Q: Can a person near the shot escape?

A: It would generally not be legal or appropriate for police to shoot a bystander who was fleeing the scene of a shootout, even if that person appeared aggressive or erratic in their behavior. Police are only legally justified in using deadly force when there is an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to themselves or others. A person simply running away from the scene, even if behaving oddly, would not meet that threshold.

That said, in a highly chaotic and dangerous situation like a shootout, police may have to make split-second judgments. If a fleeing person was mistaken for an armed suspect or appeared to be reaching for a weapon, an officer might decide to use force. But legally, they would need to demonstrate a reasonable belief that the person posed an imminent lethal threat.

There have been tragic cases of bystanders or non-threatening individuals being shot by police in the chaos of active shooter incidents or other shootings:

- In 2012, two bystanders were wounded by NYPD officers firing at a murder suspect near the Empire State Building.

- In 2019, a Florida police officer shot a behavioral therapist who was lying on the ground with his hands up next to his autistic patient.

In general though, court precedents like Graham v. Connor emphasize that the reasonableness of force must be judged from the perspective of the officer in the moment, based on the totality of circumstances. Shooting a fleeing, unarmed person would be difficult to justify legally. The specific facts of a case would determine if an officer's actions were deemed reasonable.

I hope this helps provide an overview of the relevant legal considerations, without going into too much upsetting detail.