Posted on 08/30/2012 8:10:23 AM PDT by marktwain
This hits close to home. Literally — I live in San Antonio and carry a concealed handgun. And stories like this make me glad I rarely leave home without it, no matter how safe I think the destination. As we all know, just because you’re in a school zone doesn’t mean that the bad guys will stay away. And yesterday morning, an armed citizen stopped what could have been a murder in front of a school in broad daylight, all without firing a single shot. WOAI San Antonio picks up the story . . .
The attack happened around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday outside the Bonham Academy on St. Mary’s Street. Teresa Barron, 38, had just dropped off her child at the school when the child’s father showed up, and the two got into an argument.
Its not an uncommon theme. Even the happiest couples have their rocky moments. But most of the time those issues can be resolved without having to resort to repeatedly stabbing your loved one in the neck.
The child’s father, 38-year-old Roberto Barron allegedly then stabbed the woman several times in the upper body and neck area.
So there’s the situation. A man is stabbing his wife to death in the parking lot of a school. MANY bystanders are watching, but too scared to intervene because of the knife — a weapon like that in close quarters is deadly. No one wants to get close enough to do anything for fear of being stabbed themselves. But thankfully, someone had a weapon with a little more range and was able to put an immediate stop to the situation.
Police say a bystander who happened to be a concealed handgun license holder pulled his weapon and ordered Barron to drop the knife. Barron surrendered and was taken into custody by the bystander and a school district officer.
Quick note on Texas’ concealed carry law (and while I’m not a lawyer, this is my understanding thanks to the mandatory 10-hour class): parking lots are always fair game. Schools are off limits, but their parking lots are 100% legal to carry your weapon. Same goes for your vehicle — since it is technically a domicile, you can have a concealed handgun, license or no license.
But once you step foot into that school with a concealed handgun, you’re venturing into felonious territory. Which makes you wonder what would have happened if the stabbing had taken place inside the school rather than the parking lot.
The hero of the story actually commented below, and he had some clarifications on the story:
I am the guy that pulled my KelTec P3AT on the guy yesterday morning. Just to clear up the confusion, I was walking down S. St. Mary’s street IN FRONT OF Bonham Academy. I first thought that the guy was beating someone, and I ran toward him ordering him to stop. He looked at me and ignored me. When I saw the blood and the knife I was about 10 or 15 ft. away from him. I pulled my gun, aimed it at him, and yelled at him again. Again he looked at me and ignored me. When he began stabbing her again I yelled to him as loud as I could. He again turned and looked at me. I told him “dude do you see what I have aimed at your head?” He immediately dropped the knife and asked me to call 911. All of this happened in the middle of S. St. Mary’s street, not in the school parking lot. I was not charged with anything.
The wife is in critical condition at a local hospital and the husband is currently facing an aggravated assault charge. I wouldn’t be surprised if they upped it to attempted murder eventually. Because really, when you think about it, stabbing someone in the neck is a good indication of their murderous intent.
And if that citizen hadn’t had their weapon with them, they could have witnessed a murder right there in front of the school.
Moral of the story: always be prepared. Carry all the time. Because you never know when your life — or the life of a fellow human being — might be in danger. And even the simple threat of force is often enough to end the situation.
He did. After the first warning I would have shot the SOB!
Now if it were my ex someone was stabbing I’d yell “two more stabs to the neck area then Put the weapon down”
Let me concur with every word of that, please, and add this: the good guy undertook a tremendous risk by giving the bad guy not one, but two opportunites to back down. The bad guy could very easily have attacked the good guy without an instant's notice. With or without a gun, the good guy would have been in deep, dark, ugly trouble.
I don't mean that to criticize the good guy; I do, however, believe it's worth our while to bear the FBI's 21-foot rule of thumb in mind: if it's got a knife within 21 feet of you, it can stab or slice you faster than you can shoot.
I love these stories. Thanks for posting them.
As an aside, Mississippi has an enhanced firearm permit that recently went into effect. It’s my understanding it allows a permitholder to carry in all public buildings (including schools) with the exception of courthouses. The enhanced permit requires some training and a test. I plan to go through the course when the weather cools down.
I thought the same things you did. The good guy went beyond the requirement to warn the attacker to drop the weapon and may have taken his own life in his hands when getting closer than the 21 foot mark. Thankfully it ended without the CCW having to fire his weapon. Prayers up for the victim.
I strongly distance myself from this reprehensible post.
I believe the 21 foot rule applies to holstered guns. The FBI says you will not be able to draw and fire by the time a person with a knife closes the 21 foot distance. In this case the CCW holder had his gun out and trained on the perp. I assure you if he didn’t freeze he could have popped off at least 3 rounds before the perp closed the distance.
As soon as he determined that the assailant was stabbing her neck and upper chest he should have shot. There are several places along the arteries there where a single stab wound is irretrievably lethal.
They literally could not save the person’s life if they were on a surgical table in the ER kind of wounds.
The situation sounds like one where the assailant *knew* a gun was pointed at him, yet was still determined to murder, then immediately surrender before he was harmed.
Thus it is not “murder in the heat of anger”, but murder in the first degree, with clear intent. If she survives he should be charged with aggravated assault with intent to murder, and get the maximum sentence.
Hey 45LC I think you had better check about carrying on School property. I think it’s a federal offense within a 1000 yards unless you are dropping someone off, not sure.
“Tueller drill”= 21 feet (from holster/pocket/etc)
You are welcome. I would love to hear about your experience at the enhanced course. Perhaps you could take some notes and post about the experience.
I would be happy to help out if you are willing to share with us.
The Federal law has an exception for those with CCW permits.
I thought the school prohibition was federal too, so you may be right. I got that information from a man who was at a recent gun show handing out fliers for his enhanced permit course. We chatted for a few minutes and he mentioned carry in a school as a benefit of going through the training. I presumed he knew what he was talking about, so I never researched it. I’m a member of a gun club, so I will do the training at the club with instructors I know and trust.
I’ll be happy to relay my experience. I’ll probably do the training in late September or early October. Right now Mississippi is so hot I might as well live along the equator.
Remember the setting - lots of parents and kids in the vicinity. One of the key rules is to avoid collateral injuries to bystanders if possible. He had to balance his safety versus the bystanders.
I will be looking forward to your report.
I agree with you that he did a great job. No collateral damage is a good thing. Just ask the bystanders from the recent NYC shooting.
You have to be careful at the gun shows there whole purpose is to make money it’s their lively hood. I bought some gun powder at a show here in Indy and paid $23 saw it on line for $17, oh well.
You have to be careful at the gun shows there whole purpose is to make money it’s their lively hood. I bought some gun powder at a show here in Indy and paid $23 saw it on line for $17, oh well.
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