The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

ClayInTx · April 6, 2011, 07:17 AM

There are a couple of ways to deal with this. One by the store and one by you.

Many years ago I was working construction in Albany, Georgia. One weekend a C-store was robbed, the cashier killed, and no witnesses. Next weekend the same thing at another C-store and a liquor store. Examination of victims indicated it was getting to be copycat.

You owl-BEN-nee locals probably remember this.

The owners got together and made a plan, took it to the judge. The judge agreed and called in the sheriff, police chief, and reporters. He told them what it would be and no news until Monday. The reporters agreed to a temporary suspension of their 1st Amendment.

The owners arraigned stock at the counter so a customer could approach the cashier in only one place. Behind the cashier was a screen with a look through hole. As soon as a gun was shown the cashier fell to the floor and the owner behind the screen blew away the BG. Monday morning there were, IIRC, seven dead men in the morgue.

After that a virgin with a sack of gold on her head could stand in any C-store in Dougherty County and no one dared harm her. It likely became the safest place to work in a C-store in the USA.

That’s an owner solution.

For the guy who just happens to be there as a customer it becomes a problem. You don’t want to witness a cashier killed and hope it’s just money going to be taken, but you don’t know that.

If the BG believes it’s just him and the cashier in the store there is a great possibility of the cashier getting killed. If you let your presence be known you are in danger of getting killed.

It has become far too common for a BG, if he believes there are no witnesses, to get the money, then kill. Especially if the store is in an isolated or rural area. That’s right, being in the boondocks doesn’t equal safe.

So what do you do? It’s a lose/lose situation. I would have a hard time living with the knowledge that I stayed hidden and witnessed murder but could have intervened. I’m not certain a shot to any part of the body would prevent a trigger being pulled by reflex action. Being a good witness to a robbery is one thing; being a good witness to murder is vastly different. Until a shot is fired or the BG just runs there is no way to know which one it will be.

Thinking it over, I believe I would do something like knock some cans off a shelf and if he didn’t run but came to investigate be ready to blast him.

April 6, 2011, 07:17 AM	#11
ClayInTx Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,066	There are a couple of ways to deal with this. One by the store and one by you. Many years ago I was working construction in Albany, Georgia. One weekend a C-store was robbed, the cashier killed, and no witnesses. Next weekend the same thing at another C-store and a liquor store. Examination of victims indicated it was getting to be copycat. You owl-BEN-nee locals probably remember this. The owners got together and made a plan, took it to the judge. The judge agreed and called in the sheriff, police chief, and reporters. He told them what it would be and no news until Monday. The reporters agreed to a temporary suspension of their 1st Amendment. The owners arraigned stock at the counter so a customer could approach the cashier in only one place. Behind the cashier was a screen with a look through hole. As soon as a gun was shown the cashier fell to the floor and the owner behind the screen blew away the BG. Monday morning there were, IIRC, seven dead men in the morgue. After that a virgin with a sack of gold on her head could stand in any C-store in Dougherty County and no one dared harm her. It likely became the safest place to work in a C-store in the USA. That’s an owner solution. For the guy who just happens to be there as a customer it becomes a problem. You don’t want to witness a cashier killed and hope it’s just money going to be taken, but you don’t know that. If the BG believes it’s just him and the cashier in the store there is a great possibility of the cashier getting killed. If you let your presence be known you are in danger of getting killed. It has become far too common for a BG, if he believes there are no witnesses, to get the money, then kill. Especially if the store is in an isolated or rural area. That’s right, being in the boondocks doesn’t equal safe. So what do you do? It’s a lose/lose situation. I would have a hard time living with the knowledge that I stayed hidden and witnessed murder but could have intervened. I’m not certain a shot to any part of the body would prevent a trigger being pulled by reflex action. Being a good witness to a robbery is one thing; being a good witness to murder is vastly different. Until a shot is fired or the BG just runs there is no way to know which one it will be. Thinking it over, I believe I would do something like knock some cans off a shelf and if he didn’t run but came to investigate be ready to blast him.