Editorial: When private guns save lives

February 27, 2005
Henderson (NC) Daily Dispatch

Much is written about gun violence in America, and many sets of teeth are gnashed over prevalence of firearms in society.

Then we see how guns in private hands can save human lives.

During an incident in Charlotte Friday, an unnamed shoe store clerk fought off a group of would-be armed-robbers, killing at least one of the thugs in the process. Escaping afraid but unharmed were a number of shoppers, including Ramon Lopez and his 4-year-old son.

"It was mad, crazy," Lopez told The Charlotte Observer. "One (robber) came to the back and started searching us. I said, 'Please, don't shoot my son.'"

The robbers did start shooting, and that's when the clerk - who remains unnamed at this point by police - reached for a firearm and shot back, according to Lopez. One robber was hit and fell in the store's doorway, later to die at a hospital. Another was struck by the clerk's gunfire, and though he escaped with at least one other robber in a vehicle stolen at gunpoint in the parking lot, he is believed to have turned up shortly thereafter at a different hospital for treatment of wounds that are considered life-threatening.

Surely this is not a story with a non-violent or "happy" ending. But it might be the best ending under the circumstances.

Click here for the entire editorial.