FALL CITY, WA – A gun store owner spent the night in his store for security reasons and fended off robbery suspects who smashed a stolen vehicle through the storefront.
Lee Stallman, owner of Fall City Firearms in Fall City, WA, was on his routine shift of spending the night in the gun store to guard it from thieves last week. He told King 5 News that because gun store robberies happen all the time, he or one of his employees stay in the store every night while the store is closed.
“I think we have, as gun store owners, we have a further obligation to make sure [the firearms] don’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Around 4 AM that morning, a group of thieves smashed a stolen vehicle through the front of the building. Stallman yelled at the suspects, telling them that the store was occupied, which caused the suspects to flee. Thankfully, they didn’t stick around to confront the store owner, as who knows how many suspects he would have been up against.
As Stallman mentions, this happens all of the time. In 2020, there were numerous gun store robberies just like this in the area I live in Louisiana. The thieves would smash a vehicle through the front of the store and take anything they could get their hands on. One of the stores that got his was a gun store I frequent. After that incident, they installed concrete barriers in front of the store to prevent this from happening again.
The incident in Fall City, much like those in Louisiana, is a stark reminder of the lengths to which criminals will go to procure firearms. Lee Stallman’s brave response and dedication highlight the real challenges gun store owners face every day. It’s crucial for businesses and communities alike to stay vigilant and work together to prevent these dangerous crimes.
