South Carolina store clerk wins slow race to self-defense

A store clerk in Florence, South Carolina was being robbed at gunpoint when his actions saved lives. The story is rare because you or I will probably never be in that situation. The story is ordinary because we’ve seen so many stories like this happen time after time. This is what happened earlier this month, and this is what we can learn.

We know a few facts from the news reports. The armed robbery took place on a weekday night. The robber walked into the smoke shop at about 10:15 p.m. He was armed and carrying a handgun in his hand. He was wearing a mask over his face. The robber threatened to shoot the store clerk. The robber demanded cash from the cash register. Thus far, the robber, Raheem Raykwain Brantley, 23, thought he was in control of what happened that night. He was right — until the clerk changed everything.

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The robber was stuffing cash into a bag when the store clerk “grabbed a gun” and shot the attacker several times. The attacker ran from the store. The store clerk remained at the scene. The clerk called 911 and asked for help. Police found the robber behind the store. A handgun was next to the robber when the police found him. The robber was dead when police arrived.

The defender had a lot to do before the first shot was fired. To start, the defender recognized that he had a dangerous job. This was the third vape shop robbed in Florence, South Carolina in the last 48 months. There are over a million violent crimes each year. The defender decided that he should go armed at work. When the robber walked into the vape shop, the clerk was mentally prepared. He recognized an immediate, unavoidable, and lethal threat to his life or the life of innocent customers. The defender knew when to act and he knew what to do.

The defender had the right to use lethal force, but he had the wisdom to avoid a gunfight. Bullets go both ways in a gunfight. The store clerk waited his turn so that he would be involved in a defensive shooting where bullets were going one way.

It won’t surprise you that the robber had a criminal history. It looks like the dead robber’s brother was also a criminal involved with illegal firearms and armed robbery. It looks like the defender lied to police as his brother was wanted by police. It looks like the robber was a runaway from the Carolina Youth Development Center in North Charleston.

There are other facts that are not available from the news reports. We know what we’d like to do even if we don’t know what the defender was forced to do in this case. It is best practice to have the gun on your body. Please consider how you would feel if the other store clerk behind the counter was being robbed at gunpoint while you were disarmed because you were restocking the shelves. It is best practice to have the firearm on your body and concealed.

You will do much better in your physical defense and in your legal defense if you think about what to do and when to do it. Shoot your firearm frequently enough so you recognize your opportunity to defend yourself. You save a half second on presenting your firearm if you slowly lower your arm and put it on your gun while half your body is hidden behind the stack of junk food. Criminals have put their gun or knife on the counter when they needed to hold the sack while they grabbed money from the cash drawer. That is called a clue.. if you’re wise enough to take the hint. YES, you can shoot a robber who put his firearm on the counter while he was robbing you.

The more you study the smarter you act. The only reason you would use lethal force on your attacker is because he posed a lethal threat. You shoot your attacker because that is the safest thing to do. Keep shooting until the threat is gone. That means they are either incapable of hurting you and other innocent parties, or they have run away and you don’t have a target that needs to be shot.

• Call police. Have the address posted where you can read it because your brain will have a hard time answering questions. It is easier to read than to think.
• Give the police a copy of the surveillance video.
• Call your lawyer. Your lawyer get the original video.
• Talk to your lawyer and have him provide your official statement to the police.
• Have a safety plan with the other employees about how to respond to a robbery or accident.

Note that the robber practiced being a criminal. He hung around with other people who practiced being criminals. That means you have to practice too. Practice being a defender.

It is a shame that the robber died. It would be even worse if the armed robber injured one of his innocent victims.

Rob Morse writes about gun rights at his SlowFacts blog and hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society podcast.