These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
A little after two on a Sunday morning, employees at a Walgreens in Calumet City, south of Chicago, followed two shoplifters, a man and a woman, out the door.
The woman was the easy one. The employees got the merchandise back from her, and she ran.
When they approached the man, he pulled a handgun.
One of the employees had a concealed carry license, and he had his own gun on him. He fired, hitting the man in the chest.
The man still managed to get into a car and drive off. Police were already on their way about the theft when word came in that shots had been fired, and that he’d left heading west. They found 42-year-old Mario Almendarez in his car. He was taken to a trauma center, and he died there.
In reading these stories, I hear people say, “Theft shouldn’t carry the death penalty.” That’s true, but we should be clear: It wasn’t Almendarez’s theft that got him killed here. It was his escalation, with a threat of deadly force by showing a handgun, that caused him to die.
He shouldn’t have taken the goods; once caught, he should have taken the ‘L’. Barring that, he’d be alive today.
Sources
News
Walgreens employee with concealed carry license fatally shoots theft suspect (NBC Chicago)
Suspected thief shot, killed by Calumet City Walgreens employee (Chicago Tribune)
CBS Chicago described the employee as store security: “security guard” in its broadcast segment, “security officer” in the first line of its web story. The other news outlets just say “employee.”
Suspected thief dies after being shot by store employee at Walgreens in south suburban Chicago (Web story)
Walgreens security guard shoots shoplifter in Calumet City, Illinois (Broadcast segment)
2A / specialist media
Armed Walgreens Employee Shoots, Kills Gun-Wielding Shoplifter in Calumet City, IL (Luke McCoy, USA Carry)
Concealed-carrying Walgreens worker blows away alleged shoplifter who pulled gun when confronted (Dave Urbanski, The Blaze)
Concealed Carrier Kills Alleged Robber in Chicago-Area Walgreens (AWR Hawkins, Breitbart)
Armed Walgreens Employee Defends Himself Against Alleged Shoplifter Brandishing Weapon (Colion Noir)
Walgreens Employee With Concealed Carry License Fatally Shoots Suspected Thief (Darwin Nercesian, The Truth About Guns)
Concealed-Carry Hero Stops Armed Shoplifter Outside Illinois Walgreens (Grits and Gear)