U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- The head of a leading national gun rights organization based in Washington State is hailing the actions of two armed citizens who collectively shot three would-be armed carjackers in two separate Philadelphia incidents in recent days, while much closer to home, another armed criminal was shot dead by his intended victim, the latest in a string of incidents suggesting Americans are fighting back.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said in a prepared statement about the Philadelphia incidents, “getting shot by an intended victim discourages such behavior.”
More than a decade ago, Gottlieb co-authored a book titled “America Fights Back – Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age.” The first printing sold out quickly, and that book was followed by series of related books that explored and documented various encounters between armed criminals and victims who shot back.
The most recent volume is titled “Good Guys With Guns,” available in paperback (co-authored by Dave Workman).
CCRKBA is headquartered in Bellevue, located on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, with Seattle on the west side of the lake. Auburn is a suburban community located due south of both cities, and that’s where an unidentified would-be armed robber tried to pull a stick-up Tuesday night. When he shot the intended victim in the arm, that person drew a gun and returned fire, killing the suspect. Police are still investigating, but reaction to the shooting at the Facebook page of Fox News affiliate KCPQ shows people are cheering the actions of the robbery victim.
In the Philadelphia incidents, a 32-year-old health care worker was approached by an armed suspect who turned out to be an 18-year-old armed with a handgun. When the would-be robber/carjacker aimed a gun at the victim’s head, the older man drew his own legally-carried handgun and opened fire, wounding the thug, who was later arrested at a nearby hospital.
A few days before that, two carjackers—one armed with a shotgun—tried to jack a car belonging to a Lyft driver who also happened to be legally armed. As the shotgun-wielding suspect fired and then attempted to drive away with the victim’s car, the Lyft driver shot him. The second suspect tried to run the victim down with a second car, and was also shot. Both suspects were arrested.
Back on Jan. 4, the owner of a restaurant in York County, Pa., fatally shot a man identified as 34-year-old Rickey Cox as he attempted to rob the store. The unidentified restaurant owner will reportedly not face charges.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center’s most recent estimate, “During the Coronavirus pandemic, the number of concealed handgun permits has soared to over 21.52 million – a 48% increase since 2016. It’s also a 10.5% increase over the number of permits we counted a year ago in 2020.”
The report, prepared by CPRC founder and President John Lott and Rujun Wang, acknowledged that the increase in concealed carry occurred “despite 21 Constitutional Carry states that no longer provide data on all those legally carrying a concealed handgun because people in those states no longer need a permit to carry.”
It translates to a growing number of armed citizens who are fighting back. Alarmed by reductions in police manpower by municipal officials responding to far left pressure to “defund” police ever since the 2020 death of George Floyd while being restrained by Minneapolis police, millions of Americans bought guns in 2020 and again last year. Many of those people were first-time buyers including some who, according to anecdotal information, never wanted guns in their homes. They have “re-discovered” the Second Amendment really isn’t about duck and deer hunting, after all.
While the right of self-defense is universally recognized by the legal system, every lethal force incident is investigated and there is no guarantee a person acting in self-defense will not be prosecuted—just ask Kyle Rittenhouse. His case, as reported earlier by AmmoLand News, did not simply put the teen on trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, it also put the right of self-defense in the bull’s eye. Common sense prevailed.
Last year was the second-strongest year on record for background checks initiated with the federal National Instant Check System. More than 38.8 million NICS checks were started, and according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which “adjusts” the figures to determine how many actually involved a gun sale, more than 18 million firearms transactions were done in 2021.
Self-defense incidents are not just a 2022 phenomenon. Last month, in Bolivar, Tenn., an armed man attempted to rob a Domino’s pizza restaurant, but when he aimed a gun at the employees, one of those workers pulled his own gun and opened fire. The would-be robber was killed.
It should not be considered a rash overreaction to open fire on someone committing an armed robbery, carjacking or other potentially deadly crime, especially in the wake of a case like the one in East Harlem, where a 19-year-old Burger King cashier was brutally murdered after actually handing a robber $100 in cash. According to the New York Post, Kristal Bayron-Nieves had only worked at the restaurant for three weeks.
CCRKBA’s Gottlieb was infuriated when he learned that nearly 100 murder suspects had been released from Cook County, Illinois jails and put on electronic home monitoring, even while Chicago’s streets continue to run red with the blood of murder victims. Last year, Cook County—which encompasses Chicago—racked up more than 1,000 homicides, including the more than 800 in the Windy City.
“This is absolutely nuts,” Gottlieb declared.
He went on to observe, “Now that this outrage (in Cook County) has been exposed, nobody should ever again question why any good citizen living in Cook County would want to have a gun for personal protection. The two cases of citizens fighting back in Philadelphia with legally-carried handguns illustrate the need for guns in private hands. If good guys can win in Philly, they can also win in Chicago and Cook County.”
And that applies to anywhere else armed criminals might presume they can get prey upon others. It appears that, at least in some places, America is still fighting back.
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
