Letter written to Dayton Daily News...

Dear Editor,

Your story copied below has Jawaad Jabbar listed as a victim.

If he is the victim, then who is the perpetrator?

That would have to make his armed robbery victim the perpetrator, which is preposterous, they can't be the same person.

This is a not uncommon error, because a force-of-habit reaction often assumes that a person shooting and a person shot have simplistic roles. In a justifiable shooting like this one against an armed robber, the roles reverse, all supported by common sense and law.

The armed robber Jabbar is the perpetrator. Yes, he was shot, but he is not the victim. Every form of "shot during commission of a felony" would be accurate, ethical reporting. Calling him a shooting victim is not. It improperly elevates a deadly felon.

A clarification should be printed.

"Dayton Armed Robber Shot" or "Dayton Armed Robber Shot By Citizen" would work, perhaps with some explanatory language to help set the record straight... First Responders, like this shoe owner, very often receive little attention for their heroic acts, yet help protect the public and fight crime like any good law enforcement officer, and are sometimes present at just the right moment.

--

Alan Korwin, Publisher
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."

4848 E. Cactus, #505-440

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