Posted on 03/16/2012 6:07:40 AM PDT by marktwain
WILKES-BARRE – If it happened again, Samuel Smith said, he wouldn’t hesitate to use his gun on another person to protect himself.
Smith, 24, of Ashley, made a split second decision and fired a round into the ground when two young men demanded that he empty his pockets on Reese Street near South Meade Street Wednesday night.
Smith said he was hanging out with a friend outside a house sitting on a curb just before 9 p.m. After his friend went into a house, Smith said he noticed two men walk slowly pass him, describing them as a black male in his upper teens and a white male in his early 20s.
As the two men walked by, Smith had an uneasy feeling and loaded a magazine into his gun and reholstered the weapon.
A minute or two after the men walked past, he said, they approached him asking for a cigarette.
When Smith said he didn’t smoke, he claimed the black male pushed a firearm against his body.
“He said, ‘Give me your (expletive) in your pockets,’ and shoved a gun in my stomach,” Smith said. “I took both my hands, one went on my wallet and the other I reached behind and put on my gun.”
Smith, a security guard who has a concealed weapons permit to carry a firearm, said the black male swatted his hand away from his wallet. When he did, Smith extended his other hand grasping his gun and fired a round in the ground.
“They ran away, the black kid ran toward Little Flower Manor, and the white kid ran the other way stripping off his clothes,” Smith said.
Police said they are investigating the attempted armed robbery.
The experience of being a victim left Smith with little doubt of using deadly force.
“I never thought it would happen to me,” Smith, who works as a security officer, said. “I’m glad I have a concealed weapons permit. It paid off. If it happens to me again, I don’t think I would think twice of using my gun.” Other mugging incidents
The attempted armed robbery of Samuel Smith on Wednesday is the latest street mugging in the area in recent weeks.
• March 5, Wilkes-Barre: A 17-year-old boy told police three black males punched him in the head at Beaumont and North Washington streets.
• March 4, Hanover Township: A 17-year-old boy told township police he was approached by a white male brandishing a knife and demanded the boy to empty his pockets at South Main and Knox streets.
• March 4, Wilkes-Barre: A 13-year-old boy told city police he was approached by a black male who stole his bicycle in the area of 8 S. Main St.
• March 4, Pittston: Police said a white male armed with a handgun robbed a person in the area of South Main Street and Kennedy Boulevard.
• Feb. 27, Hanover Township: A man told township police two white men aimed a gun at him and punched him in the face before stealing his wallet on West Division Street.
• Feb. 27, Wilkes-Barre: A woman told police she was pushed down to the ground and punched in the face by two men on Hickory Street.
• Feb. 22, Wilkes-Barre: A man told police he was punched in the face by two black men who stole his cell phone in the area of 289 N. Main St.
• Feb. 1, Wilkes-Barre: Police said a man was stabbed twice in the abdomen during an attempted robbery by two men on Carey Avenue.
Shooting into the ground is a waste of perfectly good ammunition.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaha! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
But seriesly... he saw a potential threat and then loaded the weapon?
Amen, brother......and if I’ve said this once on this forum, I’ve said it 100 times: Do NOT fire “warning shots” EVER.
The guy is an armed security officer. My lady friend is 3rd in command of a security firm (and is also an armed security guard, trainer, CCW holder, supervisor, etc., etc.), so I know more than an little bit about their training and certification processes. In short, he should have known better.
What he should have done was pull his weapon and have it at the ready the moment they approached him. A simple warning to “stop right there and say what you have to say from there” would have done the trick. They would have seen the weapon. If they continued to approach, he should have leveled his weapon at one of them and simply said “I won’t miss from here.”
If you are then forced to shoot, shoot to kill. Period. End of discussion.
So, the dude’s holding a gun in his stomach and he shoots into the ground. He’s incredibly lucky the guy with gun scampered away rather than unloading a magazine into him. If I am ever in the situation where I need to use my gun to protect myself there will be no “warning” shots. My sole objective is to come out alive. Period.
“My sole objective is to come out alive. Period.”
And to make sure the perp doesn’t live to try that stunt again.
.
someone sticks a gun in your stomach and you fire a shot into the ground? the guy is either very stupid or the story is bogus
Agreed, his life was in danger. He should have put a bullet in each of them.
“pushed a firearm against his body”
How do you let a stranger get that close?
You get loud and tell them to “Back off! I don’t know you!”
as for shooting into the ground....just stupid!
Most like an AD, but still turned out OK for him apparently.
Agreed. At that point his life was in danger.
No, he did not. The perp walked and will kill the next vic.
“He said, ‘Give me your (expletive) in your pockets,’ and shoved a gun in my stomach,” Smith said. “I took both my hands, one went on my wallet and the other I reached behind and put on my gun.”Smith, a security guard who has a concealed weapons permit to carry a firearm, said the black male swatted his hand away from his wallet. When he did, Smith extended his other hand grasping his gun and fired a round in the ground.
Translation from media gibberish:
Smith's gun was in a small of the back holster. In his adrenalin charged attempt to draw his weapon, he pulled the trigger early causing a direct hit on the ground*. He is damn lucky he did not shoot himself in the ass.
* Whenever possible define your target after shooting, that way you never -ever- miss . . .
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