Armed Suspect Announces Robbery at Deli, But The Armed Owner Had Different Plans

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA — When a gun-wielding bad guy walked into a local neighborhood deli and declared a hold-up, he probably expected everyone would just drop their wallets, phones, and jewelry and he would miraculously walk away unscathed. Just one problem: the deli’s owner also had a gun.

According to 6 ABC Action News – Philadelphia, the armed robber probably managed to finish his declaration of intent to commit a robbery before he received several gunshots from the deli’s owner. The robber went to the hospital and is still there, recuperating from multiple critical gunshot wounds.

Weird. It’s like people don’t like having their lives and livelihoods threatened by criminals.

I really wish I could say, “wow, well, criminals know not to rob THAT deli anymore.”

I can’t.

That’s the problem with criminals — they don’t take hints. Contrary to popular opinion, lightening CAN strike the same place twice. As a business owner, if you experience an armed robbery, you’ll probably experience another one. Probability be damned.

Now, the chances go up based upon volume. In a dense, urban environment, there’s more criminals to run into. There’s more opportunity for a criminal to see your storefront and think, “wow, I bet I can rob that and not die.”

That doesn’t mean you can’t have your store robbed if you’re out in the middle of the countryside. One of the basic motives, when picking the location of a business, is density of traffic.

It should be no wonder two of the most popular places to stage a robbery are gas stations and convenience stores. Both are usually located in places that guarantee a high volume of people. Inner city locations also have a fantastic record of getting targeted.

One deli owner realized that the cost of doing business in his location is he will need to protect himself and his store from harm. He counted on that happening. Surprise, surprise — it did.

I’m glad he was prepared.

Philadelphia is a funny city for gun owners because, unlike neighboring New Jersey, Maryland, and largely Delaware, Pennsylvania actually supports its gun owners. Instead of waiting for some armed criminal to point a gun at them, Philly store owners actually have a choice about whether or not they want to fight back.

You would think criminals would take that into account when picking their next target for a robbery. Well, until they do, may as well carry concealed every single day, everywhere you possibly can.