Some of you may be sick of hearing this, but I don’t know if I can stress this enough: carry your gun off-duty. Heck, carry two or three.
Saturday, an off-duty SWAT member with the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, shot an armed robber, ending a robbery attempt at a Winn Dixie supermarket. The would-be robber, who was out of prison on early release for armed robbery, had already fired his shotgun to make entry into an office to obtain money. According to the press, the SWAT officer had walked in on the robbery, returned to his car to obtain his firearm, and then confronted the robber.
A few key points:
1. Excellent job by the officer to end this situation. An argument could be made to have let this dirtbag go, rather than try to stop him while off-duty. However, the officer on the scene made the decision to intervene, and accomplished the mission. Good work!
2. Carry your gun(s) on your person. If the officer encountered the subject before he had time to return to his car, he would have been facing a shotgun-toting felon unarmed. Keeping a rifle in the car isn’t a bad idea (see the next point), but if you can’t get back to the car, you’ve got to fight with what you brought.
3. The felon was wearing body armor. Plan and train for this eventuality. Police officers should train with the “failure to stop” drills (you know… put a bullet in the head/brain box/cranial vault). If you have a handgun, chances are your rounds will not penetrate body armor. A rifle in the car is your best bet, but it is very unlikely you will have the time to get to it.
Again, good work to the KSC officer for excelling in the most difficult encounter any of us is likely to face.
Stay safe!
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