The two photos combined form a series for me. Although I have to say the first doesn't say rapid as much as the 2nd shot, which is very powerful to me in many ways.....
The 2nd shot really struck a chord with me .... especially as I grew up in South Africa and this was an image I often feared, with the violence etc there, and having friends succumb to such a fate. It is no fun looking down the barrel of a 357 or 9mm short
So as an image .... this really got my heart up to a 'rapid' beat!
Well done on the composition, mood, lighting, though process etc. Now this is the kind of photography I want to produce one day without post processing!
Cheers
Dawn