Ever heard of anyone doing an armed robbery of a range?
The fact is that - even in a place full of overwhelmingly young males armed to the teeth with small arms (Army bases) - nobody seems to be "going postal" on colleagues!
Scandals of antigun politicians - from Kalifornia to New York!
Yes, several in the past year. In each instance, only the proprietor was in the store with the robber. In one, the owner was shot to death. In two, the perp(s) cleaned out the gun cases.
Here's a few for the archives...
SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- November 22, 1999
The robbery of the Firing Pin Gun Shop at 318 N. Fifth St., Niles, is the South Bend Area Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week.
Lt. Dave Shock said that on Nov. 4 shortly before 3 p.m., two black men entered the shop and forced the owner at gunpoint into a rear office along with four customers. The robbers removed several semi-automatic pistols and revolvers from the display cases and emptied the cash register. The men then fled in a light-colored vehicle.
Anyone who calls Crime Stoppers this week about this crime could receive a $1,000 reward upon arrest or indictment.
(I removed a lot of contact info for the local crime stoppers.)
The Richmond Times Dispatch -- February 18, 2000
SUFFOLK An unarmed man wearing a ski mask was shot in the shoulder while trying to rob a firearms shop in downtown Suffolk, police said.
According to police, the man entered the Southern Gun Works store just before noon Wednesday, leaped over the counter and tried to grab clerk Michael P. Coughlin.
Coughlin, 38, stepped out of reach, pulled a pistol from his belt and fired one shot that struck the masked man in the upper right arm, said Suffolk Police Department spokesman Michael Simpkins. Coughlin then called police, who took the suspect into custody and then to Obici Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition yesterday.
Antron Brown, 19, of Oak Forest Lane, was charged with attempted robbery and wearing a mask in public late Wednesday afternoon, said Simpkins. No charges will be filed against Coughlin.
Coughlin and Richard Carroll, owner of Southern Gun Works, refused to discuss the robbery attempt.
But the shooting has been the talk of the town and beyond.
"A gun shop is the last place I'd hold up, especially without a gun," said Richard Harris, owner of FireArms Sales Co., another Suffolk dealer.
A National Rifle Association spokeswoman, when contacted about the incident, laughed before refusing comment.
An official from Handgun Control, a Washington-based gun-control group, said Coughlin's use of a firearm sounded justified.
"Perhaps, in this situation, using a handgun was justified," said Nancy Hwa, the organization's spokeswoman. "But would I recommend that all small business owners go out and buy a gun? Absolutely not. For every successful robbery thwarted there are dozens of cases of innocent bystanders being shot," she asserted.
Some merchants said robberies at gun shops aren't that unusual.
J. Michael Dick, owner of Guns Unlimited in Carrollton said his store has been robbed several times over the years.
"Once a robber came in, grabbed a gun across the counter and ran out of the store," Dick said. "I went after him and tried to catch him but I couldn't. He had a whole lot of speed on me."
Gun shop owners almost have to keep loaded weapons close at hand, Harris and Dick said.
"Employees and management at gun shops almost always carry sidearms just in case something like this happens," Harris said.
Chicago Tribune September 22, 1998 Tuesday, SOUTHWEST SPORTS FINAL EDITION
Police were searching Monday for two suspects believed to possess 25 to 30 automatic pistols stolen during the robbery of a Glenwood gun shop in which a father and son were killed.
Meanwhile, a judge ordered the four men charged in the slayings held without bond until a hearing Oct. 7, said a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office. The four, arrested Saturday morning, are charged each with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of armed robbery. Illinois State Police and Glenwood police are looking for two more suspects, who authorities believe received half of the weapons stolen in Friday's robbery. About 25 handguns and assault rifles were recovered at the Harvey home of one murder suspect, said Sgt. Alex DiMare of the Glenwood police.
Police believe the remaining suspects were not involved in the robbery and shootings, but received the missing weapons.
A witness identified the getaway car, and police said they traced it to the men facing murder charges: Kendal Merriweather, 18, of 7202 S. Lowe Ave.; his brother Michael Merriweather, 21, of 206 W. 154th St., Harvey; Kenneth Bryant, 20, of 215 W. 154th St., Harvey; and Rashe Poplar, 17, of 1013 E. 194th St., Glenwood.
Salvatore "Bud" Pennella, 66, of Northlake and his son Raymond Pennella, 38, of Elmhurst were about to close the popular gun store, at 135 E. Main St., Friday night when the robbers entered and posed as customers, police said.
One of the men brandished a gun and shot the elder Pennella several times, police said. The gunman then shot the younger Pennella as he stood behind a display case, police said.
A customer was shot, but fell to the floor and feigned death while the robbers looted the shop, police said. He was hospitalized, but released during the weekend.
The Denver Post -- April 23, 1998
Armed robbery at gun shop Armed bandits duct-taped a clerk at his gun shop on South Federal Boulevard, then stole at least four assault rifles and numerous handguns plus ammunition. They escaped after the clerk freed himself and fired a shotgun at them, reported Undersheriff Grayson Robinson.
Deputies were called to Cal's Sporting Armory, just north of Hampden Avenue, about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The clerk told deputies that two black men - dressed alike in dark blue baseball caps, blue work shirts with gray piping on the sleeves and dark blue work trousers - entered the store about 7 p.m., pulled a large caliber handgun on him, then removed the weapons. The clerk freed himself, grabbed a loaded shotgun kept in the store and fired one shot at the two.
The Washington Post -- December 11, 1997
Police say two gunmen entered the Beltsville Sports Center, in the 11600 block of Baltimore Avenue, about 10:15 a.m. and forced the shopkeeper to the rear of the store, where they tied him up. They gathered 30 to 50 handguns and rifles in a duffel bag and fled, police said. The storekeeper managed to free himself, retrieve a handgun and give chase, firing several shots.
About 10:30 a.m., police in Montgomery County stopped a car with expired temporary tags in the 3600 block of Castle Terrace.
The two men in the car pulled over and ran. The passenger was apprehended within minutes, police said, and the driver was caught about an hour later, with the help of the Takoma Park police canine unit.
A duffel bag with about 30 handguns was found in the car, police said.
The People -- August 24, 1997
By David Brown
It's the most unwanted prize of the year...but dozens of dead certs are already battling it out for the title.
The 1997 Darwin Award - named after 19th Century naturalist Charles Darwin - is given to the person who DIES in the wackiest way. The first award - in 1995 - went to an American who was crushed by a Coke vending machine...but the story was later found to be a myth. A spokesman for the contest, run on the Internet, said: "The awards are given to the individual or individuals who remove themselves from the gene pool in the most spectacular fashion."
Today we reveal the latest contenders...
Dopey David Zaback made a fatal mistake by mounting an armed robbery - on a gun shop.
Zaback, 33, went ahead with his botched plan while a police car was parked outside and crackshot officer Timothy Lally, 49, was sipping coffee at the shop counter.
The store in Renton, near Seattle, Washington, was also packed with customers carrying guns.
Zaback burst in, demanded money, fired a few wild shots - and was cut down in a hail of bullets.
Blacksmith Vladmir Boronov, 56, who had used a live artillery shell as an anvil for 10 years at Irkutsk, Russia, was blown to bits when a hammer blow finally set it off.
Sylvester Briddell won a wager with his friends over a game of Russian roulette.
Sylvester, 26, of Selbyville, Delaware, US, put a revolver loaded with four bullets in his mouth.
They bet he would not pull the trigger.
Sylvester won the money but didn't get a chance to spend it.
A security man who asked a colleague at a Moscow bank to stab his bullet- proof vest to see if it was knife-proof died when the blade went straight through into his heart.
Chinese farm worker Zhao Jun's intestines burst as he tried to scoff an eighth bowl of gruel to win a bet for a carton of cigarettes.
Greengrocer Hassan Anas, 40, of Palestine, was killed when a grenade he used to weigh vegetables exploded as a blacksmith added extra iron to make it a more accurate weight.
Melany Campos, 60, who had 40 abandoned dogs at her home in Los Angeles, was suffocated when four large bags of pet food fell on her.
Village chieftain Chom Inchan, 48, was killed when he fired a rocket into the air in Thailand to ask the Gods to provide water - and the missile hurtled back and smashed into his head.
Bungee jumper Eric Barcia, 22, hurled himself off a 70ft platform and hit the pavement at Reston, Virginia, - because the rope was longer than the distance between the platform and the ground.
The croaked candidates have a long way to go to beat last year's champion.
Lawyer Gary Hoy, 39, used to demonstrate the safety of windows in a Toronto skyscraper where he worked by hurling himself against the glass.
Visitors watched in horror as he smashed straight through a window and plunged 24 floors.
A few years back a guy tried to hold up a gun shop in Renton,WA. even though a patrol car was parked outside. The police had just switched from revolvers to pistols. The cop couldn't get his pistol to shoot, but the clerk killed the perp with one shot. Another armed citizen was ready to take action, but wasn't needed..Back to training for the cop......