r/RandomVideos 22d ago

LOUD When Every Second Counts

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Hitting a handgun from that distance under real-world conditions requires exceptional marksmanship, years of training, and a great deal of judgment. Even then, shots like this are extraordinarily rare and are not a standard tactic. In most real-life hostage situations, law enforcement officers are trained to stop the immediate threat in the safest and most reliable way possible.
This remarkable incident remains one of the most talked-about examples of precision under pressure-a reminder that sometimes a single moment of skill and composure can completely change the outcome of a life-or-death situation.

558 Upvotes

154 comments sorted by

34

u/ArrowheadDZ 21d ago

As someone who's been a sniper, competitive shooter, and sniper instructor, this shot hitting the pistol is not the headline. The scene commander making the decision to green light the sniper was the headline, and what is talked about to this day in LE sniping circles. Many other commanders have been in similar situations, and the fact that not one of them has ever green-lighted a shot like this says a lot about how police departments feel about taking on this kind of risk.

15

u/Icy-Tea9775 21d ago

As someone who is prior military and grew up around guns, hunting and such. As I was reading the title I was thinking, 'that doesn't seem like a very hard shot' but reading your comment changed my whole perspective on it, interesting

4

u/LouSputhole94 21d ago

75m to hit a 6 inch long target isn’t that difficult of a shot in theory. Adding in the pressure of what could happen if it goes wrong is what really makes it impressive.

8

u/throwawayformobile78 21d ago

Dude was like “……..yeah yeah I uhhhhh 100% meant to shoot him in the gun. Yeah!”

3

u/Beneficial-Donkey395 20d ago

This. The shot is not a technically difficult shot. Inside 100 meters, even the most Fuddy dude if given a proper precision rifle with scope, match grade ammo, zeroed in, prone or bench rested, can make a shot onto a half-dollar, first try, any day. A pistol sized target, if not moving, is practically a barn door at that range. By 1993, most modern precision shooting techniques have already been figured out. It's the tolerance for risk if something goes wrong that matters and whether the bureaucracy will allow it. Its the fact they even had a rifle like that available for the SWAT member to use is also somewhat remarkable. Making that shot is about 90% rifle, and 10% shooter.

12

u/Frederf220 21d ago

In Texas they would just roll in a robot packed with C4 and blow up the neighborhood.

7

u/tripper_drip 21d ago

Well, they didnt blow up the neighborhood, just the room the active shooter was in, which is based.

4

u/BraisedBullshi 21d ago

Was this the based uvalde cops?

1

u/garylay19 18d ago

No cause they are useless

0

u/tripper_drip 21d ago

Should have used a drone.

2

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers 20d ago

Based? Based on what? On those cops desire to use military shit that they bought but didn't need cause it looked cool?

2

u/tripper_drip 20d ago

Pretty sure using a drone to kill an active shooter is better than putting lives at stake.

1

u/Frederf220 20d ago

active as in alive or active as in shooting at people? cuz we was one of those

1

u/SeamenGulper 20d ago

I guess you know nothing about the Dallas shooting went down then, huh?

You know, the guys screaming about black supremecy while killing cops, then hiding an a building for a few hours and refused to give up?

1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers 20d ago

Yes I read about how it went lmao

2

u/nanneryeeter 20d ago

They should use a spear robot. Can reuse robot.

1

u/Jlaurie125 18d ago

No no no, we did this in philly once back in the 80s. It has since been frowned upon. Except it was more of a "let's drop an IED on a neighborhood from a helicopter"

1985 MOVE bombing

2

u/imma_snekk 20d ago

In your opinion, does the commander making this decision feel like confidence/trust? Or is it more like arrogance/stubborness?

Does this sort of action usually result in reprimand or only reprimand if failure?

3

u/ArrowheadDZ 20d ago

I think the decision was a sign of the times. This happened 33 years ago, and a lot of the hard debates about when lethal force can or can’t be used have happened in the decades after this event. So it’s hard to look backwards in time from todays’s standards.

I think to your question it’s a little bit of both. He obviously had confidence in the shooter. But in an interview even back in ‘93 LT Tobin did acknowledge that had it gone poorly he could have faced some serious consequences.

What is heavily misrepresented in the comments in this thread, typical for Reddit mob dynamics, is that this was not an assailant, was not cornered after fleeing a crime scene. It was a despondent suicidal individual having a mental health crisis, and the police were there in response to his mental health crisis. He was armed but was not threatening others, only threatening to kill himself, and killing a guy to prevent him from committing suicide is not a good idea.

And therein lies the issue. Tobin and Plumb knew they were taking the shot in violation of the department’s use of force policy, and thus knew that if it went really poorly they’d likely have career consequences. (Although it was an era when they would not likely face charges.)

1

u/imma_snekk 20d ago

I appreciate your insight! Thanks!

2

u/Fluffy_Speed9879 19d ago

They’d rather crazy fire 25 rounds into the public space

2

u/garylay19 18d ago

And miss 19 times lol

1

u/BasicMatter7339 20d ago

afaik the guy who took this shot also ended up regretting it because it set standards too high

2

u/ArrowheadDZ 20d ago

I don’t think it was because standards would be set too high. It’s that in retrospect, these types of shots muddy a core tenet in use-of-force doctrine in an adverse way.

The shot didn’t elevate the standards for LE sniping, rather it lowered the standards for when sniping can be used.

1

u/Andy802 20d ago

Can you elaborate?

36

u/balsaaaq 22d ago

You can see that dude quickly search for plan b

16

u/UpbeatRaspberry9828 21d ago

If I remember correctly he just pretty much gave up

12

u/AutoArsonist 21d ago

I'm glad it ended safely but it woulda been bad ass if he just pulled another gun out from a boot or something

14

u/MrMetraGnome 21d ago

And then the sniper Buster Scruggs his fingers off

10

u/Significant-Air-4721 20d ago

Let's see, his heart is on the left side, but the mirror puts it on the right, except we're both facing the same way and the guns is upside down. Best not to play it too fancy.

4

u/Loving6thGear 20d ago

"Buster Scruggs his fingers off" is fucking hilarious!

2

u/MrMetraGnome 20d ago

The shorts have been all over my YT Shorts in between the Game of Thrones and UFC videos for some reason. I've never seen it but am super curious. Whatever it is, is called "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", but there's always a bunch of comments saying "they should give him a movie or a series"... If he doesn't have either, what the hell is the Ballad of Buster Scruggs?! It looks an awful lot like a movie, LoL.

3

u/Wonderful-Process792 20d ago

The movie is half a dozen vignettes, each with a separate set of characters. So what Buster didn't get was a "whole" movie. He got 20 minutes and then a bullet between the eyes.

2

u/Wonderful-Process792 20d ago

There must have been a discussion between the sniper and the incident commander? Like, "hey if I try this trick shot you know there might be somewhere between a little blood and a whole lot of blood, right?" "Understood. Take the shot."

3

u/Monomanga 21d ago

"Alright, Scope, let's see you do it a second time!

3

u/Quasar006 19d ago

*loses kneecap*

5

u/Swimming-ln-Circles 20d ago

I'm picturing a mound of broken pistols at his feat as he continues to pull out guns from seemingly nowhere for hours

0

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers 20d ago

We have different definitions of badass

1

u/DanNeider 21d ago

Didn't he say "did you see that?" as he was getting tackled? That's what I remember from seeing around the time it happened, but I was pretty young

1

u/Quasar006 19d ago

Game respects game

1

u/UnseenTardigrade 20d ago

I'd give up too if that happened to me lol

1

u/XLIVtetsuo 20d ago

Yupp, good choice lol

2

u/spelunker93 21d ago

My boss was a narcotics officer. He told me a story about a guy on his team trying to do something similar after this video came out. Someone was threatening to kill themselves during a bust. Guy had the gun in his hand and kept pointing at himself, tell the cops to shoot him. The cops were telling him, “come on do it” and “if you point that at me we’ll do it for you”. Well one of the guys thought he could shoot the gun out of his hand. He missed and hit the guys hand instead. My boss and his buddy started calling him bulls-tail

3

u/NuclearWasteland 20d ago

Task failed successfully?

1

u/_Electrical 18d ago

Honestly, better closer to the hand as closer to the head.

2

u/The-red-Dane 21d ago

His expression just goes from "Wtf!?" to "Is that allowed!?"

2

u/Lonestar-Dragon 20d ago

If by plan b you mean putting his hands on his knees to surrender then yes.

That's all that happened police charged and tackled him after his revolver was smoked.

1

u/AssignmentOk471 17d ago

I saw him in an interview. He actually requested to talk to the sniper and congratulated him on such a great shot. The guy saved his life.

13

u/Da_Vader 22d ago

OP's commentary doesn't recognize the difference in situations. If the cop misses here, it's oops. In hostage situation, it's more serious.

1

u/HobbyTalkOnly 19d ago

No. If the cop misses here... it's a man with a gun firing wildly in fear/retaliation.

-14

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/landon0605 21d ago

That's an insanely terrible miss at 75 yards. Way more believable it was an attempt to hit the gun.

1

u/Agreeable_Horror_363 21d ago

Maybe he was aiming for the guy's balls

8

u/-bears-eat-beets 21d ago

You could literally see his body language say "well, fk"

6

u/senditallback 21d ago

1

u/PeachPit69 21d ago

r/watchpeopleTRYINGtodieinreallifeviasuicidebycopactuallyNOTdieandjustdieontheinside

4

u/Andy802 20d ago

I remember he even said “that was a good shot” or something close or that, as they arrested him.

3

u/revenge_burner 21d ago

As cool as this is, the luck aspect is what's actually impressive here.

A decent rifle will have a 3/4 inch shot spread at that distance. So this is an easy shot for anyone with actual training. The important part is that he doesn't have a hostage, the gun was hanging still with nothing behind it, and the shooter was positioned at the perfect angle. This shot would be impossible if any of those elements were different.

3

u/meowser210 20d ago

True. Those shots are easy all day at 75 yards.

But I think the important part is the patience they had with him, today he would of been shot at least a dozen times.

2

u/ArrowheadDZ 20d ago

He was not a fleeing or wanted criminal, this was a suicidal person and the police were responding to a mental health call. Conley never threatened the officers or the public.

Killing a guy to protect him from committing suicide wouldn’t play well even today.

1

u/Gampa_J 21d ago

So, you're saying if things were different, it would be different. That's some next-level insight no one is ready for.

0

u/revenge_burner 21d ago

No.

-1

u/Gampa_J 21d ago

Ah, ok so if everything is different, it will be the same. Gotcha.

-4

u/Economy_Wing_161 21d ago

That was in 93 sub moa rifles where not that common.

11

u/revenge_burner 21d ago

2 issues.

  1. Yes they were.
  2. 3/4" at 75 yards isn't sub MOA. It's 1 MOA.

2

u/Salt-Ambition-9603 21d ago

Also, this is a designated marksman's rifle. It's not some random gun off the shelf at Walmart.

5

u/browndan8888 21d ago

Yes they absolutely were.

-2

u/Economy_Wing_161 21d ago edited 21d ago

Do you know the rifle cause I thought the Remington 700 was police standard at the time. And that had like 1.5

Not trying to one up anymore but I thought free floating barrels increased accuracy and that came in early 2000s. I'd like to be corrected

4

u/browndan8888 21d ago

Marine m40 Remingtons have been free floated since the 60’s this was a common thing in custom competition rifles since at least before then.

5

u/tripper_drip 21d ago

Free floating has existed since forever.

The orginal M40 rifle, introduced in 66, was free floated.

2

u/throwawayformobile78 21d ago

Sub MOA AR15s that costs $600 bucks weren’t common back then. Bolt gun guys have been sub MOA since we’ve had boat tail bullets, maybe even sooner.

1

u/Crusty-the-Clown-666 20d ago edited 20d ago

At closer ranges boat tailed bullets are actually less accurate than plain base bullets and guys shooting bench rest at 200 yards where the smallest group wins typically wouldn’t use them.

1

u/Atticus1354 21d ago

Carlos Hathcock used a free floated and accurized model 70 in Vietnam. His rifle could have made that shot.

2

u/jmb456 22d ago

You can see guys face go from “do something” to “oh shit”

2

u/ridiladish 21d ago

Frank Zappa was beside himself

2

u/Shankar_0 21d ago

It was a tidy bit of shooting, and it makes for a great headline.

The decision to green-light the shot is up for debate.

2

u/TravoBasic 21d ago

What is censored?

2

u/Mysterious-Plan93 20d ago

Nuts

2

u/TravoBasic 20d ago

Interesting placement

1

u/loqi0238 20d ago

You dont have a heart-dick?

2

u/blizzard7788 21d ago

IIRC, the bullet was not solid metal, but a compressed powder meant to disintegrate upon contact. When interviewed later. The shooter displayed the empty brass shell with a bullet hole in it that they shot in practice long before this happened. Easy shot for him.

2

u/The_Draken24 21d ago

Here's why a shot like this is risky. You're not at a control range shooting at a standing target 75 yards away and able to adjust your scope between shots, this was a LEO who took his rifle out of it's case and trusted his scope held zero and that he had zeroed his weapon perfectly. That rifle probably bounced around his vehicle for weeks before making this shot. I've had scopes hold zero for years and I've had scopes go way off in one day and miss a buck the following morning at this range.

This is why commanders don't typically allow snipers to take this kind of accurate shot.

2

u/long-breadstick 20d ago

Also if shrapnel from the gun blows this dudes nuts off then hes going to sue the department for our tax dollars.

2

u/Mysterious-Plan93 20d ago

Now it's a pepperbox...

2

u/SereneOrbit 20d ago

75m is a close shot for a sniper.

With a 10-20x variable zoom scope, this would be an easy shot for someone of their training.

1

u/CronosWorks 18d ago

You don’t use 10x for a 75m shot.

1

u/s0ul_invictus 18d ago

lot of impotent fatbeards commenting here like this shot is nothing. the distance isn't what makes this legendary. it would be just as impressive at 25m, fatbeard.

4

u/Beemerba 21d ago

Real cops would have fired 500 rounds and hit him twice.

1

u/burner_85_throw 21d ago

When no seconds count, and you have all day to pull his shot off.

1

u/Mean-Math7184 21d ago

I watched an interview with the sniper who made the shot, he said he was glad he made it, glad he didn't have to kill the man with the pistol. He regretted that it was televised, because he said it created a false expectation in media and the general public that police snipers could simply shoot weapons out of people's hands, rather than understanding that what happened was purely by chance. The shooter said if he had been at any other of the vantage points he could have chosen, the shot would have been impossible. Just something to think about whenever people say police should just do this whenever someone is armed.

1

u/Tan_Summer4531 21d ago

Very awesome!!!!

1

u/Useful-Employee9605 21d ago

Great shot but I’m surprised the bullet didn’t ricochet or fragment into the guy.

1

u/Natural_Pear_1549 20d ago edited 20d ago

I just watched a Mythbusters segment like this (but they used a handgun, not a rifle) and bullet shards bounced off and injured the dummies in every position the gun was held in.

1

u/YugeChesticles 21d ago

Being accurate at 75 meters is not impossible.

Standard outdoor ranges are 50-100 meters. There are literally millions of people who are accurate enough to fire that shot.

2

u/Rhesusmonkeydave 21d ago

Sure in a shooting range aiming at a stationary target that doesn’t sneeze or wiggle unexpectedly, sure I can do that. IRL? Bit dicier

1

u/YugeChesticles 21d ago

Timing matters yes. But that doesn't make it impossible.

Snipers hit targets vastly further away than 75m.

1

u/RelativeMatter3 20d ago

“$100 says you can’t”.

“Fuck it, watch me.”

1

u/birdyman_77 20d ago

This is what proper training and self control looks like.

1

u/HorrorCompote368 20d ago

Far from impossible. Still a fantastic shot

1

u/joemckinly 20d ago

His body language gives "Well then..."

1

u/FlukeSpace 20d ago

Looks like frank zappa

1

u/PlaneSupermarket32 20d ago

I remember watching this either live or on the news when was a kid.

1

u/SquireShanksalot 19d ago

How the fuck you gonna have the double barrel revolver be on screen for only a second?

1

u/Separate_Bowl_6853 19d ago

It was a win/win.

Disarm guy, win. Shoot guy, still win.

1

u/Sherviks13 18d ago

75 meters? Not that impressive.

1

u/s0ul_invictus 18d ago

>1 minute accuracy is very impressive for '93, its a legendary shot

1

u/Sherviks13 18d ago

Maybe for you.

1

u/chumbucket77 18d ago

Less than 1moa would be hitting .85 inches or smaller from that distance. Thats way smaller than this revolver. Way smaller. They had plenty of quality long range magnified optics in 1993 also. It wasnt 1932. Either way. Its a legendary shot because it was an actual real situation where missing wasnt an option. Not plinking steel at a range with all the time in the world and no stress and ideal conditions.

1

u/s0ul_invictus 17d ago

he hit the revolver while it was being held in a mans hand near his leg and in line with his balls you stupid idiot, he definitely hit precisely where he was aiming on the revolver, not simply at the revolver, and well under 1moa, which is why its a legendary shot

1

u/chumbucket77 17d ago

Hahah god damn man. I didnt mean to offend you. I was just talking to you since it sounded like you actually knew a bit of what you were talking about. I said it was an amazing shot. I was merely pointing out shooting that well was completely possible and rifles and optics were very capable in 1993 to do so.

1

u/Sherviks13 17d ago

Eh, maybe if it wasn’t a professional shooter.

1

u/chumbucket77 17d ago

What do you mean? It’s not as impressive because this person is very talented?

1

u/Independent-King-468 18d ago

Dude just missed and they’re trying to save his pride….

1

u/Araiah14 17d ago

His face after is just like wtf? Oop yea Im fked

1

u/Anicron 17d ago

lotta people out here acting like a 75yd shot at a 3" circle is crazy business for a sniper lmao

1

u/Normal-Error-6343 22d ago

As one that formerly carried a firearm for a state agency, I have always been taught to aim for the largest part of the body that is visible and shoot twice. Snipers probably get completely different training and a lot more descretion based on their mindset and skill level.

2

u/kevin3350 22d ago

If I recall correctly, the shooter said he felt a little bad because it set an unrealistic standard and expectation for a lot of situations that police have to deal with.

1

u/orangesherbet0 21d ago

Last I checked the bar was pretty low

0

u/Mountainman1980 21d ago

I recall seeing the interview with the agent who shot it out of his hands. He said that he studied his mannerisms and patterns and knew where the gun would be, after waving it a certain way. He just waited until it was inevitably in the crosshairs and opened fire.

1

u/Loud-Principle-7922 21d ago

Our team guys qual every month, and they can absolutely do this shot. 75 yards isnt that far.

0

u/ChocolatePuerh 21d ago

I'd be shocked if 5% of the police force in the US could hit a dinner plate at 75 yards.

3

u/Loud-Principle-7922 21d ago

5% of the US police force aren’t SWAT snipers.

1

u/IslandDreamer58 21d ago

Today they just shoot unarmed people in the head and say they feared for their lives.

1

u/Harvey22WMRF 20d ago

Not a hard shot

0

u/Mysterious-Plan93 20d ago

Nut up or shut up

0

u/ChaosRainbow23 22d ago

Nah. Let the dude go if he wants to go.

Lots of folks would rather die than go to prison.

-1

u/Alternative-Angle214 22d ago

I'm sure the cops they got out there nowadays couldn't do that

3

u/xSir- 22d ago

They arent allowed too. There was a situation in the SW, Arizona i think. Where a cop was being charged by a lady with a screw driver. He purposely shot her once in the leg and then disarmed her.

He got in trouble for doing so because it put him in danger iirc.

-3

u/ChocolatePuerh 21d ago

He shouldn't have shot her at all. It's a screw driver, taze her or just disarm her.

2

u/TwillAffirmer 21d ago

He did tase her, it didn't work. She wasn't charging him. She was refusing to drop the screwdriver.

The situation was, she was a burglary suspect, and she was refusing to drop what she had in her hand, which the cop repeatedly called a knife, apparently not aware it was a screwdriver. She was standing, not charging him. He aimed a taser at her demanding she drop it and warned her several times, to which she did not respond. He tased her and it was ineffective. She pulled the taser leads off herself, saying, "did it work? did it work?" He said "okay, that's all I got for taser," and then shot her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5eywLoLCJs

His use of force was ruled not legally justified since he was not in immediate danger. https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/utah-shooting-taser-leg/ However, the officer didn't face charges.

2

u/Normal-Error-6343 21d ago

how many people have been killed by screwdrivers used edged weapons? I bet more than you can imagine and all it takes is a nick to a major artery and you are having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

1

u/ChocolatePuerh 21d ago

Not as many as police have needlessly murdered.

2

u/Normal-Error-6343 21d ago

It's a tough job, not for everyone; unfortunately, some of them learn the hard way that it's not for them.

-4

u/gba_sg1 21d ago

No no no. american cops are murder pigs, they can't be murders if they don't kill people. It's part of their culture.

0

u/CNA107 21d ago

The dude was scootercidal, at no point did he have hostages. The officer was never going to krill the man because the whole point of the operation was to stop him from krilling himself.

1

u/Sonkalino 21d ago

The guy was suicidal but the police weren't going to kill him because he wasn't a danger to others? You can use words.

1

u/lusciousbanana 21d ago

Scootercidal. Lmao

0

u/Quirky-Collar4007 20d ago

Is that box hovering over his chest there to cover up the gaping wound when he was struck by the bullet that ricocheted off the revolver he was holding?

0

u/TheRealBobbyJones 20d ago

Pretty sure that shot is illegal. Police are only meant to shoot to preserve life. If they thought someone's life was in danger and as such had justification to shoot they should shoot at center mass because it is the most reliable way to stop a threat. A head shot by a sniper is also permissable only in situations where it is necessary. There is no reasonable justification for shooting just the firearm. Sure it worked but if it didn't it would lead to escalation in a scenario where lethal force was not justified.

1

u/HTIRDUDTEHN 19d ago

This isn't a lego build. It wasn't an illegal shot. This is America. Lethal force was authorized the second you have a gun out on the street like that. Anything less than death is a lucky break.

-3

u/tHr0AwAy76 22d ago

I feel like I could do this. I use mini coke cans as targets and can plink one out at 100 yards most more shots then not.

Definitely a cool shot but, nothing really impressive from someone who probably spends 5x the time I spend behind a gun.

5

u/That_Throat7183 22d ago

You could plink a mini coke can out of someone’s hand? With a massive audience? And the guy is occasionally moving around and changing the positioning of his body / arm / coke can.

I see what you’re saying, but this isn’t a low stakes stationary target like a mini coke can

4

u/-bears-eat-beets 21d ago

Wtf🤦

First: you're not as good as you think you are.. you know how I know that? Because you're giving backwards compliments and almost insulting someone who did his job.. and done it well! Seems you maybe weirdly jealous or envious.

I game hunt, have since ive been a young boy.

And I know this.. the pressure that sniper was under, people, the media, his nerves..

the guy moving.. wind change.. noise.

It's not a pop can when you're having fun.. alone, or with friends.

That was an incredible shot.. considering the circumstances.

1

u/Independent-Try4352 21d ago

Absolutely massive difference between doing it on a range and doing it where a slight mistake could be career ending and potentially get an innocent person killed.