3 Real Life CCW Examples: When Concealed Carry Saves Lives

There’s a pretty stark divide in this country about whether or not law-abiding people ought to be allowed to defend themselves with firearms.  As one of the only countries in the world that has specific legal provisions authorizing its citizenry to be armed, it seems oddly a shame we’d be so quick to dispense with it for a false sense of security.

There is not a day that goes by where the news isn’t littered with horror stories and accounts of criminals using firearms against law abiding citizens.  Why then are the accounts of the first line of defense – the concealed carriers – not being told?

Here’s three real world examples of recent accounts of concealed carriers coming to the rescue and how it changed an event from tragedy to success.

CCW Firefighters Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Even Starts

Via Fox Carolina

Firefighters said Chad Barker pulled up to the crowded fire station parking lot full of children and firefighters, got out of his car, and began firing in the air and at his vehicle. They say he also pointed the firearm at individual firefighters for lengthy periods of time.

“I came out of the office, saw the man with the gun, told everybody to leave out the back quickly that there was a man in the parking lot with a gun, and I was not kidding,” said Gary Knoll, a firefighter for New Holland.

Knoll said he and another firefighter who have concealed weapons permits pulled their guns on the gunman.

Knoll said Barker returned to his vehicle and firefighters carefully followed him with their weapons still drawn. After encouraging Barker to put the gun down, Knoll said Barker ultimately complied and Knoll grabbed the gun.

He said the group of firefighters detained Barker, who then began beating his head on the ground, until deputies arrived and locked him up. Barker has been charged with two counts of Pointing and Presenting a Firearm.

This is a case point example of why concealed carriers need to be armed and ready at a moment’s notice.  It doesn’t matter the event, the place, or situation – when danger strikes, there are only mere seconds to flip the script on an attacker.

Uber Driver Stops Mass Shooting

Chicago is one of the few cities that’s staunchly held out to the last on becoming a “shall permit” municipality.  Thankfully, it recently passed and because of it – we’re seeing first hand how that changes the face of how criminals can conduct themselves.

Via Chicago Tribune

A group of people had been walking in front of the driver around 11:50 p.m. Friday in the 2900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue when Everardo Custodio, 22, began firing into the crowd, Quinn said.

The driver pulled out a handgun and fired six shots at Custodio, hitting him several times, according to court records.  Responding officers found Custodio lying on the ground, bleeding, Quinn said.  No other injuries were reported.

Wow.  Another mass shooting stopped before it could get bad.  Is this a trend or something?  Whereas before, when we saw horrific mass shootings taking place and felt defenseless to stop such acts – now citizens are being given the tools to act.  And it’s working.

Armed Carjacking Aborted by CCW

Why be the victim when you can narrow the playing field?  As the Houston Chronicle later reported, a man who was approached by two
strangers and asked for a lift, declined and was then threatened at gunpoint to exit the vehicle.

This isn’t Grand Theft Auto 5.  And unfortunately for James Jones, the assailant, his wild card bet on that vehicle paid off extremely poorly.  Thankfully, this story has a very happy ending courtesy of a great inside the waistband concealed carry holster.

Via Houston Chronicle

Police said a man was sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot when two men approached him and asked him for a ride. When the man refused, the two suspects walked away. But then they came back and one of them, identified as 30-year-old James Jones, pointed a gun at the victim and ordered him out of the vehicle. They marched him to the back of the vehicle and forced him onto his knees.

Police said Jones then climbed inside the vehicle behind the steering wheel and the other suspect got into the passenger seat beside. That’s when the victim, police added, pulled out his own gun from his pants waistband and opened fire.

These stories aren’t pulled from years ago.  All of them occurred within a month.  This is the reality of the world we’re living in.  When criminals who don’t fear the rule of law will do whatever is in their power to execute their will – it’s going to be a concealed carrier who is often the difference between life and death of innocents.

[box type=”bio”] James England is a former United States Marine Signals Intelligence Operator and defense contractor with over two tours spread over the Al Anbar province and two more operating across Helmand and Baghdis. He is presently a writer focused on Western foreign policy and maintains an avid interest in firearms. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, he presently resides in New Hampshire – the “Live Free or Die” state. He is finishing up his first novel, “American Hubris”, which is set to hit shelves in Fall of 2015.[/box]