Welcome to Aftermath, a portion of our First Line email newsletter where Attorney Anthony L. DeWitt walks you through a real-life self-defense incident and shares his key takeaways.
A man went on a three-business crime spree in Missouri in the early hours of a July morning. He cleaned out the cash registers of the first business before leaving the clerk alive. He then burglarized another business before coming to a QuikTrip convenience store.
Another man had purchased goods at the convenience store and was on his way back to his car when he noticed a black SUV stop suddenly in front of the QT. The burglar jumped out with a backpack and ran inside, where he threatened the clerk with a knife to her throat. The defender retrieved his gun, entered the store and confronted the robber, who rummaged in his backpack while approaching the defender, saying, āIāve got something for you right here.ā The defender shot the man several times. Despite rescue efforts, the assailant died. He was tied to multiple robberies and was driving a stolen car.
Have you considered how you would handle a threat when third parties are under direct threat? What training have you taken or are you considering to prepare for such a scenario?
Agree with this as the optimal choice in this scenario.
If I was in the store when the criminal came in and felt that I could see and hear everything going on, I might choose to take action if I believed myself or others in the store were under imminent threat of serious bodily harm. I would want as much info as possible to ensure my actions and when I choose to take them had a high enough chance of decreasing or stopping the threat to be worth the many risks involved.
Entering the store from outside, especially with a firearm in my hand, could unnecessarily escalate an already dangerous situation. Especially since I would then be standing between the criminal and their easiest/most obvious route of escape. It is usually not wise to corner dangerous animals.
If I am not directly involved in the robbery and I have the opportunity to exit the building, I would do so and be the best witness I can.
If I am involved int the robbery, say, as a hostage, wellā¦that is a different story altogether and my actions would be situation specific. If a family member were involved in the robbery, I would become a completely different person, and I would probably go to jail for my actions.
Interesting Question. Would I engage an armed scumbag threatening a store clerk with a knife? I āThinkā so, I like to believe I could be helpful in a situation where someone is under attack by an overwhelming force, where I could balance the scales.
This kind of training is sorely missing from most places. Or, it is considered an āadd onā after getting the fundamentals down. This is a fundamental. This is most likely how it is going to go down. There is no warning, no getting your stance right, and maybe no time to think through this and that and consider the consequences. When I was in the military, you ādrilled until you droppedā so your brain goes into auto-pilot in a fire, flooding, man overboard, or other āat seaā emergency.
A basic āliveā course (low cost) in this kind of thing should be part of self-defense training 101. Static training at an indoor or outdoor range can only take you so far. Same with videos. This has to be hands on, high stress environment (simulated), and taught by ābeen there, done thatā instructors (military combat vets or similar) who can show what to do and what not to do.
All good points I was in that siituation several years ago i puled up in front a store and seen a man with a gun roughing up another yes I could have been a hero grabbed my gun and went in and shot the guy with the gun but on the other hand I did not know the situation so I called 911 and decided to exit the lot as it turned out it was the store owner with the gun some times it is hard to put an auto trany into reverse.
The fact that we are not the police is a factor here. Retreat if possible. Avoid if possible. De-escalate if possible. If all else fails, then you have to defend yourself.
The fact that no one has been harmed and that there was a series of robberies going on is something we would not know.
If you realized, you forgot to get yourself a bag of chips and a soda then went back in the store during the incident would just be inconvenient, for the robber. These things happen.
The perpās criminal history is irrelevant to the scenario. Itās not something a bystander can know. From where I sit, those facts seem to have been added to make folks feel better about shooting the perp.
The only facts that matter to the shooting are: āThe burglar jumped out with a backpack and ran inside, where he threatened the clerk with a knife to her throat. The defender retrieved his gun, entered the store and confronted the robber, who rummaged in his backpack while approaching the defender, saying, āIāve got something for you right here.ā The defender shot the man several times.ā
So, if you saw someone threaten another with a knife, would you leave to retrieve your firearm and come back to engage the perp? Or, leave and call the police? Having a firearm does not deputize anyone as an auxiliary law enforcement agent.
I think the question is, is one jeopardizing more lives by confronting the burglar? Some people have a built in mechanism to come to the aid of a would be victim and some people do not. I am a compassionate person and I think I would come to the aid of the victim. To be honest , there could be extenuating circumstances not mentioned in the scenario that would cause me to not. Like if the victim and the burglar looked like they knew each other.
There are many potential innuendos to consider that did not make the story. How did the defender enter the QT, was his gun drawn, what was his demeanor, what was said when confronting the robber, were any de-escalation techniques utilized, was the knife still at the throat of the clerk as the robber began to rummage through his backpack, did the defender call 911 prior to entering the QT, and so on. I understand that the defendant feared for his life as the robber rummaged through his backpack and, at that point, de-escalation was most likely no longer an option. I was taught, and firmly believe, to NEVER draw your gun unless you are 100% certain that you are going to use it. So, again, too many unknowns. De-escalation may have been possible but once a gun is drawn, options are severely limited.
