WV: Pharmacist Shooting Illustrates Support for Armed Self Defense

Gun Watch ^ | 20 February, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

In West Virginia, a pharmacist used a .45 to stop an attempted robbery.  There is little doubt about what happened.   The case is noteworthy for a number of reasons.  From wvmetronews.com:

PINCH, W.Va. – Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department say a pharmacist who shot a man who later died will not be charged with a crime.

Detectives said surveillance video at Good’s Family Pharmacy in Pinch shows the masked man pulled out a gun after he entered the pharmacy at about 9:45 Wednesday morning and pointed it at workers. The pharmacist, who has a legal conceal carry permit, pulled out his gun and shot the man, who later died at a Charleston hospital.

It is likely that the armed pharmacist was practiced and had considered the possibility long before he had to act.   People who opt for a .45, in my opinion, are more likely to be serious shooters.  He did not hesitate, he shot three times;  he hit the robbery suspect every time.

The changes in the vocal and published support for self defense are clear.  For decades, mention of support for self defense was suppressed.  Rare, individual cases might make national attention, but the media usually denigrated them with claims of "vigilante" and "taking the law into your own hands".  Most self defense stories were never published or were spiked after publication at the local level.  In the few stories that got attention, such as the Bernard Goetz case, it was clear that there was widespread support for self defense and fighting back against crime, but its vocalization was minimized.

As publishing and access to news has blossomed via the Internet, as media has had to allow widespread reader interaction with ubiquitous comments sections, the false social stigma against self defense has faded.  

In this case, the employer spoke up for his employee's actions, and goes beyond, to embrace self defense as a philosophy:

Good said he had no problem with his employees carrying firearms with a concealed carry permit while on the job.

That philosophy has been supported by legislatures across the country.  Wisconsin law even grants immunity from liability for businesses that allow their employees to carry guns.

Comments at the article show an increased sophistication in the public awareness of the reality of self defense shootings.   While kudos to the shooter abound, they are tempered with the understanding that a self defense killing is a serious event that will take considerable adjustment.  From the comments:

 Tell him it will be alright and it isn't his fault. That thief put him in a situation he should never have been in. I am sure he had no desire to take that man's life, but when he pulled that gun to rob everyone he left your uncle with very little choice. We should all pray for his peace of mind dealing with this situation.

This sort of community  support helps to mitigate post shooting problems.  When a self defense shooter realizes that he is supported, and not denigrated as a "killer", symptoms of post shooting trauma are diminished.

A commenter who calls himself "Rational Thinker" is roundly castigated for suggesting that the pharmacist should just have "given him what he was after".  A small number, a tiny minority, voice similar comments.  There are, at last count, 195 comments on the story.   Here is a comment that is a microcosm of what has been happening to the public attitude about guns and self defense in the United States over the last 50 years:

I dislike guns. I only dislike them because they make me somewhat nervous to be around them. I do however want to learn how to use one and eventually own one.

I do not condone shooting or killing anyone. However, this man was in a store with INNOCENT people and potentially children. I think the pharmacist did the right thing and I support him 100%.

It is not unusual for people who are unfamiliar with firearms to be a bit nervous about them.   It is also common for them to become firearms enthusiasts once someone takes them shooting.  The more people become aware of facts about firearms and self defense, versus media myths, the more people are converted to second amendment supporters, or to a neutral position.   Gallup data clearly shows this.  Opposition to a ban on handguns has risen from 36% in 1959 to 73% in 2014.

Police are willing to publicly support self defense shooters more and more.  Police Chief Craig in Detroit is a clear example, as is Sheriff Clarke of Milwaukee county, and they are not alone.

The mass use of surveillance video systems, and the routine carry of recording devices by most members of society, has fed the phenomena.   A news consumer is often able to view the event of a robbery themselves, and make up their own mind, rather than relying on a reporter and editor to interpret for them.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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[Chainmail]

Great response, great choice of weapon, good shooting. Prayers for the pharmacist and his recovery from the effects of having to defend himself and his employees.

[driftless2]

The arming of private citizens is alarming only to the types of people who want to invest all power to an all-powerful, central government. Many libs are absolutely terrified of power ( carrying firearms is a powerful, personal act) in the hands of private citizens.

They want to take that power away from private citizens and make them fully dependent on the all powerful state. That is what scares gun grabbers the most...people in charge of their own safety and lives.

[elcid1970]

Three solid hits from a .45 auto & the suspect LATER died in hospital? Sounds like a Michael Brown.

As noted, the pharmacist was a serious practiced shooter. Shows the importance of choice of weapon & range time.

[Chainmail]

Spot on. There is no substitute for training and more training.

[elcid1970]

On another thread on this topic someone said you should fire at least once indoors with no hearing protection so that the deafening blast (.45!) doesn’t discombobulate your defensive stance.

Again, three hits failed to instantly kill the robber. Scary.

[Chainmail]

Humans are amazingly resilient - particularly if they're high on something. I had many instances to see people hit by different things (Vietnam '66-'67) and an astonishing number survived horrible hits and kept going.

We had one of our favorite "duty heroes" (a guy who always seemed to be rescuing somebody else no matter what the danger level was) go after a VC who ran away when he was spotted. Big John chased him out into an open rice paddy and finally caught up with him about 200m away from us in plain sight. The VC turned, dropped down on one knee and pulled a pistol and shot Big John in the face point blank. We went from laughing to rage and took aim at the VC - but Big John got up, face covered in blood and took his M16 and shattered it over that VC's head, then dragged his inert body by the scruff of his neck back to us. We sat Big John on a stump and a corpsman washed the blood from his face and the bullet hole was right in the center of the bridge of his nose and blood was coming out of his mouth in a steady stream and Big John's eyes were wide and he was barely responsive. The Corpsman opened his mouth and saw that the pistol bullet had deflected down through the roof of his mouth and was stuck in Big John's tongue! He easily removed it and after a couple of weeks at Charlie Med in Danang, Big John was back to us.

Humans are resilient, particularly if they are stubborn 6 foot 4 Marines..

[Tupelo]

“Again, three hits failed to instantly kill the robber. Scary.”

I have to disagree.
. One round hit the perp’s weapon (from an earlier post). I do not know where the first shot hit, but there is lots of places a hit with a .45 would not be fatal. Third appeared to do the job.
We also do not know what ammunition was in the gun. Factory ammunition or reload? light or heavy projectile? Light or heavy powder charge? Cast bullet or jacketed? FMJ or Hollow Point?

[USNBandit]

Watching the video this guy was definitely in the “shoot, look, shoot.....” mindset. At that distance, “shoot, shoot, shoot, look”. would be better. Maybe even just give him the whole mag, but you have to worry about an accomplice.

[elcid1970]

It is difficult to tell where the pharmacist’s second shot went. But after that the perp returned fire & struck the pharmacist’s gun. I assumed by then he had been hit twice & still ran until the pharmacist’s third shot brought him down.

Anecdotes are starting to come in about how resilient the human system can be to gunshots. Common theme: it’s not like the movies.

We need to know all the details, true.

[ican'tbelieveit]

Many years ago, working at a trauma hospital, we had a guy come in that had hit a semi head on in a little thing of a car. His body was jello, but he stilled lived for a while after arrival. Took awhile for all of his organs to finally shut down.

Another time, had a gal that had went through the windshield and broken her neck at c2. She had landed in snow, which prolonged her life until someone stumbled across her accident. By the time she arrived at the emergency room, her heart was just pumping blood to her brain, no pulse anywhere else in her body. She was aware she was dying and had no way to communicate. She was taken off life support the next day after family could say goodbye.

[School of Rational Thought]

“People who opt for a .45, in my opinion, are more likely to be serious shooters. “

Stopped reading at this point.

[School of Rational Thought]

assuming his M16 was not functioning or out of ammo?

[Chainmail]

I don't know: Big John just did things his way. I do know that it shattered that plastic stock and bent the receiver/tube. I don't remember if the VC lived or not.

Big John was wounded at least once more that I know of: the bullet that went through me continued through him too.

[Paradox]

Video available at at this link.

The guys a hero.

[Still Thinking]

I’ve seen that graph before and have to say I’m baffled. Certainly, there must have been no popular support for such an idea in colonial times or just after founding the US. How, in the middle of that time period, did a majority of the public become such compliant milquetoasts?

[marktwain]

There were the Quackers, and others. The frontier ended about 1890, and 1900 is when the Progressives started saying that the Constitution was outdated.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/05/armed-citizens-and-modern-frontier.html

[farming pharmer]

“People who opt for a .45, in my opinion, are more likely to be serious shooters. “

Stopped reading at this point.

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The serious shooters I know opt for .45 ACP 1911 systems or 357 mag revolvers. What's your point?

[PapaBear3625]

Again, three hits failed to instantly kill the robber. Scary.

Police are trained to keep firing until he goes down. Seems like a wise practice.