[CCW IN ACTION] Two Chicago Thugs Thought A Gun Would Guarantee Success — They Just Didn’t Count On Which Gun

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — A 23-year-old man walking home in the park was confronted by two suspects who attempted to rob him at gunpoint. He pulled out his own gun and shot one of the two in the head. In the ensuing fight, he was shot once in the hip. The other thug, seeing his buddy taken out, fled the scene.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the man had a valid license to carry a concealed handgun and was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. He is reported to be in stable condition and will likely recover.

For reference, this all happened in broad daylight. This wasn’t a person looking for a fight or wandering down alleyways waiting for the first bad guy to jump out at him. This was a law-abiding man simply making his way through the city. That’s no reason to fear for your life.

Often times I hear the argument, “I don’t see why you need a gun. It’s pretty easy to stay out of the rough areas.”

Obviously if you know a place is a high-risk area for violent crime, it does you good to stay away from it. I’ve stopped going to certain places since becoming a concealed carrier precisely because I thought it presents too much risk.

Risk aversion is a good trait for a law-abiding gun owner.

However, mitigating risks doesn’t mean eliminating them. There’s a chance that no matter where you go in this world, a bad guy will attempt to prey upon you. And when he does, it’s doubtful he’ll want to fight fair.

A gun doesn’t improve my chances of getting out of a defensive situation without being shot. It at least gives me the option of fighting back and defending myself.

This fight, in this park, started with two bad guys and just some dude trying to walk through a park. It ended with the concealed carrier taking a shot to the hips but he was able to change the mind of his second assailant by neutralizing the first. By seeing that his buddy’s fate could have easily been his own, he wisely decided to leave while he still could.

The concealed carrier defeats more than just the bad guy he neutralizes. He sends a clear message to those who would aid and abet that bad guy. Joining a thug’s crew and rolling up on some unsuspecting stranger isn’t a safe proposition. And with the homicide rate through the roof in Chicago in 2016, we can only assume bad guys are slow learners.

That’s why we carry — every single day, everywhere we legally can.