PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA — A Subway sandwich artist successfully defended himself and others within a franchise location when he shot an armed robber. The armed robber is in critical condition and two other suspects connected with the case have also been arrested.
The worker “apparently felt threatened for him and the other employee in the store and shot the actor at least once,” Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Schaffer said.
The armed robber came in during breakfast hours and demanded money from the employee. The employee, a legally licensed concealed carrier, pulled his own gun and shot the man at least once before the man turned and fled the location. Police arrived at the location and tracked down the suspected robber to a vehicle and a residence. Both the robber and two other people were apprehended in connection to the crime.
The robber is currently in critical condition in a nearby hospital. He was dropped off by a driver in a private vehicle. Once he recovers, he will likely be charged with the attempted armed robbery of that Subway location.
“We received information that the vehicle involved may possibly be parked in front of a residence on Lovitt Way here on the North Side,” Schaffer said. “For the safety of the officers and for the community, we called out SWAT. They were able to get two residents out of one of the houses on Lovitt Way, and they were taken into custody.”
So the bad guy gets dropped off at the hospital and the driver somehow thinks he or she is just going to drive off without any repercussions. That doesn’t work so well when the person you’re dropping off is fading in and out of consciousness due to a gunshot wound.
As for the employee, he had moments to decide whether him and his fellow employee were going to be passive victims or if he was going to try to defend himself. He thankfully did and survived to tell the story.
Because the case looks like a pretty clear self-defensive gun use situation, police are not expected to press charges against the Subway employee. The neighborhood where the crime occurred is generally considered to be a quiet area of the city. Customers were caught off guard by the robbery attempt.
If anything, this Subway location is one place robbers should probably steer clear of.
This is yet another example of a law-abiding citizen who was willing to defend himself and others by using a concealed handgun. It doesn’t matter if you’re an employee at Subway or the largest restaurant in Pittsburgh — your life is worth it. Thugs don’t care but, at the end of the day, you should.
That’s why we keep promoting responsible, everyday concealed carry. We never know when bad guys show up but we certainly know how we want to leave — alive.