Another of those good guys with a gun that the media tell us are mythical:
While the robbers focused on the cash and the clerk, the man touched the 9 mm handgun hidden in a holster under his T-shirt with his pinkie. No one noticed. He knew he had about 10 rounds in the clip.
As he stood there, still clutching his Big Gulp and occasionally taking a sip, the man now found himself facing a tough decision: Should he draw the gun?
He ran through the possible consequences: Will I go to jail? Do I have a clear enough shot that no one else will get hurt? Is anyone else in the store? Will someone else pop in? If I don’t do it, is the clerk or someone else going to get shot?
“I’m thinking about all of that and at the same time thinking, you’re supposed to have the right to bear arms, the right to protect yourself, the right to protect others if need be,” he said.
“I’m like ‘Man, you say you believe in the Second Amendment. You say you believe in America. You know God’s got you.’”
Still holding his drink in one hand, he fired first at the robber behind the counter. He aimed for his shoulder, he said, but ended up hitting him in the neck.
“He hollered, and I think that distracted (the other gunman) because he wasn’t thinking that was going to happen,” the man said. “Nobody thought that was going to happen. He’s probably emotional and distraught because he was in control up to that point.”
The robber behind the counter fell. The one who’d had his gun pointed at the clerk turned to see where the shot had come from. With that weapon now turned in his direction, the man fired two more shots. Both hit the second robber in his torso, killing him.
After kicking the gun away from the dead robber, the man told the clerk to call police, then checked on the one behind the counter to take his gun away and see if he needed first aid.
“He was like, ‘How’s my brother?’” the man said. “I remember answering him pretty coldly. I told him, ‘You don’t got a brother no more.’
“He looked at me like he wanted to do something and I immediately lost it. I was like, ‘(Expletive), no one points a gun at me and gets away with it.’”
The woman at the register had dropped to the floor after the first shot was fired. She was still on the ground shaking uncontrollably, with her hands covering her head, when he went to help her up.
The man, a divorced father of a teenage son and an employee of a medical transport business, was also shaken but tried to remain calm.
He’d never shot anyone before.
Go here to read the rest.
Justice! Phinehas and Mattathias, father of the Maccabean brothers, would be proud of him. Sad that it takes a gun fight to deliver justice, but there it is.
1st Maccabees 2:49 – “Arrogance and scorn have now grown strong; it is a time of disaster and violent wrath.”
There is a good chance the brothers may have robbed the store and left, shooting no one, however (viewing this coldly) from a larger perspective these types of PSAs need to be repeated and spread to the public at large to remind criminals of the dangers of their profession.
That was the third robbery of the evening;
“Brookins was charged in that robbery, as well as three others that occurred that night.”
I wondered how many others were traumatized that night.
The robbers take much more than material goods and money. They take people’s trust in others and people’s dignity as well. They take and then when they least expect it, the ultimate consequence. Death.
These stories need to be shared with all Americans. Legal and illegal immigrants.
[…] GOOD GUY WITH A GUN: A CONTINUING SERIES […]
Ken-
it’s possible, but it’s also possible they would have gotten upset if someone didn’t have enough for them.
Or they’d decide the girl behind the counter at the next place was cute, and take her, and the money.
When they walked in and pointed a gun at people, they were informing everyone that THEY HAD DECIDED TO KILL.
Taking stuff that isn’t theirs was worth taking innocent lives.
They announced: “life is worthless.”
The poor guy who had to pull the trigger? He just took them at their word.
Given that stories of that sort are often rather tight behind the counter, the most likely result would be that the robber with a gun would mistake a movement by a clerk as an attack, and kill him.
sad As you might tell, I’ve spent a lot of time working this through. Usually after one of the “how dare you resist, THAT is what caused the problem” sorts have gone off.
Foxfier- If I had been in his place I would’ve pulled the trigger a lot quicker, but I’m sure this gentleman has much better aim than I do.
“He knew he had about ten rounds in the clip.”
It’s a magazine, not a clip. Great story, though.
I read the original article after I saw it linked at Instapundit last night. And for me, the main takeaway is this: never speak directly to the press. It’s as stupid as speaking to the police without a lawyer.
In a jurisdiction antipathetic to 2nd amendment rights, this guy would be looking at charges based on his statement in the article.
Probably he would, after doing the job of the police. Talking to the police in a situation like this is a bad idea no matter where you live without an attorney present. I can’t blame him however. After a traumatic event like this it is a natural human reaction to talk. However natural human reactions can often be legally hazardous, unfortunately.
“When they walked in and pointed a gun at people, they were informing everyone that THEY HAD DECIDED TO KILL.
Taking stuff that isn’t theirs was worth taking innocent lives.
They announced: “life is worthless.””
Thanks Foxfier