Philadelphia Hammer Attack: Would you have stepped in?

**Gino** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 7:33pm

Warrant out in Philadelphia subway hammer attack

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Philadelphia have an arrest warrant for a patient in a mental hospital suspected of attacking a stranger on the subway with a hammer.
The suspect was not immediately charged in the attack, which took place on the Broad Street Subway just after midnight on Thursday.
Surveillance video shows the attacker boarding the subway with a young child about 5 years old. Detective Kenneth Roach says it appears that the man kissed the child, then told him to sit down.
After that, the man reached into a backpack he was carrying, pulled out a hammer and began attacking another man who was sitting nearby and dozing off.
The attack spilled onto the subway platform and lasted for several minutes. The victim has been released from a hospital.

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In one of the newspaper accounts, a cop expressed disgust that no one stepped in to help. So I ask you: Do you think you would have tried to stop this attack on a stranger if you were there? Why or why not? I like to think I would have, but I'm not sure...

**Gino** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 7:40pm

Here's a link to the video of the attack. I would embed the vid, but I'm too stupid to know how. Note how the other riders run for the hills when the guy starts swinging.

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2008/...way_hammer.php

**danniboi07** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 7:46pm

Link don't work...

here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p4np9zJNtQ

It's easy to say I would step in and try to stop the guy...but when the time actually comes...I really have no idea. For now though, I think I'd try.

**Lu Tze** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 8:01pm

I don't know if I'd go Rambo and charge straight at the guy on my own, but I'd definitely be looking for something to smack him on the back of the head with (even just in case he came for me next), and trying to rouse some of the crowd into helping. If I was running, I'd be running for help, not just to save my own ass.

There was one guy in that vid who was almost nonchalant... Panicking in the face of violence is forgiveable, but standing there watching a guy get beat with a fucking hammer and doing nothing at all is terrible.

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 10:43pm

Everyone would LIKE to say they would. But people are sheep. Plain and simple. Sheep. I hope the people on this video live a long life. A long life so they reflect on thier cowardice. Sure - I'm sure in the version of the story that they tell to family and friends it will include all sorts of "reasons" not to get involved. Perhaps in time they will even begin to believe those "reasons". But in thier hearts they know they are cowards.

And that is the truth of it.

**elbines** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 10:44pm

kinda off topic but it seems that the man must have some relation to the victim, whether it be an old grudge or past wrong. The guys doesn't seem to be apprehensive or anything, he looks calm and the attack, to me looks pre meditated. People just dont go around randomly hitting people in the head with f*cking hammers.

I feel bad for the kid though, definatley not good lessons to be learned at such a young age.

As far as doing something, its been said on this website before, but tha phenomena i beleive is called the diffusion of responsibility, where the impulse to act in that situation is quantitavely (sp?) divided amongst the people that were there.

I'd love to say yeah I would help him, but in all honesty I prolly wouldn't do jack **** until someone ELSE did something. Hence, the phenomena manifests itself. Any thoughts or opinions?

**jdinca** · Posted On: 9/11/2008 11:44pm

Yes, I would.

**danniboi07** · Posted On: 9/12/2008 12:16am

Originally Posted by elbines

kinda off topic but it seems that the man must have some relation to the victim, whether it be an old grudge or past wrong. The guys doesn't seem to be apprehensive or anything, he looks calm and the attack, to me looks pre meditated.

Same thing happened with the guy that decapitated the other guy on the bus. Calm and collected savagery. Doesn't mean it's not psychotic.

**Petter** · Posted On: 9/12/2008 12:29am

Originally Posted by elbines

As far as doing something, its been said on this website before, but tha phenomena i beleive is called the diffusion of responsibility, where the impulse to act in that situation is quantitavely (sp?) divided amongst the people that were there.

I'd love to say yeah I would help him, but in all honesty I prolly wouldn't do jack **** until someone ELSE did something. Hence, the phenomena manifests itself.

QFT.

Though I cannot help but think, from that video, that the asshole was giving up his back -- anyone could have hit him in the back of the head, got him in a choke or a full nelson, or hell, waved someone else over -- taken that much initiative -- and grabbed his arms. When it comes to the inaction of bystanders, I have much more understanding for the people on the Greyhound bus than the ones on that train.