This defensive gun use footage comes to us from Wenatchee, WA. A gas station clerk tries to stop a man from stealing beer. But then it turns into a violent attack. But once it spills outside, the attacker is confronted by an armed civilian who turns the tables.
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It starts with the assailant and clerk talking for about 4 minutes. He tries to pay with his ID. When he tries to take the beer, the clerk pulls it back. This is where things start to go south. He tosses some plastic at her and then his beer bottle.
He starts to leave but then decided to go after her, probably to stop her from calling the police. She’s trying to record the incident with her iPhone in one hand while calling the police with the other hand. That leaves her no hands to defend herself with.
It gets more violent from there as he drags her by the hair, knees her in the head and beats on her a few more times. She finally manages to get away, not after taking a few more blows.
The assailant follows her outside and continues the attack. That is until the man in the truck issues him commands to stop. Once the assailant got closer to the man’s truck, which his two kids were in, he decides it is time to pull out his handgun.
He orders the assailant to the ground and then takes him down while maintaining control of his handgun.
From there he subdues the assailant. A struggle ensues until the assailant is greeted by a knee to the head which flattens him out.
The armed civilian hold him at gunpoint until police arrive.
While this video is only three-and-a-half minutes long, there are at least 9 takeaways we can learn from this incident. I go over these in more detail in the video but here’s the “Cliff Notes” version.
1. Is confronting or stopping a shoplifter worth the risk?
Usually? No. It isn’t worth the risk. Mainly because businesses may have insurance to cover the loss of stolen merchandise or they can deduct them from their taxes. You are also opening yourself up to potential litigation. Over what? A 6-pack of beer or a bag of chips? Definitely not worth the risk, in my opinion.
2. Get Self-Defense Training
So you have your concealed carry permit but do you have any other self-defense skills to go along with that? Hand-to-Hand / Self-Defense skills go “hand-in-hand” with concealed carry. And so does having medical training like Stop the Bleed or TCCC. It is obviously useful in situations that may not warrant the use of deadly force. And a lot of times, incidents like these involve some types of fighting or grapplings where martial arts like Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu come into play.
3. Safely Remove Yourself from the Situation When You Can
This one is pretty clear, but when you have a window to remove yourself from the situation safely, you have to take it. She had a moment where his attention was on picking up his beer, but she didn’t move fast enough to get out of there. I understand she was just attacked and struggling, but she quickly moved when he started walking back toward her. So you need to gather whatever strength you have and get out of there.
4. The 4 Rules of Gun Safety
We all know the 4 Rules of Gun Safety and why you should follow them. But just in case, I’ll add them below. But specific to this video, you have to be aware of where you are pointing your pistol. He took the assailant down why holding his gun. I’m glad he kept the firearm secure but during a struggle or takedown like that, I’d rather him have to holster his handgun. And then he uses his gun to point at something to another bystander which is also a no-no.
- Always treat a gun as if it were loaded
- Never point a gun at something you are not prepared to destroy
- Always know your target and what is beyond it
- Keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to fire
5. Bad Things Can Happen at Any Time, Anywhere
If you know when bad things were going to happen, then you wouldn’t ever have to carry concealed, right? Bad things don’t just happen at three o’clock in the morning. And that is why we always carry.
6. Knowing Your Mission
I took this from Varg Freeborn’s book, “Violence of Mind.” He basically says you need to figure out who you are willing to protect with your handgun before you are put in that situation. You need to decide whether you are willing to protect only yourself, your loved ones, or a stranger that is getting attacked in a parking lot. Know your mission.
7. Practice One-Handed and Support Hand Shooting
I know. This is something else we already know. But I mention it because we all need to be reminded of things sometimes. So next time you are at the range, get some one-handed and support hand shooting in.
8. Holding Someone at Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
We just discussed this in an article, “Considerations for Handling the Police Response.”
The need to hold an individual at gunpoint until police arrive has played out many times in the real world. Upon encountering armed resistance, many criminals will comply, even if no one has fired shots. This puts the self-defender in a precarious position. Keeping the gun in hand may prove the best way of maintaining safety, as the intimidation of the drawn weapon may keep the criminal actor in line and compliant. However, a responding law enforcement officer may on what only see what is obvious at first glance: one dude pointing a gun at another dude. Always bear in mind what the responders might see from their perspective.
Read Salvatore’s article on this and other considerations for handling police response.
9. Being Able to Re-Holster, One-handed if Needed | And Your Vehicle Isn’t a Holster
Lastly, get a good quality holster. One that will hold it’s shape after you’ve drawn your gun allowing you to re-holster one-handed if needed. You don’t want to be handing your gun off to a stranger like this incident. Or tucking your gun under your arm to call the police like in this incident.
And your vehicle is not a holster. Do you have a way to mount your gun inside your vehicle? What happens if you have to draw your gun and then get out of the vehicle? And for those of you that say you have a holster on you but still take the handgun out to “secure” it to a magnet or some other mount, you are just adding unnecessary gun administration. I prefer appendix carry. This allows me to have great access to my handgun while seated in a vehicle. And when I get in or out, I have zero gun or holster manipulation.
And that will wrap it up for this defensive gun use breakdown. I hope you learned something. If you would like to watch more of these, you can find my DGU Breakdown playlist here.
