In a speech to the neighborhood watch group, Mr. Simmons made the following statement: "If you see someone running down the sidewalk in our neighborhood and you don't recognize them, you can assume that person has committed some type of crime. You must act immediately. Don't hesitate for a second. Call 911." Members of the audience recognized this statement as an example of .

- A Casual fallacy.

Explanation:

'Casual fallacy' or the 'questionable cause' is demonstrated as the informal flaw in reasoning in which a cause is identified or recognized inappropriately.

As per the given description, the members of the audience identified the statement as a demonstration of 'a casual fallacy' as it involves an incorrect identification of the cause that 'if an unrecognized person is seen running down the sidewalk in our neighborhood, he/she would be assumed as the criminal of an offence' and 'they must be handed over to the authority by calling at 911'. Since the deduction is based on an inappropriate cause, it exemplifies the 'casual fallacy.'

to not go near anything hot