Quote :

"Samuel Williams could soon become a poster child for concealed carry. Or rather a poster senior citizen. Williams is being hailed as a hero this week after he sprung into action on Friday to thwart an armed robbery at an internet cafe. Williams was present when two masked thugs walked into the Palms Internet Cafe in Marion County, Florida. One of the men was brandishing a gun while the other had a bat. They started ordering patrons around and one smashes a computer screen. That’s when Williams took action. Ocala.com explains what happened: Williams was seated toward the back of the cafe dressed in a white shirt, shorts and baseball cap. One of the masked men, identified as Duwayne Henderson, 19, comes in pointing a handgun at customers. The second man, Davis Dawkins, 19, is seen swinging a bat at something off screen, which was later identified as a $1,200 computer screen. As Henderson turns his back, Williams pulls out a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun, stands from his chair, takes two steps, nearly drops to one knee, and fires two shots at Henderson, who bolts for the front door. Williams takes several more steps toward the door and continues firing as Henderson and Dawkins fall over one another trying to exit the building. The two eventually run off screen. Surveillance video captured it all: Both of the crooks suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds and were later captured. And according to police, Williams — a licensed concealed carry gun owner — won’t face any repercussions. “Based on what I have seen and what I know at this time, I don’t anticipate filing any charges,” Bill Gladson of the State Attorney’s Office, told Ocala.com. But he’s not the only one talking. Some of the customers are. And they’re grateful for what Williams did. “I think he is wonderful. If he wouldn’t have been there, there could have been some innocent people shot,” said Mary Beach. UPDATE: Ocala.com also has an interview with one of the robbers, Duwayne Henderson. In it, Henderson describes the robbery from his perspective: “I feel horrible. It doesn’t feel good. It makes you think about life’s decisions, and how you should live your life,” Henderson said in an interview with the Star-Banner at the jail on Saturday afternoon. Hours after his release from the hospital, Henderson, who talked about the pain he feels in his buttock and hip, said the plan was to “barge in, get the money and leave.” He said “he never expected anyone to be armed.” “The gun was broken and rusty and wasn’t loaded. Nobody was going to get hurt,” he said, standing with crutches. Retrieving the customers’ phones was what he said was their “main priority.” That way, he said, the customers could not call law enforcement officials. Henderson theorizes the reason why he was caught off guard is because, when Dawkins entered the business, he busted a computer monitor with the baseball bat and “glass got into his face.” “He couldn’t warn me,” Henderson said. With the glass temporarily blinding his friend, Henderson noticed two women were behind the counter and he thought that was “fishy.” Turning around to see what the women were doing, Henderson said he was shot. “I turned around to run and my leg gave out. That was when I got shot. I hit the ground, and he was still shooting. I thought I was going to die,” Henderson said. Henderson said that, “by the grace of God,” his “leg came back.” “I ran,” he said. He and his counterpart, Davis Dawkins, fled to a friend’s house and were eventually apprehended. Henderson says Dawkins used to be an employee at the cafe and knew there would be money on hand. And even though Henderson seems to be carrying some remorse, he still has a bone to pick with Williams, the elderly man who shot him, for firing while he (Henderson) was on the ground. “I was down, and I’m not going to continue to shoot you,” he said. A piece of information Williams didn’t have the luxury of knowing."

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/surveillance-vid-shows-71-year-old-concealed-carry-holder-opening-fire-on-would-be-robbers/


It's great that this man sprang into action and protected himself, his wife, and the rest of the patrons. But damn, to keep firing at them as they're running away, even when they're outside of the building still running away? It's no longer self defense at that point is it?

7/18/2012 10:51:03 AM

I see no problem with what this man did, I'd think the legal system can look the other way.

It's not right to terrorize people with a gun, unloaded or not, with the intent of stealing things most of them worked hard to get.

7/18/2012 10:57:54 AM

once you try to commit armed robbery, you can't complain about what you get when somebody fights back

7/18/2012 11:08:14 AM

Yea no shit. And sorry but after watching the video, he secured the premises and ended pursuit there. I have no problem with his actions. He gets them out the door, makes sure they aren't coming back in, and locks that bitch down. They are lucky they didn't get fucking killed.

BTW that video with them tripping all over each other is funny as balls.

7/18/2012 11:14:13 AM

When are these CCW holders going to start shooting the finance company execs that rob entire nations

[Edited on July 18, 2012 at 11:18 AM. Reason : .]

7/18/2012 11:18:21 AM

^LMAO, you are absolutely pathetic.

7/18/2012 11:20:18 AM

^^ Right after they finish shooting all those in favor of entire nations being robbed by finance companies, namely you. Or do you no longer think the bailouts were necessary?

As per the subject of the thread, I'm not so sure. They clearly started running away, yet he kept firing at them. In the end they didn't die, so no harm done. But if that last shot out the front door had killed one of them, I'd be hard pressed not to find that last shot excessive force. Of course, there is the very real chance that other than the first few shots he was missing on purpose, merely firing to keep them running in a panic.

[Edited on July 18, 2012 at 11:53 AM. Reason : .,.]

7/18/2012 11:48:02 AM

wow.

If you really wanted to stick to the letter of the law, then it's possible this guy could be charged, I think. I don't know the laws there, but there is probably something in the law about fleeing criminals no longer posing a threat, thus deadly force isn't justified. However, even if fleeing, an armed criminal could still pose a threat by shooting, thus the fleeing clause doesn't come into play (because the person is not completely removing himself from the situation).

That, and police/DAs still have the right for discretion. It would be asinine to charge the guy.

7/18/2012 1:38:46 PM

high five to the old man.

7/18/2012 1:42:20 PM

No, he shouldn't be charged. Even if he was no jury in the world convicts.

7/18/2012 3:18:00 PM

high five to the old man.

7/18/2012 3:19:22 PM

Good for him I guess, but again, the guy risked a gun fight in order to save a bunch of old people from having their phones and viagra 'scrips stolen. What if an errant bullet hit some kid who was walking around just outside? To me, you can never square the benefits of this sort of action with the potential risks.

7/18/2012 3:25:56 PM

Then this would be one of those isolated times when the felony murder rule would be appropriate to appy against the would be robbers.

If some guys come in, one brandishing a gun, the other a bat and proceeds to bust up the place you know they are capable of violence. Assume the worst, protect the innocent.

7/18/2012 3:39:28 PM

Quote :

"Good for him I guess, but again, the guy risked a gun fight in order to save a bunch of old people from having their phones and viagra 'scrips stolen. What if an errant bullet hit some kid who was walking around just outside? To me, you can never square the benefits of this sort of action with the potential risks."

The other guy with the gun clearly wasn't going to hurt anyone...

7/18/2012 6:37:32 PM

Quote :

"by the grace of God"

So God helped you escape a botched armed robbery attempt. mmmmhmm

[Edited on July 18, 2012 at 7:33 PM. Reason : high five to the old man.]

7/18/2012 7:32:48 PM

Quote :

"Hours after his release from the hospital, Henderson, who talked about the pain he feels in his buttock and hip, said the plan was to “barge in, get the money and leave.” He said “he never expected anyone to be armed.”"

and if more people armed themselves this bullshit would cease. thugs don't know how to shoot. CCW holders do.

7/18/2012 9:41:39 PM