A close friend of mine had an incident a couple of weeks ago that required him to pull his gun. This incident will not be found on any website, newspaper, or statistic database. Names have been changed but story is true.
Bill was on the way to Southern Arizona with his father for a hunting trip. Driving south on I-10 from Phoenix the truck had a flat tire. Bill and his dad pulled off at an exit and stopped at a gas station that was closed but had 24hr gas pumps so they parked their truck next to one of the pumps.
Bill had noticed another truck that was sitting off the side of the road when they pulled off the highway and it had immediately pulled behind them and followed them to the empty gas station. The man in the truck pulled up to the opposite side of the gas pump Bill and his father had parked next too.
Bill’s dad had been driving and his door was closest to the man and his truck. The man got out of his truck and started a conversation with Bill’s dad. The man’s appearance immediately put Bill on edge. “He had the appearance and actions of a meth head”
Bill said, “and he was asking personal questions and for money”.
Bill’s father moved around to the other side of the truck to inspect the flat tire, while the man continued talking. He asked them where they were going, what they were going to do, and if they had any money they could give him.
Bill did not like the situation at all. His body was hidden behind the truck from below his chest, so he pulled his gun out of his concealed carry holster and racked a round. He had to rack a round into the chamber because his father did not like him to carry it loaded. This sound was louder than he had hoped and both his father and the man noticed it right away. The man stopped talking, turned around, and left immediately.
Bill’s dad thanked him for doing what he did, because he was concerned about the guy too. Everything told both Bill and his father that something was not right and that they were in possible danger.
What malice, if any, was on the man’s mind will never be known. What we do know is that three men walked away with their lives and barely a story to be told. If fact I am willing to say that this story is not interesting to 75% of people out there.
But to people who are aware of the dangers in the world and the bad people that would do us harm, we see this for what it most likely was. A gun owner prevented a crime from happening by letting it be known he was armed and was willing to use it.
Some of you might ask, “Didn’t Bill commit a crime by upholstering his weapon? Isn’t that brandishing or assault?”
I will let the officers who read this blog opine on that. In my mind, I know Bill did the right thing and I believe the laws have been changed recently so that what Bill did was not against the law. You decide what you would have done and feel free to comment.
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3 comments:
No crime. You can decide to load your gun anytime you want to. It sounds like the gun was not pointed at anyone, so no assault was committed.
Now its time to beat-up on him a little. I believe the weapon should have been loaded to begin with. I have said this many times before, the law abiding citizen will always be behind the "curve". The bad guy knows what he is going to do, and will be in motion before you can react. Reaction will always be slower than action. I am curious if Bill would decide not to carry an empty chamber in the future because of this incident.
In spite of my criticism, great job Bill!
A group of us had a long discussion about this and of course I was the first to ask him why he didn't have it loaded. It is also why I pointed it out in the story above. Ironically, it would appear that not having it loaded actually helped in this situation and now reinforces a bad decision.
I have often thought about whether it was better to have my shotgun unloaded in my room simply for the affect of racking it to scare someone away.
I guess if I felt like doing it at the time something was happening I would not be changing my shell count by racking when its already loaded.
Warthog, No there was no Criminal act that took place. He didn't brandish it, or point it at the goober. The fact that he racked a round doesn't mean anything. The fact that the Meth head knew what that sound was and left was interesting in itself. I suppose Bill had a CCW and was protecting himself and his father. I'd also be interested if this person might have had someone else working with him who was going to try to do them harm. Sorry, just my thought process.....trust no one.
-Tucson Detective
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