While we aren’t sure where this was or when the video was taken, it seems like this was a successful act of self-defense.

In the video below, we are seeing what looks to be an attempted armed robbery. Two people approach our victim while he is possibly trying to get into the truck. He could have simply been walking by, but in any event he was being robbed.

At least one of the robbers looks to have a firearm in his hand. Let’s take a look at the sequence of events:

• Robbers want to rob
• Victim hands over wallet or possibly cell phone
• Victim immediately talks in the other direction with back towards robbers
• Wanting more, the robbers follow him and reach towards him
• Victim draws firearm from either pocket or appendix location and immediately turns and fires multiple shots at robbers
• Robbers flee quickly

Watch the video below (if video does not display, click here):

This looks like a great example of an armed citizen defending himself against the bad guys. Whatever the outcome was, we aren’t aware of it, but it looks safe to assume that the man being robbed was able to get away to safety.

As we are an educational website on concealed carry, let’s take a look at what was done right, while also taking a look at what could have been done better.

Done Right

Our victim complies with the robber’s demands, which allows time for him to plan a move to stop his attackers. The hands over one item, either a wallet or cell phone, probably knowing that they’ll want more. When they do in fact want more, the victim turns and beings to walk away. At that point, he is able to gain access to his firearm without them realizing it and begins to turn back towards them and fire. He seized the opportunity to draw while his draw hand was not in the view of the robbers.

Overall, and under the circumstances, this armed citizen did an excellent job at turning the tables in his favor.

Improvements

I don’t want to pull this guy apart, but we are going to use this as a learning opportunity for those reading. There are indeed a few points to be made that could have made the situation even better for the concealed carrier. Here are those points, in no particular order.

1. Throw The Goods – When the robber asked for things from the victim, instead of handing them directly to the robber, throwing them off to the side will more than likely divert attention to that item. After all, that’s what they’re after in this case. With this thought, let’s also keep in mind that there are at least two attackers and while one was looking towards the thrown item, the other could most definitely still be trained on you. Still, it’s always a good idea to divert attention away from yourself if you are ever given the opportunity
2. Know The Backdrop – If you look at the video again, there are at least two other people in the background of the video. We don’t know if they are with the robbers or not, but we do know that they were in the line of fire when our victim began to shoot. It is possible that our victim knew the group was together and if so, it all seems justified. If the victim wasn’t sure, however, the lives of those in the background are immediately jeopardized when shots are fired in their direction. Again, this may be a moot point, but still something to consider if you’re ever in a bad situation.
3. Know When To Stop – Adrenaline is a powerful thing, and can make us to things we never thought possible. Instances like this one happen in a split second, but it’s important to remember when to get to safety. After the initial shots were fired by our victim, he then beings to run towards them as they are fleeing. This is bad because if they had started firing while they were running away, our victim would be more susceptible to being shot, vs taking cover behind the truck. Also if other bad guys were around the area, he’s also leaving himself exposed to them as well.

It’s an amazing thing when citizens are able to successfully defend themselves, and it seems that this man did just that. Watch the video a few more times and learn from this example, because it could help one of us in the future.