Not commented on this so far, but however well-intentioned the military take-over from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood government, proving that there is far more to a real democracy than the mere arithmetic of popular majority voting and body-bag counts, the shooting of hundreds by the state security forces is a criminal tragedy. It’s going to set Egypt back a long way.
Often wonder how the US supporters of “the right to bear arms (against your own government)” would honestly handle it differently. Massive peaceful (but armed) demonstration occupying public places, opening fire on the security forces, killing several, when ordered to break it up and leave. Lethal force meets lethal force. Probably a defensively armoured stand-off would be preferable to actual retreat, if they’d come prepared for that, but once fire is returned …. already a bloody mess.
Would it have been less of a mess if the forces had simply withdrawn from the (armed) mob once they had been fired upon. Somehow I doubt it. Like I said, a mess.