Thoughts on a local robbery.

I

In The Ten Ring

New member
I stopped by a favorite gas station last night and during conversation with the clerk she stated she was robbed last month. I was a little bit surprised and asked her to elaborate. She did.

The man came in alone, no mask, acting normal. He picked out two food items and came to the counter. After the ring up he calmly said, "all the money in the drawer please." The clerk thought he was "flirting" (her word). He assured her he was not and pulled out the handle to a knife up his sleeve.

The clerk stated she had a ".40 pistol" at the other register but felt she wasn't directly threatened and chose to comply. He left with the money but was arrested a few weeks later.

I didn't get much time to chat with her as another patron come in so I left with "look, you weren't hurt and kept your job, a win-win."

She did say something rather disturbing though. At one point she added "he didn't have the knife to my throat so I didn't feel threatened." I wanted to say "if you, being armed, let it go so far that he had a knife to your throat, you made some very serious mistakes" but the patron walked in just then.

Thoughts? Comments?
 
Her statement probably was intended to be somewhat humorous/sarcastic. Surely, she wouldn't wait for the knife to be at her throat before defending herself.

Having said that, I think she did the right thing under the circumstances. From the other side of the counter, with the knife up his sleeve, he posed little immediate threat. Give him the money and he will likely be on his way. Let the police handle it from there.
 
"...I didn't feel threatened..." Says it all. Shooting somebody isn't something one gets past easily either.
And she wasn't exactly armed just because there was a firearm in the building. "A ".40 pistol" at the other register " doesn't do much good. No way of knowing if she has any training or skill with the thing either.
 
Once in the clutches of an attacker with a knife at your throat, without good skills and physical conditioning and a little luck you're in real trouble.

It sounds like this woman made an accurate assessment of the situation and responded wisely. As already mentioned, we do not know her skills or commitment to using lethal force. I hope she is trained to use the ".40 pistol" and committed to using it if a knife wielding robber forces the issue.
 
Lot's of paperwork when having to shoot someone. However, I'm pretty sure the lady would have drawn, even if it were to tell the guy to GTFO, if she was actually wearing her gun.
 
I hope no one really thinks a shooting or killing, even in what we might see as a self-defense situation, involves nothing more than "lots of paperwork." Believe me, there is a lot more to it, including the very real possibility that circumstances or an overzealous prosecutor may lead to conviction on a murder charge.

Jim
 
Lot's of paperwork when having to shoot someone. However, I'm pretty sure the lady would have drawn, even if it were to tell the guy to GTFO, if she was actually wearing her gun.
Click to expand...

You may be right, but drawing a gun under the circumstances to protect a few dollars in the register(s) would have made a bad situation more dangerous. Was the knife the only weapon carried by the robber? Was he acting alone? I agree that having the pistol on her is a far better plan, but I agree with her response either way.
 
Tactically it is likely one can draw, with a counter between them, and present force before an attacker can get over that counter and threaten with a knife - especially one that is "hidden."

I assure you the store would prefer you give up the small mount of insured cash in the drawer. It is cheaper then the likely lawsuits should you use deadly force to protect that cash. My firearm is holstered on my hip and should someone with a weapon demand the small amount of cash in the drawer it is highly likely they are going to get it and I will let the police and cameras handle the rest. Make a movement to come over that counter and remove my "passive" defense and things will escalate quickly.

The counter did its job. It protected the employee. The cameras (presumably) and the police did their job and apprehended the suspect. No loss of life and a chance for restitution to the business as well as reformation of the suspect. I don't see how there could be a better outcome of a bad situation.
 
Perhaps the standard procedure at that station is to give money rather than resist unless you feel personally threatened.
 
if this is all straight, she didn't do anything wrong. that doesn't mean that she did great, it means that she didn't screw up.

your report of her statement makes me think that she hasn't got any clue about armed defense of her own life.

the thing that she did, handing over the money was the right thing. it shut down the incident, it could have gone differently, I hope that she learns from it.
 
I would say that everyone qualifies danger in different ways and each person has a different filter regarding [when] they will fight and what they are actually willing to do. I say don't worry so much about the personal sensibilities of strangers. It doesn't really matter what we think about this clerk. What matters is how the clerk feels about herself within her own universe. If she is good with it, I am good with it.
 
the thing that she did, handing over the money was the right thing. it shut down the incident, it could have gone differently, I hope that she learns from it.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in what you believe she should learn from this incident. I believe she should have had a firearm on her instead of stashed where it may not be immediately assessable. It sounds like she kept her composure and didn't panic, which is not a universal reaction.
 
People are not well versed in defense of self, or what constitutes a threat. If the robber said , "You're cute, get in the car." where would she have been?
 
You can play what if all day, it adds nothing to the discussion with the exception of more "what if"
This one ended well for all concerned. That's a real good thing. Good gal goes home, bad guy goes to jail.
The money? The juice is not worth the squeeze.
 
Not worth the squeeze?

$100-300? Not even worth eating a sunflower seed.

Armed robbers are caught here. Burglary, theft, not so often. In the last few years, a few of the robbers fired random shots. Maybe a continuing trend? Robbery is a lot riskier than stealing from homes; some bozos stole air conditioners from work sites for a while. Not everyone has the resources to make a living selling stolen refrigerators.

It's really, really stupid to use a gun in a robbery, that raises the bar.

Co-operation is the best thing. There are security cameras, and I believe that the usual armed robber wants the money and no trouble. Protecting someone else's money at any risk for yourself is a bad idea.

It eventually comes back to why do people risk jail, prison, or even death to hold up a gas station? Like he said, the juice ain't worth the squeeze, whether it's stealing it by force, or defending it. Who could afford to be canned because the robbery was resisted?
 
A number of the local police departments put notices online about robberies with security photos. Some of them are caught. How common is that?
 
The motivation for the crime isn't really relevant. Poverty, drugs, - let's not go there. It seems this worked out well and isn't that all that needs to be said.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top