Hmmm...you didn't say he was your hero in so many words but that was the impression left by your post.

I didn't see the article but have read it now. You're right in that we don't know how it would have ended otherwise, and any of us who weren't there are bitching from the cheap seats, including me.

Let's say the robber had pulled off several previous jobs and had shot the victims. Then this guy's actions look very good, even with the woman and child there. If the clerk actually knew that information, say through media reports, any reasonable person would see his actions as justified even with the woman and child present.

I think he made a mistake to come out shooting with the woman and child there, but all's well that ends well, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing myself in that situation.

There's just no clear-cut solution.