Good Guy with a Gun #247: Glendale, CA
They shot an armed robber in self-defense and fled. Can you blame them? | Original incident: July 7, 2024
These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
Two people were in a white SUV at around 11 PM on a Sunday night. We don’t know anything about them.
37-year-old Edward Mazon, armed with a handgun, tried to rob them.
The driver shot him — and then he and his passenger drove away.
Neighbors called 911, and police arrived quickly. They attempted to save Mazon, but he died at the scene.
After the initial investigation, the police believed that the shooting was justified: “Everything’s possible, but at this point, it appears that [the people in the SUV] are victims,” said Sgt. Vahe Abramyan, a spokesperson for the Glendale PD.
Nevertheless, I can’t find any news outlet talking about the two reaching out to the police. As of the Glendale News-Press deadline for a July 15 publication — about a week later — the two had not been located.
Did they run because they’re criminals themselves? Some people might find it easy to think that way. But judging by the many comments I’ve read on Facebook posts and in forums over the past few years, many people think that California would be happy to put legal gun owners through the wringer. It’s just as possible, then, that they’re legal gun owners who are terrified of the state.
Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle. They might be people who refuse to disarm themselves despite California’s best efforts, carrying weapons without jumping through California’s ridiculous restrictions, and they know that their perfectly reasonable act of self-defense with a perfectly reasonable weapon could still land them behind bars.
Whatever the case, “Police said the shooter and a passenger in the SUV drove off. They’re now looking for them, but they say not as suspects facing any murder charges,” according to NBC 4 Los Angeles.
Community members also showed their support: “I would say they have to [fight back], because crime is getting really crazy everywhere,” said Terri Roberts, an area resident.
Sources
Primary
The Glendale PD gives their side of the story on their website. They also posted about the situation to Facebook, where (at least online) they got less than nothing for their trouble.
News
During the initial investigation, this looked like a non-DGU road-rage incident.
KTLA 5 even headlined their story Suspect on the loose after fatal shooting near Glendale hotel, and they called Mazon (not then known by name) a “victim.” I’m sure there are others like that out there.
Shortly afterward, however, police understood that Mazon was an armed robber who was shot in self-defense, not a victim. Most of the stories look roughly the same at that point: CNS/ABC 7, FOX LA 11, KNX News / 1070 AM, the Glendale News-Press, and CBS News.
NBC 4 Los Angeles did a solid job reporting on the story, including getting some neighborhood reaction and quoting the Glendale PD’s Sgt Abramyan.
2A / specialist media
John Lott’s Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) covered this story in one of their monthly roundups.
Blaze Media posted about this story (paywalled).
Can't say I blame them, either. But if they ever are found, it will may be harder for them than if they'd stayed around. Sounds like we'll never know . . .