Mumbai photographer: I wish I’d had a gun, not a camera.
November 30th, 2008 by Syd
It is the photograph that has dominated the world’s front pages, casting an astonishing light on the fresh-faced killers who brought terror to the heart of India’s most vibrant city. Now it can be revealed how the astonishing picture came to be taken by a newspaper photographer who hid inside a train carriage as gunfire erupted all around him.
Sebastian D’Souza, a picture editor at the Mumbai Mirror, whose offices are just opposite the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji station, heard the gunfire erupt and ran towards the terminus. "I ran into the first carriage of one of the trains on the platform to try and get a shot but couldn’t get a good angle, so I moved to the second carriage and waited for the gunmen to walk by," he said..
…"Towards the station entrance, there are a number of bookshops and one of the bookstore owners was trying to close his shop," he recalled. "The gunmen opened fire and the shopkeeper fell down."
But what angered Mr D’Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply refused to shoot back. "There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything," he said. "At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, ‘Shoot them, they’re sitting ducks!’ but they just didn’t shoot back."
As the gunmen fired at policemen taking cover across the street, Mr D’Souza realised a train was pulling into the station unaware of the horror within. "I couldn’t believe it. We rushed to the platform and told everyone to head towards the back of the station. Those who were older and couldn’t run, we told them to stay put."
The militants returned inside the station and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D’Souza added: "I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera."
Source: The Belfast Telegraph
How many U.S. papers will carry that quote from the photographer?
How many will carry his story about trying to get the armed cops to at least return fire?
Our media worships at the alter of a false god and are not telling the truth about armed civilians. This is proven over and over and over.
When seconds count the police hid.
That’s why we carry guns.
Sad but true. Anymore, if I can’t take my gun, I don’t go. And you can bet that the MSM won’t report on this angle. They’ll focus on the brave masked ninjas that went in and killed the bad guys after everyone else had already been massacred.
Shades of Columbine.
The simple fact of the matter is that your life will NEVER be as valuable to someone else as it is to you, and vice versa. A cop wants to get home to his/her family as much as you do yours and if the odds of that look long to him/her, who can blame him/her for wanting to avoid drawing fire to him/herself? But by doing so, of course, that leaves unarmed citizens on their own. This is one of the reasons why dialing 911 in this country can never be the answer to a sudden, violent attack 100% of the time, as many politicians/bureaucrats would have folks believe.
I know I’m preaching to the choir and that no amount of evidence and plain sense will reach those with an agenda, but thanks for reading along.
Very true. When I take off my Rambo hat, I can have a certain degree of understanding for the police in this situation. All they know is that there are an unknown number of bad actors in unknown locations, all heavily armed, and apparently ready to commit suicide. Nothing is gained by adding yourself to the casualty list. Without a plan and some coordination, an isolated police officer is just walking into a meat grinder in a situation like Mumbai.