I'm disturbed by the recent shooting of unarmed Mike Mays outside a local restaurant on July 9 ("Restaurant shooting: Victim's family questions guard's self-defense claim," Tribune, July 11). But I'm more disturbed by the number of people who support the decision of off-duty security guard George Harrison to fire his weapon without warning when Mays reached in his backpack for what Harrison believed was a gun.

I accept that Harrison's fear was genuine; the threat obviously was not. We should not want to live in a society that provides a "shoot first" notion of self-defense in cases of irrational fear. There were several options available to Harrison that didn't include killing the unarmed Mays, not the least of which might have been to brandish his own concealed weapon and to call the police.

The defense in this killing is that Harrison was scared. Technically, he felt "threatened." That's a defense for killing someone? Harrison should not be allowed to carry a gun in the future. He's obviously not mature enough to handle it. And charges should certainly be filed.

Steve Wynn

Salt Lake City