I got my CCW license this summer. Carriers have to be careful. My firearm is for My family’s protection, not necessarily everyone in my surroundings, (strangers). In those situations I’ll call 911 and try to be a good witness if at all possible. I would absolutely let the robbery occur and hope no shots get fired while calling police, even if I can’t talk out loud.

If he shot the clerk and came in my direction I’d hope to already have him lined up.

This is a common knee-jerk answer that again, coddles the criminal and invites this sort of urban terrorism. Why did this perp believe a score of a few hundred bucks was worth a possible robbery conviction? Because he believed his arrest was unlikely and, if caught, the punishment threat was not severe enough to deter him.

A perp that knew he is in effect DEAD the day he initiates a gun aided crime would face a real deterrence, knowing that all society would be turned loose to accomplish his/her demise. The perp should know he’s fair game to be killed by anyone without hesitation – cop, employee, customer – during a robbery incident. The mere display of a gun by a perp, for example, should fully entitle a concealed carry customer to shoot the perp without warning. The perp should know with confidence that when caught he will be tried, found guilty and executed. No hesitation to defend by victims or witnesses or police officers, no worry about the manner or severity of the defense, no need to provide audible warnings in multiple tongues, no hand wringing over penalties, just plain old defensive justice.

But our feeble society instead is into nebulous “feelings” and ethereal criminal rights, so we will continue to see these haunting images of gun packing demons in our midst. Sometimes killing or maiming their victims on video, sometimes just inflicting emotional scars that will never go away. But – heavens no – we can’t react too harshly or they’ll turn into real killers by necessity.

Hogwash.

I am alive today because I reacted with an adrenalin-fueled rage that beat my attacker into a coma, cracked open his skull and scared his colleagues into retreat. It is shameful that Mr. Alam’s worries for his family, should his response to the attack be later viewed as excessive, influenced his reactions. Hesitation in my episode would have been fatal, and Mr. Alam should not have wasted a micro second worrying about his reactions.

The police enjoy a level of protection that unarmed citizens do not. A perp approaching a cop with a drawn gun does not need to fire it to be shot dead by the officer. The perp’s threat of deadly force is enough justification to end his life to save the officer, and that’s why so few perps draw on cops. They know it is suicide.

The general public deserves the same level of deterrence.

After all, what was to prevent the crook from killing the store clerk after he got the money? It has been known to happen, whether the crook was disguised, or not.

But the clerk should have grabbed his cell phone and chased the robber outside (with the robber’s gun), just to make sure the perp had fled.

Perp will die in prison for being crazy fearless.

It was pretty big of him to not shoot when he had the opportunity.

Dusty on August 8, 2007 at 10:25 PM

He nearly lost his life because he didn’t shoot when he had the opportunity. It’s “cruel pity.”

The dude seemed wired on coke.

That’s what I was thinking. He forgot to put the shell in? When he came back for the gun and jumped over the counter I was thinking WTF?, does he want to get shot? Then I remembered the coke and figured he forgot that he remembered to put the shell in, and thought he was coming back for an empty gun. He really was that stupid, as we see later. Who robs a store driving a car that wasn’t stolen?

Jailbones, It’s not a give me your guns state. It is fairly easy to get a concealed carry permit here, though it is harder in NYC than the rest of the state, I suppose. This happened in Albany.

Dusty on August 8, 2007 at 10:51 PM

Fair enough. From Chicago, it’s easy to assume that the rest of New York is run by dipshits like Bloomberg and Hinchey. Make no mistake, I would have shot the maggot and then spent the next 20 minutes smashing mayonnaise jars on his head until the cops got there, but my faith in our justice systems wanes.

In north suburban Chicago, a guy that shot an intruder into his family home was prosecuted because the (weenie) suburb had a handgun ban, like Chicago.

“I would have shot him but I didn’t know if the camera was working and no one was in the store to be a witness,” Alam said. “I’ve got a family. I don’t want any trouble.”

I thought he did fine, under those circumstances.

Can you watch it without going “Yoink!”? I can’t.

At some point, you have to consider consequences.

Plus, our countries find it difficult (mine impossible) to put to death child murderers in most jurisdictions… “automatically” killing everyone who uses a gun in those three crimes would be hard to get a consensus behind.

I’ll save my condemnation and second guessing for the bad guy and accept that the clerk did what he did and thank God he survived.

You have a good point and I agree with it.

I’m not “condemning” the clerk. I am glad he survived, believe he’s probably a very brave man, and think he was dead stupid in how he handled this situation.

Thank God he survived and I hope he gets better education — and/or a new job — before “next time”.

Then, if he was open to it, I would educate him where he could find the information necessary to make a more correct tactical action in the future.

Whether you think I would or not, whatever. It really doesn’t matter, now does it?

But I can absolutely God-damn guarantee you I wouldn’t take a shotgun away from someone as beautifully as Mr. Alam did without keeping on my toes for the next several minutes.

What a whole lot of people forget is that us “good guys” have to stick together. Alam did what he did and since he’s one of the “good guys” all the Monday morning quarterbacking and “Iwouldas” is nothing but cheap comment posturing and since the posts have been running deep for trashing our fellow “good guy” as opposed to the scumbag POS vermin armed robber moron some folks deserve to feel ashamed of themselves.

So lay off the clerk. He da man.

Splashman on August 9, 2007 at 1:45 AM

He’s a moron. If I had hopped the counter and was close in with the clerk, he’s dead.

Well, no, I wouldn’t kill him. But I could, shotgun or no.

He was counting on the other person being inadequate at doing his task, that’s it. He was at the mercy of the other person’s capabilities.

The clerk should never have taken the gun away from him if he wasn’t prepared to use it. Grade A stupid. So lucky to escape with his life.

Jaibones on August 8, 2007 at 10:32 PM

I agree that in some states, you run a big risk when you defend yourself. Here in LA, forget about a CCW. But in a place of business, when some thug returns a second time apparently to retrieve the gun he left behind…it would have been pretty hard to convict the business owner on any charges, unless he was reckless in protecting himself.

As far as tough talk goes. Well, I’ve been in bad situations. My father was murdered by a creep who knew my dad had access to drugs because he was an physician. As for me, I’ve been robbed at gunpoint and shot at by MS gangsters. You know what saved me? RUNNING AWAY!

But I’ve also been saved by brandishing .44 we kept around my old Volvo shop. A guy came in claiming he wanted to buy a car when that wasn’t exactly his plan.

I go shooting quite often, but honestly I’m much more comfortable with another man hand-to-hand. I’m 235 pounds of muscle and have trained in fighting arts all of my life.

But, I’m no tough guy. I realized that the first time I had a gun pulled on me. I do know that it sucks for your kids not to have their dad make it home from work.

You can’t be lucky all the time, but sometimes luck is residue of good preparation.

Uh, not his gun, dude. But if you’re saying that he should be familiar with the weapons he could potentially be robbed with…well…OK. But notifying the PD that he could potentially become armed if a dipsh*t robs his store seems like it would generate…laughter.

Pablo on August 8, 2007 at 10:13 PM

I know it’s not his gun. We watched the same vid and read the same story. Point is he needs to be armed. He’s been robbed repeatedly. If he’s gonna operate such a business, and invite the public into his store, he needs to pull up his panties and learn to shoot.

Pardon me for not being more clear. Again, he should arm himself! Then go and make friends of the local boys on the job.

I’m not knocking his right to bear arms. I’m supporting it. But it’s also helpful when the PD knows where the good guys are.

The guy just doesn’t seem to realize the danger he’s seen. I’ve had guns pointed at me, one aimed right at my nose. There’s nothing casual about it. If those moments don’t awaken you to the danger’s of our harsh world…nothing will.

Yes, if it were me, and the dimwit came back in and jumped the counter, I would have pulled the trigger. But I wasn’t there, and talk is cheap, especially on the ‘net. In reality it’s just as likely I would have crapped my drawers as pulled a John Wayne.

So lay off the clerk. He da man.

Do Muslims have a name equivalent to “Ben Dover?”

JinxMcHue on August 9, 2007 at 1:02 AM

Allah Wantisu

How is this not the quote of the day? Come on!

nailinmyeye on August 8, 2007 at 10:08 PM

thats what i am saying .