Good Guy with a Gun #254: Warrington, FL
Do you have a backup gun? | Original incident: July 12, 2024
These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is essentially the same as the calendar version.
Around 5:45 PM at the Forest Creek Apartments, two men were in a heated argument.
One man pulled a gun and stole a firearm from the second man.
The victim pulled his backup gun1 and shot the armed robber. Then he fled.
The armed robber was taken to the hospital, where he died.
I’ll let Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons tell the rest, as recounted by WEAR News 3.
And then he did leave the scene, but then he called us up, told us where he was, told us where the gun was, told us how it happened. Told us that he was robbed and he felt like he was defending himself. We got the video and it seems to corroborate his saying.
Leaving the scene isn’t generally a great idea — as long as the threat has been neutralized, of course. But the fact that he contacted the Sheriff’s office, rather than forcing them to come looking for him, seems to have ameliorated what otherwise might have been a very bad look. Corroboration by surveillance footage of course doesn’t hurt.
Sheriff Simmons gave his assessment: “We are classifying it, at this point, as an act of self-defense.”
So, lessons learned: What’s better than having a firearm for protection?
Having two, of course.
Sources
WEAR News 3 has two articles about this incident. The first came immediately after the shooting, when little information was available. They got some community response, which I appreciate as a general approach. The second documented Sheriff Simmons’s approach to the case and his affirmation that the shooting was in self-defense.
The Pensacola News Journal has a paywalled article that was written after the police had determined that they wouldn’t recommend charges.
2A / specialist media
Sean Holt at USACarry covered this incident as well.
Honestly, I didn’t know this was a thing, but it’s not the first or last time you’ll hear that term here. If you’re interested in the topic, Salvatore at USACarry wrote up a full backup gun (BUG) article, including pistol options and carry considerations.