When i started this blog thingy I decided that i didn’t want to stray into politics or religion because those topics seem to cause problems. But I’m compelled to write about one story in particular that has been on the news recently. A few days ago, two armed men attempted to rob a pharmacy. According to the victim (the pharmacist) after one of the gunman shot at him he pulled out his gun and fired back. He hit one of the gunman and chased after the other. After realizing the second gunman got away, the owner returned and reloaded his gun. When he went to see what the first gunman was doing he found him still alive and shot him again. Those shots killed the gunman. Because of those actions by the store owner he is now being charged with murder. (Did i mention the gunmen was 16?)

Now, in my opinion the store owner had every right to protect his store. If two men burst into my store or house I would not hesitate to do the very same thing. The matter at hand is that the store owner, after a short chase with the second gunman, came back in and shot the first gunman while he was still on the ground. Now in hindsight its easy for us to see that the store owner probably didn’t need to shoot the first gunman a second time. However i think its important for us to put those few minutes into context and try and understand what must have been going through this war veterans head. (Did i mention that the victim was a decorated disabled war veteran?) For all he knew the first gunman still had a gun and was about to shoot him. There are a million possibilities. What actually happened was not capture on camera as it took place off camera. What we do know is that the gunman on the ground had already threatened the victims life and demanded the victims money or his life. I think the victim had every right to see to it that his store, his employees, and most importantly himself was safe from danger until the police arrived. Until that moment, the store owner (in my opinion) had every right to do what he felt necessary to keep himself safe.

I just think its very dangerous for us to send this kind of message to would be criminals. I just don’t get how anyone can sympathize with the gunman in this situation. He committed a violent criminal act. He attempted to rob someone AT GUN POINT and threatend to take the victims life. You don’t point a gun at someone unless you intent to kill them. Anyone with any sense knows the risks involved here. You can’t tell me that the gunman wasn’t fully aware that the owner might have a gun and that his actions MIGHT result in his death. I think that part of the story is what keeps criminals awake at night. It is what makes them think twice about committing crimes.

But NO! Now we have power hungry district attorneys who are in it only for the conviction. All they care about is the little number beside their name showing how many people they’ve put behind bars. These people could care less about justice. And now they are telling us that we should THINK TWICE about our actions in that kind of situation becuase we too could be put in prison for defending ourselves?

As i said earlier, its easy for us to calmly watch the video from the safety of our homes and critique the store owners actions. Its easy for us to say “Well he shouldn’t have gone over there the second time and shot him.” But believe me, when you are in a life or death situation just as this store owner was, you won’t have that luxury. Its life or death. You have to think fast. The gunman has already made it clear he will take your life without a second thought. And I for one will make the choice to live.

For those interested in reading or watching more about this story, click here. You can read the full story and watch the surveillance video there.