Readiness is more than just a gun….
Can You Hear Me Now?
It was just before lunchtime on a Thursday in August at a cell-phone store in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. The neighborhood was a quiet one that hadn’t seen an armed robbery in 15 years—a streak that ended when two men entered the store, one of them brandishing a handgun. While the gunman held the clerk at gunpoint, his accomplice prepared to gather loot.
But the clerk, who had a concealed carry permit, had no intention of being robbed. He drew his concealed handgun and opened fire on the intruders, striking the gunman multiple times. The gunman collapsed on site and was transported to a hospital for treatment. His gun was found in the store. His unarmed accomplice fled and was still being sought at the time of this writing.
SOURCE: WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 8/17/17
Cross-Counter Close Encounter
The southwest Wichita convenience store sat at a busy intersection, crowded with strip malls and fast food joints, but the bustle of potential witnesses was no deterrent to one would-be robber on a Sunday night. While the clerk busied himself with his duties at the register, a man posing as a customer waited for the drawer to open and then vaulted the counter, bulling the clerk aside and attempting to snatch the cash from the till.
The 23-year-old clerk drew a pistol and fired twice at his attacker, sending him back over the counter and out the door. It was unknown if the robber was struck by the clerk’s fire, and a similar robbery occurred later that evening at another nearby store. Police were uncertain if the two robberies were linked.
SOURCE: The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, Kansas, 8/21/17
Intoxicated Intruder
On a Sunday evening in late August, a woman in Tuolumne City, California heard the sound of someone trying to force entry into her house via the front door. Fearing for her and her three children’s safety, the woman called 911 and reported the commotion, then armed herself with a handgun while remaining on the line with the dispatcher.
Hiding her children upstairs, she repeatedly yelled at the intruder to go away. When he succeeded in forcing his way through the front door, she fired, striking him once non-fatally. The intruder fled to a nearby house, where he had earlier been partying. The people at the party house did not call police and attempted to provide first aid themselves. When deputies arrived, they found the wounded intruder had a blood alcohol level of .250—three times the legal limit.
SOURCE: The Modesto Bee, Modesto, California, 8/21/17
“That’s Just Texas”
A 60-year-old grandmother was alone in her Katy, Texas home on the last Monday morning in July when two young men armed with handguns strolled through the open garage door and into the house. The woman confronted the men and, realizing she was being robbed, retrieved a handgun of her own and opened fire on the pair.
One robber was struck fatally and died at the scene. His partner fled, vaulting a fence and disappearing into an adjacent subdivision. While some neighbors professed fear at the thought of the crime that had occurred in their neighborhood, one woman told reporters, “It’s just … you know what? In the state of Texas, if you’re gonna get on somebody’s property, you’re gonna get shot. That’s just the way we are, that’s just Texas.”
SOURCE: KTRK-TV, Houston, Texas, 8/1/17
