In this video supposedly taken on October 29, 2015 and released on November 1 via LiveLeak, an armed robber brandishes his gun and begins ordering customers and employees around. The armed robber is then ambushed by one of the employees armed with his own handgun. On the surface, this could have been an opportunity for some heroic act but the reality is that the employee could have done more damage than good. We’ll explain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp67EPicMW8
First off, it’s always a good thing when a legally armed person is able to confront and meet force-on-force to criminal violence. It sets the precedent that just because you’re a thug with a gun, it doesn’t mean you’ll get your way. But matched with the ability to use deadly force is the responsibility to use it judiciously.
When the armed employee opened fire on the robber, the robber was in very close proximity to other guests. Off by a few inches on either side, that bullet could have just as easily landed in the customers as the perpetrator himself — bad situation. More importantly, while the armed robber did constitute a threat to himself and others, putting others at risk by firing wildly is just plain irresponsible.
The robber escaped and obviously no one was hurt. The couple that was nearest to the gunfire appear visibly distressed — and for good cause. Their lives were in jeopardy while the robber and the employee exchanged fire. They were directly in the cross-fire path of those bullets.
Let’s take a little life lesson from this — only take a shot if you can hit your target and avoid catching others in the cross-hairs. The employee missed and in doing so, turned that pizza joint into a shooting gallery. Use judicious aiming and definitely realize every bullet that leaves your gun will be accounted for when the police arrive.