Video Shows Las Vegas Cashier Defending His Goods from Robber

DGU Nevada

Not often is the public given access to the video of a defensive gun use situation like the kind we report on here at Concealed Carry Inc. However, sometimes criminals forego the secrecy and attempts to hide their face from the public and desperately attempt a daring crime.

Regardless of a criminal’s level of frenzy that would decide how willing they are to attempt a crime, we know that a well-trained good guy with a gun will be able to handle a situation and the criminal’s level of daring will do nothing but perhaps give himself away on the great proof of video. That’s exactly what happened in Las Vegas recently.


As you can see, the situation in the video goes from about zero to sixty in no time flat. Proving just how fast there can be a change in the demeanor of an attacker.

The robber knocked over the front counter of the store and immediately began to smash it as he grabbed an iPad and a cell phone. At that point, he felt completely in charge and who knows how much further the situation would have gone had the store owner not retrieved his handgun. According to reports, he had just completed a concealed carry class a month earlier.

As the firearm was drawn, and a cool head remained on the clerk, the crook suddenly calmed down and just as quickly as the situation escalated, things began to calm down.

Now in this situation, there were no shots fired, and according to the clerk there was never a moment in which he had his finger on the trigger of the gun. While that’s all well and good, we do want to point out that, had the crazed man decided to get violent with the clerk before robbing him, the story could have turned out very differently.

While we certainly get behind having a gun in a safe, we also believe that the only time it should be in one is when it’s not in use by you. That doesn’t only apply to shooting and target practice, as holstered on your person fits the bill, too. We are advocates of waking up in the morning and putting your gun on like you would a pair of pants.


Further, we don’t take our guns off until it’s time for bed at night. Thankfully this story turned out okay in that the man behind the counter was not attacked, but if he was it could have been bad.  Let me reword it a bit differently to drive my point across: Carry your gun on you, in a good holster, until you go to bed at night. Wake up in the morning, and then put it back on again.

Finally, the clerk said his priority was getting the thief out of his store. It is extremely important to give verbal commands when you have someone on the other side of your muzzle. You’re likely not a police officer, so choosing your words carefully is a must. It’s not usually a good idea to shoot someone as they flee, so if you tell them to stop and they run, don’t shoot.

However, it shouldn’t be your goal to just get someone out of the store or your house. You should want that person to get caught by the police, and make their job as easy as possible by holding the criminal there, telling him not to move. Telling the bad guy to leave is a best-case scenario for him.

We are glad that this defensive gun use turned out okay, and it’s always good to see one that takes place where the trigger isn’t even pulled because stories like this happen a lot and don’t usually make the news.

What would you have done differently? Let us know in the comments below. Also, here is some concealed carry training to get your permit in Virginia, allowing you to carry a gun in 29 states.

 

6 Comments

  1. John L Clapp on July 18, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    Another thug, put the cell phone down and leave or if you choose to die then hold onto it and I will soot you between the eyes. I practice regularly. I can shoot out pencil sized target at fifty feet and you are less than ten. Set it down and what else did you intend to steal? thug do not come back ever, I will shoot you dead first as is my prerogative as a employee.

    • Jacob Paulsen on July 18, 2017 at 2:18 pm

      It is unsettling to hear that your first objective in an encounter is to shoot someone dead. This has both legal and ethical implications. The objective, and the action that is legally justified (when justified at all) is to stop the threat. Sometimes shots have to be fired to stop threats but shooting to kill is a bad way to think about it, a bad way to execute the strategy, and illegal.

  2. Roger on July 18, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    lay down on the floor,legs spread,hands behind your head and don’t move

    • Jacob Paulsen on July 18, 2017 at 2:16 pm

      Roger, I can’t speak to Nevada law but in most states issuing a statement like that at gun point is probably illegal. Subjecting someone into custody or preventing their escape is considered arrest and civilians don’t have the right to issue an arrest with the use or threat of deadly force. In most states that would be aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or felony menacing.

  3. Weenahh on July 18, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    Well jeeze Jacob, what would you have us do? The article says telling the crook to leave is a best case scenario for them. I like the line from Bourne Identity: “You move, you die.”

    • Jacob Paulsen on July 19, 2017 at 6:18 am

      I would have you stop the threat. The legal line is drawn when you do anything that submits the subject into custody or prevents their escape. So telling someone to stay where you are or do not move, are examples of using deadly force to submit them to custody. I’m not saying everytime that happens someone is arrested and charged but it has happened… multiple times… to my students. There is perhaps an inference that the subject may feel they shouldn’t move or flee but that inference can be left unsaid to ensure you don’t cross that legal line. More info on that topic here: https://www.concealedcarry.com/law/when-does-citizens-arrest-become-aggravated-assault/ Relative to the comments about killing… that is unsettling. The objective is to stop threats. Sometimes that does end in death which is unfortunate. Do what is necessary to stop the threat but when you intention goes from stopping the threat and protecting life to now taking life or attempting to take life you cross an ethical line and you also cross a legal line. Shooting with the intent to kill is murder. More info on that topic here https://www.concealedcarry.com/podcast/shooting-to-kill-were-you-set-up-to-fail/

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