Good Guy with a Gun #11: Mesquite, TX
Original incident: November 2, 2023
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In Mesquite, Texas — a suburb of Dallas — a quiet Thursday turned chaotic on November 2, 2023. Two men walked into Tien Tran’s Instant Cash 4 Gold store. One was masked, the other hooded.
Tran, 57, was behind some dividers, prepping a golf bag for a tournament with his son. He had a gun tucked into his waistband at his back.
The video from WFAA 8 is worth watching, both for the incredible video footage and for the interview with Tran. The stills in this post are taken from Tran’s security cameras.
Anyway: One suspect drew a gun and pointed it at Tran.
Tran then grabbed his own gun and fired a warning shot. (This isn’t legal advice, because nothing I say is legal advice, but: Don’t do that. That round comes down somewhere. I think you’re great, Mr. Tran, but if you’re going to fire a round, please pick your target.)
The robber fired three rounds back, and Tran returned fire. Then the robbers fled.
The surveillance video shows Tran calmly checking the door. There were no injuries, fortunately. There were some bullet holes in the walls and a display case, and the next day he discovered that his sunglasses had been struck by a bullet while inside his golf bag.
This wasn’t Tran’s first robbery, either, by a long shot. Five years back, a robber held a gun to his head; Tran talked him down, wrestled, and fired a warning near his ear. Also, in July 2019, two armed men climbed the counter; another warning shot scared them off. And in January 2023, thieves stole $75k in jewels from his car. WFAA’s Matt Howerton has an it’s-still-Twitter-to-me thread with more great video.
Insanity. No wonder Tran keeps his gun so close to hand.
Sources
This story was reasonably well covered, with solid reporting from WFAA News 8. As I said, I like the video here.
KDFW Fox4 also had some good discussion with Tran.
Finally, it’s always nice to see national coverage for GGWAG stories, and the NY Post came through on that front.
That thing that never happens, happens every day.
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