FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS — An armed robbery occurred at a local Walgreens near Houston, Texas. Coincidentally, a concealed carrier was in the store at the time of the robbery and he took action. Let’s take a look at the report and see if you might have done something differently.
Police say the suspect held up the store on East Parkwood Avenue around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Via ABC 13
A customer inside saw what happened and shot at the man as he left, causing him to drop some of the stolen money. Police don’t know if he was hit.
Authorities say he got away in Kia, possibly driven by a woman.
Although information is limited, we do know one major fact; The concealed carrier in the store did not open fire until after the robbery had taken place. The concealed carrier took the shot as the robber was leaving the store with a bag of money. Did he make the right call?
Generally speaking, it is thought that you should only discharge your firearm in a life-threatening self defense situation; either for you life or the life of another that is in danger. Additionally, it is also often considered bad policy to shoot at a person fleeing. Our Walgreens concealed carrier broke rank against both of these rules.
If you were in a store that was being robbed, but your life wasn’t directly in danger, would you intervene? What about after the robbery occurred and the bad guy had the money, would you take a shot to stop him from getting away?
Circumstances and specifics matter when considering these kinds of things. There is most likely a very valid and invalid circumstance for taking a shot in each of the questions above.
We do know, however, the shot caused the robber to drop some of the money. So although the concealed carrier didn’t completely stop the robber, he certainly made the haul less valuable. Furthermore, it doesn’t sound like police are considering charging the concealed carrier for taking the shot. They must have determined he was legally in his right to do so.
Still, it’s risky business for all involved if bullets start flying in the direction of a fleeing suspect.
Plus, stories like these don’t help the cause for lawfully carrying firearms. Walgreens, for example, is a don’t-carry-guns-in-our-stores business.
Would you have done things differently?