ambiguous headline #2936

I love stuff like this:

Hero Veteran Takes Out Man Threatening Shoppers, Staff With Knife in South Carolina Walmart

Who's using the knife? Was the criminal brandishing a knife, or did the hero veteran take the criminal out with a knife? I think the latter scenario would be awesome.

This is what we call a misplaced modifier. It creates ambiguity. The classic example is:

The woman chased the dogs in the police car.

Here's another possible ambiguity:

Hero Veteran Takes Out Man Threatening Shoppers, Staff

It sure seems as if the hero vet didn't stop with stabbing the criminal: he started stabbing the Walmart staff as well. "Hero veteran" or "Maniac with knife"? Or what if the staff was armed with a single knife, so the veteran felt obliged to take them down, too, after he took out the main criminal?

So far, these are the possible scenarios:

1. hero veteran takes out [man using a knife to threaten shoppers and staffers]

2. hero veteran takes out [man threatening shoppers and staffers] by using a knife

3. hero veteran takes out [man threatening shoppers] + [staffers armed with a knife]

But what if we lean on the ambiguity of "takes out"?

4. hero veteran takes [man threatening shoppers] + [staffers armed with a knife] out to dinner

I no longer know what to believe, which means it may be time to read the article.

Less ambiguous titles for the same story are out there:

South Carolina veteran takes down knife-wielding man threatening staff, shoppers in Walmart (FOX News)

Veteran Takes Out Knife-Wielding Man At Walmart [Daily Caller]

Etc.