U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- A young man and his buddy tried to drive away from a bar. That doesn’t sound like part of an attack and armed defense, but it was in this case. This self-defense story starts to unfold at about 11:30 on a Friday night outside the Steam Pub in Southampton Township. The pub is about 16 miles north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the pub takes its name from an old train station. Two men tried to leave the pub, but four men were leaning on their car in the parking lot. The four men began punching the two men as they tried to enter their car and drive away.
One of the victims, Luis Rodrigues, tried to enter the passenger side door. He was hit several times and ran away to get help. The driver, Liam Hughes, was punched as he tried to enter the driver’s side door. He was knocked to the ground. He tried to enter his car but was grabbed and pulled back outside, where he was hit again. Again, the driver dove into his car and pulled his gun from between the driver’s seat and the center console. As the victim was again dragged out of the car, he shouted that he had a gun.
The victim was on the ground as several attackers again advanced on him. That is when the victim fired his handgun. The defender stopped shooting when the attackers backed away. The armed victim stayed at the scene and called 911. It is unclear from the news stories if the attacker’s motive was to beat the two victims or to steal their car.
Two of the attackers died at the scene. A third was transported to the hospital for treatment of a bullet wound to his arm. The four attackers and the two victims were detained by the police. Police reviewed security video of the parking lot outside the bar.
The armed victim was a 140-pound male. He purchased his firearm legally. He also had a concealed carry permit. He had been in the Army Reserve for the last 3-½ years.
The attackers were both larger than the victims and the victims were outnumbered. After being hit several times, the armed driver was on his back on the ground outside his car. He could not move to escape his multiple attackers, nor could he effectively defend himself from that position.
That disparity of force is critically important. The victims could easily establish an immediate and unavoidable threat of death or great bodily harm. The district attorney agreed after he reviewed the witness statements and viewed the security video. The defender was not charged.
Pennsylvania law includes the crime of felony assault, where an accomplice may be charged with second-degree murder if the death occurred during the commission of a felony. So far, one of the assailants was charged with the misdemeanor crime of simple assault.
The defender did a number of things that helped his case. He didn’t start the attack or shout insults back at his attackers. In contrast, the defender shouted for his attackers to stop. He shouted that he was armed. The defender stopped shooting when the attackers let him go and the attackers backed away. He stayed at the scene of the crime and called 911, asking for help. When they arrived, the defender identified himself and gave a statement to the police.
As an aside, I wonder how accurately I could shoot if I was on my back being dragged across the ground by several attackers. Also, if the police suggest that you go to the hospital to have your wounds examined, then take their advice. That medical documentation may be used in court to substantiate your claims.
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About Rob Morse
Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.