Video Shows Armed Robber Make Fatal Mistakes in Philly Shooting

U.S.A.-(Ammoland.com)- At about 4:10 p.m., 26 August 2019, a suspect wearing a hoodie enters a MetroPCS cell phone store in Philadelphia, PA. The store and employees have been the victim of several robberies.  On the alert, the employee watches the suspect intently as he enters the store, carrying a handgun in his left hand. The suspect throws a bag to the employee and tells him to fill it with cell phones. The employee sees his chance.

The employee makes the decision to draw and engage the robber. He brought his sights on target, and the robber realized his peril. The video is stopped by CBS3 at that point.

As seen in the video, it only takes a second of inattention from the robber for a defender to take decisive action. The robber telegraphed his intentions by wearing a hoodie on a 75-degree day in late August.  He came in with a handgun in his left hand, and a bag in his right hand. The employee was watching him intently, with his left hand near his holstered handgun.

The employee immediately understood what was happening and the deadly threat he faced. He did not spend time in denial of what was happening. He processed and accepted what was going on very quickly and formulated a plan of action.  Given the circumstances, it is highly likely the employee had considered various scenarios, had decided on various “what if” courses of action long before this robbery attempt occurred. Presented with reality, he only needed to pick a response and implement it.

The draw and presentation take less than two seconds in the video.

Armed robbers have many factors working against them in the United States.

They have to be worried about video capture.  It is becoming harder and harder to commit crimes without being identified. That is why the hoodie was up, in spite of the weather and the potential tip-off.

They want compliance, not murder, because murder is very likely to be vigorously investigated, while a common store robbery receives much less scrutiny.

They have to present a credible threat to gain compliance, but a credible threat justifies using deadly force against them.  If they are wounded, they leave a trail of DNA evidence behind.

In the past year, this particular store had been robbed two other times. The store employees knew they were at risk.

From the store employee’s gun handling, it appears he had training.  A witness reported about ten shots were fired. We do not know how many shots each participant fired.

This is a reasonable example of action beating reaction. The employee decided to take action against the deadly threat. He was likely taking up the slack on the trigger by the time the robber started to react. It was too late for the robber to avoid being shot.

The employee was not wounded. The robber was killed.

Was the robber under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some combination? We do not know.  A 1994 study showed 65% of robbery suspects tested positive for drug use in 24 selected cities.

Being under the influence could explain the nonchalant attitude that lead to the robbery suspect’s fatal inattention.

People who want the population disarmed claim that defense of self with a firearm never happens. They construct fictional scenarios to explain why the wisdom of 400 years of human history is wrong.

In the real world, preying upon potentially armed humans is extremely dangerous, as illustrated in this video. In a society where the rule of law is generally followed, the rules and the reality are strongly biased toward the defender, against the aggressor.

It is one of the major reasons crime rates fall so rapidly where the rule of law is respected. In those areas, violent crime does not pay.

It is always possible to create fictional scenarios where self-defense does not work.  Those who have chosen to be unarmed want to create reasons to justify their decision. They would be better served by realizing legally armed citizens add to their safety by making society dangerous for human predators.

Being human, they desperately want to deny that reality. They want to cloak themselves in the glow of false moral superiority.

Niccolo Machiavelli may have been wrong about some things. He is considered the founder of modern political statecraft, because of his book “The Prince,” written about 1537. He is correct about the disparity between armed and unarmed men. From The Prince:

There is no comparison whatever between an armed and disarmed man; it is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed; or that any unarmed man will remain safe while his servants are armed.

Our armed servants (the police) respect armed citizens.  They are their natural allies.


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.

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Rock

The only thing going in the black bag from the phone store that day was the DEAD P.O.S. hoodrat thug. Great job and a pat on the back to the clerk, THAT is how you deal with scum. Good shoot !

Ironeyes

How are these punks not getting the word that America is fed up with their crap??? Word of caution to all “would-be robbers”, watch the friggin news and see what is happening to your partners in crime……tombstones!!

Huapakechi

The gradual escalation in punishment is one factor contributing to criminal behavior. By the time a thug has decided on a career in armed robbery, he has usually been a long time “consumer” of the criminal justice system, usually starting with probation and suspended sentences, easing them in to a lifetime criminal career.

moe mensale

“Trump is seizing all the dope so armed robbery will probably replace a lot of drug dealing.”

Oh, please. Do explain about the dope seizures.

ras52

Phones in bag,0, lead in scumbag, a whole lot.

John H

I love these stories with a happy ending

Dumdfounded

Not sure why this is a big deal? Perps, You have been put on notice!

freedom isnt cheap

one down ,a chitload more of them to go!

freedom isnt cheap

AWESOME!WELL done!

Circle8

He walked in like he was king $hit. You could see that when he thru the bag at the clerk and then acted like king $hit. He was carried out with the rest of the trash. I love a happy ending. Now his mama will get a lawyer and both will say he was such a good boy. I guess only “good boy’s” try to rob stores. Good riddance, MF.

Finnky

Defense exhibit #1 – video tape. After that, it doesn’t matter what his mama says.
Unfortunately there are many who would say employee should have warned robber rather than shooting immediately – which is my guess at what happened at end of video. OTOH anyone with any knowledge or training knows that that is not an option.

JPM

Outstanding!

Firewagon

Fore sooth, mon amie! Maybe, ‘times, they are a-changing? Strange, and unusual, to see a positive article on the use of firearms from CBS. Do note, however, that this is a local channel not the BIG boy network.

Will Flatt

To understand why Demorats are antigun and side with criminals, one only need look at the demographics. Street thugs overwhelmingly vote Demorat because these trash know that Dems support them in their occupation. It’s a vicious circle.

OneEyeOpen

The video speaks for itself. It showed clearly, the defensive training this employee had. Drew his weapon while going from a sitting position to standing and taking aim. One smooth motion. He who is faster on the trigger, with excellent aim, wins. No conspiracy here (24/7), only action, reaction. Ask the employee (Will Flatt) and I’m sure he would say politics never entered his mind during this emotional event. Did someone in the video say they heard bout 12 rounds being fired. Having out maneuvered his aggressor, the employee should have not stopped shooting until the perpetrator dropped the gun,… Read more »

Finnky

Swat instructor told me that on average it takes 10 good hits (heart, lungs, brain) to stop a threat. For average police shooting at that range they hit their intended target anywhere (hand, foot, etc.) 10-15% of the time with a handgun. So twelve shots sounds like the employee has had far better training than the average cop. Wonder if he participates in IDPA or USPSA or some such.

tomcat

Gun fire in the city of brotherly love? You can’t be serious because they do not allow guns in that city. Anyway, there is one less less of them on the street or the welfare roles.

RayJN

To the liberal/progressive/socialist/communist if you defend your self you are a vigilante. They would rather the police investigate your murder than one of their beloved criminals be injured, after all the criminal has a right to a trial.

Sisu

I want to believe MetroPCS and the “store owner”: (i) did not terminate his employment; (ii) affirmed his shield of acting in his employer’s “best interests” (he neither sacrificed his life nor allowed the misappropriation of company property) by providing independent counsel and a blanket indemnification; (iii) fought for the same four to eight weeks a member of LE would enjoy (including privileged discussions with those closest to him other than legal counsel) before having to explain his actions; (iv) has provided “crisis communication” experts to proactively manage the public’s favorable impressions of the employee’s successful actions; … REALITY: MetroPCS… Read more »

Wild Bill

@Si, I hope that the clerk never explains his actions, except to his attorney. He does not have to, and it is best if he doesn’t.

moe mensale

You sound just like all these democrat socialists who react with knee jerk solutions to everything before all the facts are known. If you have proof Metro PCS fired the guy post a source link. If not, then stop making stupid comments.

Finnky

As @MM says – Wait for the crime before instituting punishment. It is wrong to call for punishment because you think someone will do something. In point of fact, if MetroPCS does not fire him – we should reward them for being an upstanding corporate citizen (in comparison to the rest of them).

loveaduck

“Black” is important? Both black and white seemed good with the shoot.

JDLivaudais

i see only one employee. Why is the author use “they”?

Wild Bill

@JD, It is popular now-a-days to use the masculine or feminine pronoun “they”, even though it denotes multiple persons, rather than the proper he or she that the libtards bitch about.
I, however, am just guessing. For the definitive answer, you would have to ask the author.

Wild Bill

@wjd, and cheap entertainment it is!

moe mensale

Te author was using “they” when he started talking about “armed robbers” in a general sense.He wasn’t referring to the store clerk.

24and7

Something does not appear right about that video…It appears that the robber never expected the employee to shoot him… Was he collecting for a gang payment? Was either of them tipped off? Is there more to the story here? Was it a turkey shoot?.. In no way do I support this Thug at all (good riddance), but I’ve never seen a robbery like this in my career..

Firewagon

This whack was NOT very attentive, seen to take his eyes off of, and did not have his gun trained on, his intended victim. Excellent draw, and presentation, under stress, however.

Hankus

Well, for starters the hero is a southpaw…

Finnky

@Hankus – was wondering whether the security video is in mirror image. Text says robber had gun in left hand, but video appears to show right. If text was correct and security video is mirrored, then hero used his right hand. I think text was wrong and you are correct, because interior layout seems to fit exterior shot better that way…
Anybody know if mirror image security video is common? Maybe camera was hidden and shooting off a wall mirror or something?