’s opinions.
A photographer took a picture of the victim trying to climb back up to the platform. Was that an appropriate reaction? Various media outlets show the picture of the victim right before he was run over and killed. Is that ethical or exploitive?
A talk show host who organized the “Guardian Angels,” a civilian anti-crime patrol, argues that the members of the public should have a duty to intervene, or else face punishment.
Is this fair? Would such a law have the desireable impact of increasing bystander intervention?View the video here.
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COURAGEOUS TEACHER TAKES CHARGE OF THE SITUATION DURING A SCHOOL SHOOTING
A social studies teacher grabs a student’s cellphone and guides the police to the cafeteria where a shooter has killed several high school students and is about to take his own life. See the video with a transcript of her conversation with the 911 dispatcher here.
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GOOD SAMARITANS WHO DO THE RIGHT THING AND TRY TO RESCUE VICTIMS RUN THE RISK OF GETTING WOUNDED OR KILLED
Illustrates Type f), a tragic outcome, in the typology meant to encourage studies in “Bystanderology,” in Box 1-3 on p. 21 in the 9th edition.
A passing motorist sees an elderly man under attack by a motorcyclist after a minor traffic accident. He tries to intervene in behalf of the elderly victim of road rage, and gets shot by the motorcyclist, as reported here.
A 25 hear-old man sees a drunk harassing a woman outside a deli. As he rushes to her defense, another man jumps out of car and fatally shoots him, as recounted here.
Two men spot 3 crooks breaking into parked cars. The two Good Samaritans confront the thieves; a 53 year-old is murdered and his co-worker is wounded by the trio, as reported here.
A father of two young children witnesses a man beating a woman in front of his house. He intercedes to break up this domestic dispute. A hour later, the police leave, the assailant returns and fires 23 shots towards the Good Samaritan’s home, and kills the man who helped the woman, as reported here.
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TWO PEACEMAKERS TRYING TO INTERVENE IN FIGHTS ARE SLAIN
Two Good Samaritans who tried to break up a pair of vicious, bloody fights in
the predawn hours of a Sunday morning were murdered in two unrelated incidents. One was a bouncer, described as a “gentle giant”. He tried to break up a fight that was brewing between two groups of men outside a club, and was shot eight times. The other man was stabbed repeatedly when he tried to stop a quarrel between a man and a woman. Read about these tragedies here.
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YOUNG MAN IS SLAIN TRYING TO BREAK UP A FIGHT
A 28 year-old man tried to break up a fight between two women who were strangers to him. One of the combatants turned on him and plunged a knife into his chest. Read about the tragedy here.
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A STOREKEEPER FIRES AT A ROBBER AND ACCIDENTALLY WOUNDS A BYSTANDER
A young man waiting for a bus was wounded as a shopkeeper fired at a robber. Neither the victim nor the offender were hit in the exchange of gunfire, as described here.
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A CUSTOMER BREAKS UP A ROBBERY IN PROGRESS
A man with a butcher knife orders a drug store cashier to open the register and give him cash. But a customer climbs up on the counter and kicks the armed robber in the head, causing him to drop his cellphone as he flees. When he calls later to retrieve it, the police arrest him. Read about this successful intervention by a bystander here.
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A CUSTOMER SHOOTS AT A SHOPLIFTER
Raises issues about retaliatory violence discussed on p. 471 of Ch. 13 in the 9th edition; also illustrates some of the possible reactions that would be of interest to victimologists focusing on “bystanderology,” as outlined on p. 20 of the 9th edition.
Several incidents involving armed bystanders who intervened are recounted here. Some of these onlookers deserve praise but others showed questionable judgment that smacked of vigilantism.
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COLLEGE FRESHMAN AND TEEN HELP RESCUE A VICTIM OF A KIDNAPPING
A student and his younger friend are driving along and spot a “pretty girl” in a nearby car. When they pull up closer, it appears that she is mouthing the words, “Help me.” They call the police and keep the car in view until she is rescued, as described in this article with a video.
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TEENAGER AND PAL CHASE KIDNAPPER AND SAVE A LITTLE GIRL
A 5 year old girl is lured into a car with a promise of ice cream. Neighbors mobilize and the police are about to issue an Amber Alert when a 15 year old and his friend spot the captive in the back seat of a car. They chase the vehicle on their bicycles until the kidnapper releases his prey and drives off. She runs into their arms, crying for her mother. The grateful family hugs the teen and calls him their hero, as described here.
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SECURITY GUARD HELPS RECOVER A KIDNAPPED CHILD
A young woman hired to catch shoplifters at a department store notices that a man with a 7 year old girl is acting peculiarly. She takes down his license plate and the police soon catch him and rescue the child. The young woman responsible for properly sizing up the situation and calling the police is interviewed in this video and the accompanying article.
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TEENAGERS SEND TEXT MESSAGES AND TAKE PICTURES OF AN INCAPACITATED GIRL BEING SEXUALLY ASSAULTED – BUT NO ONE TRIES TO STOP IT
Connects to the idea of training young men to stop acquaintance rapes that appeared on p. 344 in Ch. 11.An investigation into a sexual assault of an intoxicated 16 year old girl by high school football players is facilitated by evidence gathered from social media. The reactions of the bystanders indicates the pervasiveness of a deeply entrenched “rape culture” among teenage athletes. Their unwillingness to intervene underscores the need for training to encourage onlookers to become “engaged bystanders” (click here) or even “courageous bystanders” (click here).
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WOULD-BE KILLER IS SLAIN BY A CROWD
Provides a more recent example of retaliation by a mob that appeared on p. 437 in Chapter 13.A 17 year-old opens fire at some rivals but misses and then runs out of bullets. The youth is chased by the targets he aimed at, and some bystanders join in. Seven blocks later, his pursuers catch up to him, stomp on him, and then one person finishes him off by bashing his head with a rock. Two young men from the crowd are arrested for murder, manslaughter, and gang assault. Read the ugly details here.
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DRUNK DRIVER KILLS TWO CHILDREN AND IS MURDERED ON THE SPOT
A drunken young man plows into a family that is pushing their stalled vehicle along a road. Two boys are killed in the crash he caused. Someone shoots the drunk driver in a “roadside execution.” The father is put on trial for murder but a sympathetic jury acquits him, as recounted here.
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WAS STABBED MOBSTER A GOOD SAMARITAN OR NOT?
The son of a notorious mobster, who was pursued by the authorities in a number of trials and eventually served time, claims he was just acting as a good Samaritan when he tried to break up a fight between two strangers and got stabbed in the stomach, as reported here. But in the absence of any footage from surveillance cameras in the parking lot of the store, and with no cooperation from the “well intentioned bystander who intervened” after he was treated at a hospital, the investigation of the incident has stalled, as recounted here.
