Armed Defense- Armed Attackers
Firearms Instructor Amanda Suffecool brought us four new stories of armed defense. Honest citizens defend themselves with a firearm thousands of times a day. Notice that in these stories the defenders didn’t always have their gun with them. That is a valuable lesson that we’d rather learn from others than have to learn on our own.
The longer discussion of what we should do, and what we should avoid, is on the Self Defense Gun Stories webpage. For now, here are the stories and the links to the original news sources.
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Morgan Park, Illinois- Are you armed at home?
The news doesn’t say how the man got into your home, but you are now yelling for him to leave. You’ve met him before, but now it is almost 1 in the morning and the man grabs a knife and threatens you. You retreat and grab your gun. Your knife-wielding attacker advances toward you again. You shoot him several times until he drops his knife and stops advancing. You step back and call 911. You stay at the scene and continue to talk with the police dispatcher. You put your gun away when the officers arrive.
You give the officers a brief statement about what happened. EMS transports your attacker to the hospital. You are questioned and released. Police take your firearm as evidence. You are not charged.
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Saint Louis, Missouri- Are you armed in public?
The news reports aren’t clear if this was a robbery or a carjacking. You are in or near your car. It is almost midnight, and two young men wearing ski masks run towards you. One of them breaks your car window to get inside. You tell them to get back, but one of the attackers charges you. You shoot him and he stops. The other attacker runs away. You stay at the scene and call 911.
You put your gun away when the police are nearby. You give them a statement and a description of your attackers. Police find your attacker a few blocks away. They also find the firearm he stashed. EMS declares one of your attackers dead at the scene.
Your other attacker is charged with armed criminal action, attempted stealing of a vehicle and tampering with evidence in a felony prosecution. He is held on a 1-million dollar cash bond. He is 18 years old.
You are not charged with a crime.
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Atlanta, Georgia- Are you armed at work?
You are a building contractor working on a home repair. You start back to your truck to return some tools. You see someone breaking into your truck. You shout for them to stop. The thief shoots at you. You’re armed. You shoot back. You duck back inside the home and call 911 for help.
Police arrive at the scene and disarm your attacker. EMTs treat your attacker and transport him to the hospital. Police arrest him and determine that he is a juvenile. You give a statement to the police. You point out the evidence.
You wonder who is responsible for repairing the bullet holes in the home.
You are not charged.
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Wake Forest Crossing, North Carolina- Are you armed in public?
You’re walking across the grocery store parking lot on a Sunday night. It is after dark when you hear some people arguing. It looks like a man is arguing with a couple. You slow down to see what is happening. The man shouts louder and you see him present a firearm and shoot at the couple. They back away. The armed attacker chases them.
You have your North Carolina concealed carry permit and you’re armed tonight. You present your firearm and shoot at the attacker. He stops shooting and runs away. You see him get into a car and drive away. You reholster you firearm and call 911. You move toward the couple and ask if they’re injured.
You give a statement to the police when they arrive. The attacker crashed his car nearby. Police arrest the attacker and take him to jail. He is banged up from his car crash, but neither the couple nor their attacker were wounded. The attacker is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm in the city limits, driving while impaired, driving without a drivers license, failure to wear a seatbelt, and failure to maintain lane control. Police later called the attack “domestic violence.”
The news story doesn’t mention what happened to your groceries. You are not charged with a crime.
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These stories sound simple but there are so many ways they could have gone wrong. Making good decisions in a hurry takes planning and rehearsal. We have to rely on good habits when we’re too startled to think clearly. A safety plan is a collection of best practices. When was the last time you walked through your safety plan with your family, your training partner, or talked about it with your self-defense instructor?
What is your plan in your home, at work, and in public? RM
SlowFacts 