Choir singer kills robber

[God & Country]

I needed a good reason for my first post, so here goes. This happened at my assistant's Church, she was inside the church at the time of the shooting, but she did hear the shots. She said the GG just "let it go" at the BG (referring to his 9mm).

She also said that the area is prone to drug dealers, and that she thinks this woman and the other gentleman (who fled and left his female companion) had just taken the BG's money for drugs. She reasoned that if he was just out to rob her he wouldn't have followed her into a parking lot full of people. According to other witnesses he was "irate" and chasing her. The choir member was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; or maybe not.

A pistol-packing church choir member came to the aid of a robbery victim and killed her assailant late Wednesday in a church parking lot, Little Rock police said.
Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said a man and woman were walking near the intersection of 22nd and Maple streets about 9:45 p.m., when a black man approached them with a 9mm pistol and demanded their money.
The names of the people involved weren’t released.
During the robbery, the male victim fled, and the female victim ran south with the robber chasing her, Hastings said.
Choir practice had just ended at the Shiloh Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 2400 Maple St., and members were leaving the church to head home, Hastings said.
The female victim ran into the church parking lot and jumped into a black pickup belonging to a choir member, Hastings said. The robber tried to take the vehicle, but the owner of the truck, who was sitting inside, pulled out a 9mm pistol of his own and shot the robber in the head, killing him.
The shooting marked Little Rock’s 47th homicide of the year - six more than the city recorded throughout all of 2005.
“He was getting out of choir practice, trying to go home,” Hastings said of the choir member. “The robber didn’t have a chance.”
Minutes later, police swarmed the scene, examining the truck and setting small cards next to spent casings in the parking lot, marking each as evidence.
Several shots were fired, Hastings said, though only by the choir member. Police hadn’t concluded if the choir member had a permit for a concealed weapon or whether the fatal shooting was justified.
Police interviewed the shooter and several other choir members who were in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, Hastings said.
The church’s lights were still on about 10:30 p.m., but calls to the church’s telephone number went unanswered.

They are counting it as the city's 47th homicide this year.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[srfl]

Welcome G&G....be sure to post a "hello" message in the New Member's section.

Thanks for posting this message...since crime and violence can and does happen anywhere, I am one that carries a weapon even at church.

[Tangle]

As church goes, I can't understand why they aren't robbed. They typically take an offering and it seems like it'd be easy pickin's for BGs.

[retsupt99]

Welcome from Central Florida!
Too bad for the BG...
We need more choir members like that one!

ret

[Wayne]

The shooting marked Little Rock’s 47th homicide of the year - six more than the city recorded throughout all of 2005.

This is why the stats used by the anti's are so screwed up. They are counting justifiable self defense as a homicide.

The anti's of course won't tell the people that, but will just just the numbers.

Oh, this shows a good reason to carry, even to chruch.

Oh, Oh, And Wellcome G&C

Wayne

[Warren]

Hallelujah!


Glad the GG is all right.

[P95Carry]

Hello G&C

[lowflyer]

Little Rock, AR

A shooting Wednesday night is raising new interest and concerns over concealed weapons permits.

Little Rock police say 56 year old Samuel Mitchell shot and killed a man who was pointing a gun at him and demanding his truck. It happened at a church parking lot. Mitchell had a concealed weapons permit.

KARN talk show host Dave Elswick says received a permit 3 months ago, “Police can only be a few places at one time. They normally solve crime. They don’t follow me around daily. I think it’s my responsibility to protect myself and family.”

But Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock police department warns not all incidents turn out like the one Wednesday night, “This is not the old west where we have quick draws. Most of the time if a person is standing there pointing a gun at you the chances of getting your weapons out successfully are difficult.”

Click link for more:
http://four.fsphost.com/kark4news/weapon.wmv

Amen brother!

[PatrioticRick]

This is why the stats used by the anti's are so screwed up. They are counting justifiable self defense as a homicide.

The anti's of course won't tell the people that, but will just just the numbers.

Oh, this shows a good reason to carry, even to chruch.

Oh, Oh, And Wellcome G&C

Wayne

I was think the same thing: Why is it a homicide?

Welcome G&C from Eastern Idaho.

[exposurecontrol]

Glad to see the BG got his. But a dicey situation when someone already has a gun pointed at you. You have to question if it's worth the risk to protect property. If you feel you're going to get shot anyway, no matter what you do, then you have no option but to draw..but make sure you do so while moving to make his shot more difficult. I'd certainly also try to distract him in some way before making my move.

[P95Carry]

I was think the same thing: Why is it a homicide?

P Rick - technically - anyone killing even in self defence commits a homicide - ''killing of another human''.

If however it is not in self defence and even pre-meditated then the term becomes ''murder''. If a SD shooting is shown to be a reasonable event then ''justifiable homicide'' becomes the label. It is hard to not see 'homicide' as being left out of the equation.

[devo6684]

The officer in the video made a very good point. Though you may have a weapon on you, it will be completely useless if the attacker already has the drop on you. I have been held up before at a night drop and I think back to "what if I had my pistol on me?". I would never of been able to produce it in time to use it! The best thing to do is comply as best you can until an opportunity allows itself to either escape and take cover or to draw your weapon. This is why it ever so important to be aware of your surrounds and any potential threatening parking lots, corridors, alley openings, etc. I am glad to hear this turned out well for the GG!

[Miggy]

First, my comment on the shooting: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.

Second, on "having the drop on you"..... not necessarily true that you have a good chance to lose. Properly trained the opposite is true. Action will always beat reaction if your Combat Triad (Mindset, Gun Handling and Marksmanship) is working. When I attended Handgun 101 with Randy Cain, one of the things he taught us was that Action will beat Reaction. On an excercise he had me holding a training gun at aimed at him at bad breath distance and told me to pull the trigger and go BAM when I saw him move. I was forewarned and expecting his move and he still managed to beat me.

As I was explained, the brain does not reacts as fast when presented with a new experience. If I remember corrrectly the amount was about 1.5 seconds to input the new data and to process a reaction even if it is the wrong one. A BG might used to have people surrender when he presents a weapon and it is not expecting somebody to fight back with deadly force.

[lowflyer]

First, my comment on the shooting: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.

Second, on "having the drop on you"..... not necessarily true that you have a good chance to lose. Properly trained the opposite is true. Action will always beat reaction if your Combat Triad (Mindset, Gun Handling and Marksmanship) is working.

I disagree. That exercise is just to demonstrate that it can be done. It does not mean that your chances of survival are any greater. Everyone's reflexes are different. I bet Bruce Lee could have pulled the trigger, smoked a cigarrette, and roundhouse kicked the guy in the face before he moved more than an inch. Anytime a loaded gun is pointed at you and yours is in the holster, you stand a good chance to lose. That is why they don't do that exercise with the instructor hitting you instead of drawing his gun from a IWB. He would not be able to make his point because a 90-year-old granny could pull the trigger faster than most people can draw and shoot.

[ccw9mm]

The choir member was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; or maybe not.

Glad he could "sing".

Gee. So many perps getting stopped is gonna give "perping" a bad name. Wouldn't that be nice.