LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) – Authorities have released an image of a person accused of attempting to rob the Hazy Hippo shop in Loveland.
The man reportedly threatened an employee with a baton on Tuesday. Investigators say the thief took off when the employee pulled out a gun.
“The victim stated the suspect entered the store, gathered several items for sale, including a metal baton, and approached the counter. The suspect threatened the victim with the baton and ordered him onto the ground. The victim defended himself by pointing a firearm at the suspect and the suspect fled the scene,” David Moore with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)
Jeff Cooper, U.S. Marine Colonel and founder of Gunsite Firearms Training Academy in Prescott, AZ, said the purpose of a handgun is to stop fights. That’s what happened here, the gun was presented and the fight was stopped, no shots fired and nobody got hurt.
Everybody but the bad guy gets to go home tonight (He hasn’t been caught yet but he will because he left behind a good image of himself on surveillance cameras).
“No shots fired” is how about 98% of defensive gun uses (DGU) end, according to studies done by Gary Kleck, professor at Florida State University, in the 1990s. He estimates somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 million defensive gun uses occur each year and in 98% of them the criminal breaks off the attack and runs away, with no shots fired.
Kleck’s study has been replicated by numerous other researchers the majority of whom have obtained similar results. The study’s methods have been criticized by gun banners but upheld by those without a political agenda against guns. The study needs to be updated because there are a lot more lawful concealed carry holders today and probably a lot more DGUs.
This case is just one more illustration of the reason to keep it safe and legal for good guys to have guns with all the necessary accouterments, such as standard capacity magazines, i.e., those designated by the manufacturer as standard for the guns they make.
By the way, a baton is a deadly weapon when used against another person by someone trying to rob them. A strike to the head can kill, a strike elsewhere can cause serious injury. That’s the definition of deadly force.
There several websites that track citizen defensive guns uses, here are just a few:
The Armed Citizen
Armed and Safe
Gun Watch
Crime Prevention Research
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