A Fresh Reminder About Internet Sales Meet-Ups: Be Safe, Be Armed, Be Responsible, Don’t Go Too Far

GWINNETT COUNTY, GEORGIA — One person was shot and another arrested after the duo attempted an armed robbery on a man who was trying to sell them a cell phone via a Craigslist ad. The efforts on their part did not pan out, and the armed citizen is happy that he had his firearm with him. Local news reports;

Detectives are not sure who shot first but say the seller was also armed. He got out of the car and shot Jaylen Holmes three times through the car, according to officers. “The shooter was actually the victim of an armed robbery,” [Snellville Police Det. Kevin] Seay said. The seller, who works as a security guard, is not facing any charges.

While I’m happy that the armed citizen wasn’t injured, I do have to poke away at his execution of tactics. The police seem to have ruled this as a self-defense shooting, but it could have easily gone in a bad direction. The reason; the armed citizen got out of his vehicle, chased down the suspects in their car and fired. It isn’t known who shot first, but my first instincts would tell me to hit the gas and GTFO as quickly as possible. Shooting at fleeing suspects is never a good idea. The argument that would come up is that the suspects were firing back. To me, that’s even more reason not to run towards them, and to instead find a safe location and get some cover. How do you feel you’d handle a situation like this? After all is said and done with this story, the best option is to meet a potential buyer/seller at a police station. That’s going to be your safest bet when it comes to these interactions, as you never know who you’re going to be meeting up with, and what their intentions really are.