Here is a case where the robbers burst in and just opened fire

[C0untZer0]

A Chicago police officer working a second job as security for the store was killed.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-12-31/news/chi-slain-offduty-had-just-gotten-engaged-on-christmas-day-20111230_1_press-conference-christmas-day-chicago-police-officer

One of the robbers had a Tec-9, the officer drew his weapon but was hit several times and died before he got off a shot.

The store owner elected not to install bullet proof glass, I'm not sure if Officer Lewis had any cover he could have used anyway.

Short of having body armor, I'm not sure what he could have done.

[Shadi Khalil]

I have a lot of family in Chicago who own small businesses and these types of stories make me worry.

[Evil Monkey]

sometimes you don't stand a chance. All depends on M.O.

[dean1818]

Its a sad occurance, but again proof that criminals ignore gun laws

[bikerbill]

Base on their stealing his items only, wondering if it's possible they were targeting him and not the store itself ... might have seen him there on a previous visit, for example. Nothing that scum like this does surprises me anymore ...

[TexasJustice7]

Dean1818: Its a sad occurance, but again proof that criminals ignore gun laws

Criminals especially ignore the law in Chicago where law abiding citisens have to rely only on the police. Reminds me of the criminal who was killed by two law officers at a train station in Dallas, back on Dec 7, 2011. That criminal boarded the train to Chicago. Guess he did not realize he was not supposed to be armed in Chicago. Two civilians were in the cross fire, and hit by shots from law enforcement. I refuse to ever go to Chicago.:(

[jimbob86]

Base on their stealing his items only, wondering if it's possible they were targeting him and not the store itself ... might have seen him there on a previous visit, for example.

That was my thought when I read about this..... somebody linked it in the Wendy's thread to illustrate that "Armed Citizen CCW" does not guarantee a good outcome....... I think that the fact that only cops and robbers in Chicago have guns made this guy a conspicuous target (clean cut guy who regularly hangs out in the local convenience store, must be a cop working security, so he must have a gun...... thugs like guns, and a badge would be a bonus, ergo- he's a target. ....... and this further underlines the point that cops can't protect you, as they can't even protect themselves.

[Alaska444]

Scary occurrance. It sounds as if he was the target since they didn't take anything else.There may be more to the story than what we will ever know publicly but it appears like an intended hit, not so much a robbery. Why take his badge? Strange story.

In the Phillipines, for banks, they have a security guard outside with a 12 ga shotgun, and two inside likewise with revolvers and shotguns. The door is locked and the second security guard inside opens and closes the door for each customer with bullet proof glass all around. My brother in law was a bank manager over there. We may end up having to place the same sort of security measures here in the states if episodes like this become more common.

[C0untZer0]

Because of Illinois gun laws, police officers sort of have the market cornered when it comes to hiring armed gaurds.

I don't know how hot it was in the store, but a bullet-resistant vest is the one thing the officer had control over. I don't know where he was shot, but I think a vest would have helped. It is the one piece of equipment that requires no reaction time and very little training on the user's part for it to be effective. The store had been targeted before for robbery, there was a good chance that it would be targeted again - that's why the officer was hired in the first place.

Maybe he made the mistake of thinking that him just being there armed was going to prevent another robbery attempt.

[SecurityMike]

This happens to a lot of security guards in the area. The bad guys are usually just looking for a gun. They will rob the guard either way but if they look like they'll put up a fight they just shoot. it happened at aldis and then the same guys used that gun to kill and rob another guard at a different aldis.

The bangers in Joliet watch to see where cops live and break into their houses and steal their guns. It happened to two guys I know last year. I make sure to always put a jacket on over my security uniform and make sure my gun isn't visible when I'm walking from my car to my house.

Very scary though. These guys barely have time to get their guns out. It scares me cuz where I work we wear level three holsters and are mandated to keep the chamber empty. The trade off is that I'm not in A liquor store in the hood, but in an office building.

[jimbob86]

Count, Mike, you guys are on the ground there. In your opinion, would these thugs continue to do this if there was a good chance the only gun there would not be the one their target has?

If there was a strong CCW law law with Florida style legal protections for Citizens using deadly force?

I know the powers that be in Mordor are unlikely to allow this to happen, but if such were the case ..... I think the thugs would be more careful, as I don't see this sort of stuff happening anywhere else.

[kilimanjaro]

If it was not revenge for some prior police work by the off-duty officer, then they just wanted his gun or just wanted to kill. Next time on jury duty, remind me to vote to acquit anyone who kills a bad guy by shooting them in the back while running away, laying wounded on the floor, going back in and reloading, stealing a slice of pizza, whatever anyone wants to call a disproportionate response. I'm giving a very big benefit of the doubt to us decent folks.

[SecurityMike]

jimbob,

I definitely think CCW would help in some situations. But in the case of a robbery like this or the ones at Aldis, they are taking places in extremely poor neighborhoods. Usually the process for a CCW license is expensive and requires a clean record and almost anyone that would have been in any of these locations would probably not be able to obtain one.

As for not seeing things like this anywhere else, I think a lot of people severely underestimate just how decimated some of these neighborhoods are. It goes far beyond gun laws on the West and South sides of Chicago, they are completely hopeless. The crime is so rampant that every police officer has calls stacked 5 or 6 deep, and the gangs are recruiting out of elementary schools and literally control the neighborhoods.

TL;DR, Chicago is a warzone.

But obviously stuff like this happens in other places too, where it is far more likely that a potential CCW holder would be present. Such as this recent robbery in a nice suburb about 30 miles southwest of the city: http://plainfield.patch.com/articles/cici

[Opinated]

It suggests to me that the robbers came just to steal the weapon from the officer. Perhaps that was the plan in a nutshell.

[hangglider]

SecurityMike--the situation in southern Chattanooga is nearly identical. The difference is it's a much smaller town--but has one of the highest shootings/murder rates in the country. The BGs are very well armed (I hear them doing target practice openly in the city with high-capacity magazines weekly)--I'm beginning to think that having a CCW really is inadequate if you can't go full combat body armor and have a hardened site for defensive position if you live/work in an area like this. The police department recently purchased 30 AR15's to deal with the escalation in violent crime. Once you are targeted by gangs, they are relatively fearless when and where they go after you. If the target is in a crowd--they will shoot indiscriminately into the crowd not caring if others are hit in the pursuit of the target.

[C0untZer0]

There was a thread on the increasing militarization of the police - I think it got closed. But I do think it's interesting that the response in Southern Chattanooga - or maybe it's just the most publicized response, is getting more weaponry.


For the shooting in Chicago, I think the fact that they took the officer's badge might have indicated that they intended to pose as a police officer for a subsequent crime - I don't know.

I am not sure CCW law would have deterred this - they were going after an armed person to start with, they would have had to fear that the clerk would also be armed and would open fire, and it sounds to me like they were prepared to kill anyone in the store who gave them any trouble.

I think the two issues it raises with me is making yourself a target for crime with open carry and again - the issue of the utility of body armor.

[hangglider]

A well-liked sergeant, father and long-time veteran of the force was engaged and killed by an itinerant last year who had an assault rifle and was wearing body armor. I know there are at least a couple of AK/SKS's in the hood being fired--I just hope the AR's the police get are up to the task.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

At a press conference today, Chicago Police Department Supt. Garry McCarthy said that both of the offenders were armed, one with a pistol and the other a weapon that appeared on video to be a TEC-9. He also said that Lewis, who was standing behind the counter, drew his own weapon and was "subsequently shot."



I'm sorry - the original story doesn't say they came in shooting. Did I miss that? I could have.

If they came in and he drew - that's a different take.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Obviously it's all speculation, but it sounds like a major failure of Situational Awareness.

"Both offenders were wearing masks when they entered the location...."

How do you not arm yourself when two masked individuals approach the store?

It SEEMS like he must not have been paying much attention.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

With no disrespect, obvious drawing is a mistake. One gets to cover or concealment (at best). Drawing in the open against drawn guns is risky.

Now, I've seen it done if the gun holder is distracted or freezes in training. In the real world, may not be the first plan. You would need to outside their awareness.

Hindsight of course is always better than foresight with the front sight.

So is there another report that shows they walked in shooting. If not, I wish that folks wouldn't overinterpret incidents.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I suppose it all depends on our assumptions of the lay-out of a typical store and the assumed position of a security guard. I've never seen a convenience store with armed security (or unarmed security) but if our typical store layouts had armed security, and he was in a logical place for security to be, he would be able to see the approach of masked individuals and prepare himself accordingly.

The problem with interpretations. Each of our assumptions naturally supports our conclusions.;):)

[C0untZer0]

"The officer didn't stand a chance in this case. He did everything he could," McCarthy said. "Both offenders were wearing masks when they entered the location. One of the two offenders immediately turned and started firing at Officer Lewis. And Officer Lewis engaged that individual ... and was subsequently murdered."

That makes it sound like BGs walked in, immediately started firing, officer drew, officer was shot.

[Double Naught Spy]

Obviously it's all speculation, but it sounds like a major failure of Situational Awareness.

"Both offenders were wearing masks when they entered the location...."

How do you not arm yourself when two masked individuals approach the store?

It SEEMS like he must not have been paying much attention.

Let's see. People often do wear masks during colder weather. It isn't going to be prudent or practical to draw your gun and seek cover every time a masked person comes in your store during the winter time.

People approaching the store are often engaged in conversation such that you might not see their faces until they enter.

It is rather difficult to have total situational awareness both inside the store and outside the store when you are also tasked with other duties.

And oh yeah, maybe just maybe it was because Clifton Lewis didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of seeing much outside of the store because the front windows are plastered with advertisements.
http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4TSNA_enUS361US436&q=1201+N.+Austin+Blvd+chicago&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x880fccaa168bd767:0xa46c8881a77d16bf,1201+N+Austin+Blvd,+Chicago,+IL+60651&gl=us&ei=2VUET83nFO7LsQKA4KCRCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA

From what is described, it doesn't sound like he was slow on spotting the threat at all.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Why would he immediately turn and fire at Lewis?

Was he identifiable or did he take an action which drew attention to himself with people who already had drawn guns?

We need an exact description or else, we are slinging speculation.

[C0untZer0]

As I'm starting to mull this over, I think McCarthy was making more of an emotional appeal rather than giving a factual account of what he knew. Although another witness in the store said in another story that Lewis "never had a chance."

I wish they would release the video - maybe they will if they either run out of leads or catch the murders.

[C0untZer0]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi--20120107,0,2214257.story

I don't think we'll know exactly what happened until the video is released to the public, but the story says

Lewis was off-duty from his police job and working security when two masked robbers burst into M&M Quick Foods at 1201 N. Austin Blvd., opened fire with a gun — akin to a TEC-9 — and fatally wounded him, police said.

That makes me think they just burst in and opened fire (like the title of this thread) But the story also says:
Lewis drew and fired his weapon, according to police,


Here is a seperate report that says that Officer Lewis was not the intended target of the attack, but

The gunman opened the door to the store using his coat, so as not to leave fingerprints, according to the source. The shooter then walked directly up to the counter where Lewis was standing, raised a TEC-9 and shot Lewis once in the head and twice in the chest. The suspect jumped the counter and fired two more bullets into Lewis before taking his badge and gun, then fleed


http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/clifton-lewis-murdered-chicago-police-officermen-questioned-police-20120106

So if he fired his weapon it must have been while the robber was "walking" up to the counter?

[Ben Towe]

It would be incredibly foolish to walk into a business masked. I don't care if you're in Nome, Alaska. I'm going to react badly if I'm in there when someone does that. I hope that most other CCW holders would too. Not as in gun them down on the spot, but I might draw my weapon, almost certainly if it's more than one person. There are some things you just don't do, and that's one.

[Double Naught Spy]

It would be incredibly foolish to walk into a business masked. I don't care if you're in Nome, Alaska. I'm going to react badly if I'm in there when someone does that. I hope that most other CCW holders would too. Not as in gun them down on the spot, but I might draw my weapon, almost certainly if it's more than one person.

Covered faces in the winter time is pretty standard when it is really cold. Fortunately, CCW aren't drawing their guns every time a person enters a business with a cover face during the winter time. That would be silly.

Nome Alaska? Let's see, Monday's weather has a high of -20 F going to a low of -26 F with windchills of -24 to -35. Exposed skin may freeze literally in minutes at those temps and chills. People are not apt to spend much time outside to uncover their faces before entering businesses.

There are some things you just don't do, and that's one.
And yet people do it routinely during the winter time and without a second thought.

[C0untZer0]

I thought they'd release the video by now. Maybe they're not because of the family or because it might prejudice the case - I don't know.

But there's so much we don't know, like how the store was setup, iis the door visible from where the officer was standing, was the officer even facing or looking at the door?

There are two different verbal accounts now,

One account says masked men entered the store, turned and opened fire on Lewis.

Another account says the gunman walked up to Lewis and shot him.

[Ben Towe]

Double Naught Spy; Nome, Alaska was simply a figure of speech. My point is, I can never recall seeing anyone walk into a store with a mask on. Not here in Tennessee, not on the High Plains, not in New England, and I've travelled them all extensively in winter. So, in my not inconsiderable experience, that would be highly unusual behavior;). And before you misunderstand, I mean walking in and not pulling it down or off. Can you really imagine someone walking into the local bank with a ski mask on? The kind of reaction that would cause? Think about it.

[hangglider]

Home invasion robbery by two masked men (hoodie and bandanna--same effect as ski-mask) in broad daylight, one armed, just this weekend in Chattanooga.

[C0untZer0]

Here are more details on the incident - and it doesn't appear to be the way Police Superintendent McCarthy or the news media described initially:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-07/news/chi--20120107_1_chicago-men-m-m-quick-foods-dillon

According to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney John Dillon, Colon was the driver during the attack, while Clay and a third man -- who did not appear in court today -- donned masks and entered the store.

When they got inside M&M Quick Foods, Lewis announced he was a police officer, at which point Clay and the third man opened fire, Dillon said in court.

Lewis was able to fire one shot before he was struck by a bullet to the abdomen and three shots to the back, Dillon said. Bullet fragments also struck a store employee, according to the prosecutor.


I think a police officer responds to this different than I would in that maybe it's second nature for a police officer to shout "Police!"

I don't know if he did that simultaneously while drawing or it happened sequentially, but I'm guessing that when he identified himself he drew fire.

[hangglider]

Notice at the end of the article it says the officer's weapon is missing. I believe gangs make deliberate efforts to snatch police equipment when they can. A little girl in my neighborhood approached me the other day with a 2-way radio she said she saw somebody ditch in a trashcan--it appeared to be police equipment, it had an "officer 6" tag on it and appeared to have 911 bands programmed into it and was tuned into one of the frequencies. (I advised her to turn it in to the development authorities, which she did since she didn't seem to quite trust me).

[Glenn E. Meyer]

So the OP was misleading and attempted to draw some conclusion not based on the facts.

Can we avoid that in the future?