One Man with a Shotgun Sends the Oakland OWS Rioters Fleeing

One armed citizen against the mob.

Oakland developer Phil Tagami is used to working behind the scenes to broker some of the biggest deals in town. Late Wednesday, he was using different persuasive skills - holding a loaded shotgun to scare away rioters trying to get into a downtown building.

"We had people who attempted to break into our building," the landmark Rotunda Building on Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, Tagami said Thursday. He grabbed a shotgun that he usually keeps at home, went down to the ground floor and "discouraged them," he said.

"I was standing there and they saw me there, and I lifted it - I didn't point it - I just held it in my hands," Tagami said. "And I just racked it, and they ran."

Scatterguns are funny like that, they strike the fear of God in those on the business end of things.

reply to post by SirMike


I think I would like to buy Phil a beer. Has anybody noticed that the majority of these OWS protests are in cities that have strict gun control laws?

Why would they run? They must have outnumbered him 50 to 1,

It's like none of these people have ever had a gun pulled on them or have ever been shot at.

Shows a lack of conviction.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Because nobody wants to be the first to get shot! How many times has a single armed man turned a mob away (Wyatt Earp?), or kept a bunch at work (chain gangs)?

Free men who believe in what they're doing are much harder to dissuade...

it doesnt matter if theres 500 people facing one gun, who wants to be the one that gets shot? thats assuming none of the ows protesters have body armour then it changes everything

I find it ironic that people have no problem pulling guns on their fellow citizens, yet bend over submissively to the government time after time. Priorities in check...

reply to post by SirMike


Glad to see him exercise his right to defend his property!! The masked agitators were armed with crow bars hammers and a variety of mixed objects used to break windows to gain access to buildings. These items are also viewed as weapons in cases like this. Shotgun will certainly win everytime.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Why would they run? They must have outnumbered him 50 to 1,

It's like none of these people have ever had a gun pulled on them or have ever been shot at.

Shows a lack of conviction.

I don't believe it's a lack of conviction. It's a total lack of life experience outside of their very narrow and focused lives. College, high school debate clubs and planning social events is about the extent of the entire experience base some of them have...and these are some of the organizers here.

I'll never forget the General Assembly debate I wound up in the middle of for CCW carry inside the OWS camp, the first day I was there. The main points against the mere thought of such a thing weren't based on any concern voiced about me personally, but the whole concept of how ANYONE could ever see the need to carry a big nasty gun.

This, while we're standing in downtown St Louis, which has a distinction of earning Murder Capital of the nation more than one year out of the last several. The level of naivety on that subject led me to believe they were sincere and completely upfront in where their opinion and feelings come from.......and total 'rosey red glasses' world view, basically.

I know St Louis isn't every camp...but I've yet to see but a couple that have shown even a slight improvement in how the organizers talk and carry themselves for having more sense than I saw there.

All ideas, no street smarts. It's why I really worry for the good people out in the camps. They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag with a flashlight and a set of directions....yet they willingly welcome some of the most vicious of a local city criminal element to come on in and join the camp....everyone is part of that 99%, right??

reply to post by Maxatoria


Even with a vest, getting hit with a .33 caliber ball hurts really bad.

reply to post by Maxatoria


The presence of a gun doesnt mean anyone is getting shot.

I have very large doubts this guy would have pulled the trigger. Brandishing is one thing. Murder is a another.

To scatter is unwarranted.

What happened to the hippies who would stare down guardsmen and place flowers into barrels? Even the hippies 50 years ago were tougher/braver than todays common hipster.

Originally posted by SirMike
One armed citizen against the mob.

Oakland developer Phil Tagami is used to working behind the scenes to broker some of the biggest deals in town. Late Wednesday, he was using different persuasive skills - holding a loaded shotgun to scare away rioters trying to get into a downtown building.

"We had people who attempted to break into our building," the landmark Rotunda Building on Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, Tagami said Thursday. He grabbed a shotgun that he usually keeps at home, went down to the ground floor and "discouraged them," he said.

"I was standing there and they saw me there, and I lifted it - I didn't point it - I just held it in my hands," Tagami said. "And I just racked it, and they ran."

Scatterguns are funny like that, they strike the fear of God in those on the business end of things.

Funny how you missed a whole section on htis being an isolated group. That this group was acting in a way not representative of the OWS group and praised the OWS group for their peacefull protest.

But hey who am I to spoil the spin you are trying to put on the story.

It is obvious without a video game controller them people didn't know what to do !