By Dean Weingarten
Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- In this screenshot, the robber has the pistol, which appears to be a semi-auto.
The robber is closest to the counter. The red arrow points to the pistol.
It happened on August 9, 2015.
The concealed handgun carrier was robbed of his handgun in a strong arm robbery. The story illustrates one of the disadvantages of concealed carry.
Concealed carry gives up tactical deterrence.
The robber did not know that the concealed carrier was armed, so he was not deterred from attacking him. In this case, the element of surprise was to the advantage of the robber.
The Police Statement. (image above)
The start of the attack. The robber is very close.
Two or three seconds into the attack. The holstered pistol is on the floor. It is not clear if an attempt to draw was made. Both men fall down and wrestle on top of the pistol. It is not clear if they know that it is there.
The combatants have broken apart and moved away from the counter. You can see the holstered pistol on the floor between the mat and the base of the counter.
The attacker sees the pistol on the floor and goes for it. He successfully retrieves it and manages to draw it as shown in the top frame.
The victim counter attacks and keeps from getting shot. The attacker runs out of the store with the pistol, pursued by the victim.
Both open carry and concealed carry have advantages. Sometimes one option works better than the other. People use both options at the same time. People should be able to choose which option they prefer, and make choices as they see fit.
Much has been made of two open carriers who were robbed of their guns in the last decade. One of those occurred where the open carrier’s gun was required to be unloaded by law. There have been two unsuccessful attacks on open carriers.
Concealed carriers have also been attacked, and have been successfully robbed of their guns. This is the second instance so far this year. The first occurred in April. If an attacker believes you to be unarmed, you are more likely to be attacked.  People have recognized that reality for centuries.
Two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson quoted Cesare Beccaria’s Essay on Crimes and Punishment.  Here is the English translation:
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one.”
Most defensive gun uses are not against other people armed with guns. Most are against strong arm robberies, such as this one, or attacks with hands and feet or contact weapons such as knives and clubs.  According to FBI data, about one in five (21%) of aggravated assaults were committed with firearms. About two in five robberies (41%) were committed with firearms.
Successful attacks against armed people are rare, against either concealed or open carriers. They are so unusual that they make the news.
The examples reinforce the wisdom of having a retention system of some sort on a firearm holster, if simply for retaining the pistol during a fall or violent movements, such as may occur in an accident or during exercise. Retention during a fight is even more important.
Situational awareness can prevent many of these attacks before they start. Situational awareness is important whether open carrying, concealed carrying, or going about unarmed.
c2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch
About Dean Weingarten;
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
This article is obviously posted for controversy and page clicks, because the author couldn’t be more wrong if he tried.
In this case the CCW person was not actually carrying concealed, he was for all intents carrying openly, which is why the robber attacked him to take his gun. The talk about “tactical deterrence” in this case is to display the highest levels of derp and Dunning-Kruger Effect in action.
The author could not be more factually incorrect in claiming: “he concealed handgun carrier was robbed of his handgun in a strong arm robbery. The story illustrates one of the disadvantages of concealed carry. Concealed carry gives up tactical deterrence. The robber did not know that the concealed carrier was armed, so he was not deterred from attacking him.” If the author had actually watched the video, he’d know that the concealed carrier was wearing a very tight lime green shirt that revealed the outline of a firearm clearly. The criminal spotted the firearm immediately, did a double take at… Read more »
Considering that the dude opened the attack by grabbing the guy’s gun which was printing so clearly through his tight tee shirt you could practically read the caliber and couldn’t have been less concealed unless the guy was dressed in Saran Wrap, this article makes no sense whatsoever.
I appreciate that Ammoland likes the controversy to generate hits, but this is idiocy.
So are you more or less likely to have your car stolen if you leave the keys in the ignition? People have also known for centuries if you are openly armed you are more likely to be attacked. Unless you constantly carry your handgun in your hand. Action beats reaction, every time.
Situational awareness. In this case, never let a black thug get up behind you. Be aware of everyone around you. He should’ve stood sideways to the clerk with his back to the other counter.
BTW: There have been incidents where open carriers have been attacked from behind and their gun snatched. Nothing deters these thugs until the bullets start flying.