LANCASTER, TEXAS — Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid. For one robbery suspect, his hardships are over. He tried to rob a convenience store with a BB gun. He didn’t bank on the clerk being armed himself. That’s the sort of mistake that’s only made once.
According to surveillance footage processed by Dallas police, the suspect walked into a Whistle Stop convenience store with a hood over his head, mask, and gloves on. When he put a bag on the counter and told the clerk to fill it up with money, the clerk fought for his life. He didn’t know that the gun in the robber’s waistband was a BB gun.
After the robber was shot, he tried to run but collapsed and died in the doorway.
Police recovered the BB gun but are not charging the clerk with any wrongdoing. After all, how can anyone reasonably assume the gun being pulled on him is not a real gun?
It’s a dumb reason to get shot and it’s also the price criminals pay for trying to victimize store clerks.
There must be some common misconception that hoods can just charge in, rob a store clerk, and somehow make it out with any real money.
A.) Most cash stocks are kept low by making regular deposits into a safe.
B.) Everything around the cashier is of extremely limited value.
C.) Almost every major convenience store has surveillance.
D.) Most major convenience stores have panic alarms which the cashier can trip if he or she feels threatened.
The list goes on. Needless to say, robbing a convenience store is stupid. From crime logs, however, it appears that just because it’s stupid doesn’t mean it’s going to stop. A clerk working at a convenience store has to be subjected to the violent whims of every half-baked criminal who wanders into his store. He can be the subject of violence, abuse, gang initiations… He’s stuck dealing with a lot of garbage.
In almost any situation where I could see myself working in a convenience store, it would certainly include a concealed carry handgun and at least two magazines. Why two magazines? Because unlike in the normal civilian world where just about everyone has a chance to break distance with contact, a store clerk is stuck in a sardine box. His assailants can choose pretty much any angle of approach and he’s stuck standing there.
Heck, that’s one of the few professions where I’d consider wearing at least NIJ Level III/III+ body armor. Who wants to contend with idiot thugs that aren’t afraid to pull stupid antics for no money?
Well, this clerk didn’t have to. And hopefully, word gets out on the street that the clerk working at that convenience store has a gun and will use it. Now there’s a fifth reason to never rob a convenience store.