View Full Version : Shopper pulls gun, stops robbery cold
Shopper pulls gun, stops robbery cold
Held suspect at grocery store until police officers arrived
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 2, 2008
5:00 p.m. Eastern
:D
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
A grocery store customer in Indianapolis is being credited with halting an armed robbery by pulling his own weapon and pointing it at the assailant until police arrived.
According to a report in the Indianapolis Star, Charlie Merrell, 51, was in a checkout line at a grocery store called Bucks IGA on the city's south side when a "masked man jumped a nearby counter and held a gun on a store employee."
The police report cited by the newspaper said the incident happened at 5:17 in the afternoon Monday as Merrell was doing some year-end shopping.
"While the suspect was demanding cash from the workers," according to the police report, "Merrell pulled his own handgun, pointed it at the robber and ordered him to put down his weapon."
The newspaper noted that Officer Jason Bockting, in his documentation of the incident, said when the suspect seemed to hesitate, "Merrell racked the slide on his gun to load a round in the chamber."
At that point, the report said, "the suspect placed his gun and a bag of cash on the counter, dropping some of the money … the suspect removed his mask and lay on the floor."
Merrill, meanwhile, held the suspect at gunpoint until officers arrived and took him away in handcuffs.
Police reported Merrell had a valid permit to carry the handgun, and they recovered an unloaded .380-caliber handgun and $779 cash from the suspect.
Police records show Dwain Smith, 19, was being held in the Marion County Jail on a bond of $30,000 on initial charges of robbery, criminal confinement, pointing a firearm, battery and carrying a handgun without a license. :cool:
:confused:
I feel that Mr. Merrell, 51 has some mindset and training issues that could stand in the way of him becoming Mr. Merrell, 52.
"The newspaper noted that Officer Jason Bockting, in his documentation of the incident, said when the suspect seemed to hesitate, "Merrell racked the slide on his gun to load a round in the chamber." :eek:
I'm glad it worked out for him; lucky I guess...
Ammotech:
While you are no doubt correct, the B.G. did no even have bullets:rolleyes: . No wonder why he gave up.
glad it worked out for him, but had it gone to shit the click he would have heard as the hammer dropped on the empty champer would have been the second loudest and likely the 2nd to the last thing he ever heard.
I do not understand carrying a gun with an empty chamber.
$.30 could have saved tax payers tons of money over the next 5-10 years. How would you know if the guy has bullets or not:confused:
quickgunner
01-03-08, 09:47
Bravo for him!
Rmplstlskn
01-03-08, 09:57
Wow, that good citizen was a lucky guy! The result could have been very bad for him...
I hope he learned something from this...
Rmpl
Wow, that good citizen was a lucky guy! The result could have been very bad for him...
Indeed. The request that the robber drop his weapon could have cost him his life alone.
That incident was well past the point of discussion/negotiations. :eek:
Jay Cunningham
01-03-08, 12:36
I do not understand carrying a gun with an empty chamber.
Because most civilians who carry guns are afraid of them. It's a training/mindset issue.
Because most civilians who carry guns are afraid of them. It's a training/mindset issue.
Yep. I remember a buddy's shock when he saw that I had a round chambered in my 1911. (Damned Marines.. :rolleyes: ;) )
Come on guys it takes a lot of Balls to point un unloaded weapon at a person that you beleive is pointing a loaded pistol at some one and then demand him to surrender. No Brains but he has balls.
Jay Cunningham
01-03-08, 14:39
No doubt he had balls, but balls alone will often get you injured or killed.
It also takes:
training
equipment
mindset
you do know I was joking. Taking an empty gun into a gunfight. This guy is from the shallow end of the gene pool.
ThirdWatcher
01-03-08, 15:11
I see it as a training issue. Other than the Condition 3 carry, I really don't see much to fault him on. No one got hurt and the bad guy went to jail.
Jay Cunningham
01-03-08, 15:53
Condition 3 carry is a big issue.
It has no place in the real world, I don't care if "the Israelis do it."
Carrying a handgun with an empty chamber is indicitive of a fear of guns, a lack of training and a lack of confidence in one's abilities. it also indicates a disconnect from the real world i.e. the thinking that the gun itself is a magic talisman which will ward off evil.
The guy who stopped the crime did good but he is very lucky that the perp was far more inept than he.
Hopefully he will get some training and carry with one in the chamber next time.
QuickStrike
01-03-08, 16:20
Agreed, getting it out of the hoslter takes long enough.
This reminds me of people in the movies, who rack the slide right before a shooting and also rack everytime they say something "cool". :D
Glad he was lucky though.
Wow. I was just down there visiting my sister during Christmas. I would have dropped him. I may have paused first to thing what effect that may have on Christmas though...
Yeah, I think he is a good citizen and had the guts to stop an armed (maybe) robbery. But I would accuse him of poor, negligent or nonexistent training, rather than to say he's afraid of his gun. I know plenty of guys who like guns and shoot the hell out of 'em at the range, but would never carry one concealed. THOSE are the ones who are afraid of guns.
I always carry with one in the chamber; cocked and locked works for me. Nothing quicker than a 1911 carried that way.
I guess I'm glad he didn't shoot the guy, though, with Christmas and all. If all the BG's get shot, the prisons are soon empty and then we have more unemployment of guards, etc.
It looks like the crook with the empty gun wanted to make sure that he didn't accidentally kill someone on purpose during the robber. Figured he wouldn't need bullets, and if he shot someone, his prison time would be doubled. I suspect he could have found a few bullets beforehand if he figured he might want to use them. Gotta give him that much; stupid crook but looking out to minimize his jail time. Ya know the Judge is gonna give an empty-gun toting crook some credit for being a good citizen.
Hats off to Mr. Merell!:)
Idiot with empty chamber wins over idiot with empty gun. :(
Carbineoholic
01-06-08, 14:07
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Perfect example.
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee166/puffyfish50/sdranger.jpg
BRAVO to Mr. Merrill, I agree with and like to see private citizens carrying weapons for personal defense.
Although, I see the same problem to much with people not carrying thier weapons loaded. You may not have that split second it takes to load the weapon. Would you drive a car with no gas ?
If you are gonna carry a weapon, learn to properly use it first ! And then carry it as if your's and other's lives depended on it "LOADED"
Better to have something and not need it, then need it and not have it !!!!
QuietShootr
02-15-08, 20:43
I used to work across the street from that place, went in there all the time. It's getting to be a little rough around there. Knowing the layout of the place, I don't think I'd have issued a challenge.
LukeMacGillie
02-16-08, 08:07
I used to work across the street from that place, went in there all the time. It's getting to be a little rough around there. Knowing the layout of the place, I don't think I'd have issued a challenge.
Just a few blocks up from my old Apartment? It wouldnt surprise me if that complex blows up from someone cooking meth there. It almost happened anyway in one of the houses inbetween the complex and the high school.
:confused:
I feel that Mr. Merrell, 51 has some mindset and training issues that could stand in the way of him becoming Mr. Merrell, 52.
"The newspaper noted that Officer Jason Bockting, in his documentation of the incident, said when the suspect seemed to hesitate, "Merrell racked the slide on his gun to load a round in the chamber." :eek:
I'm glad it worked out for him; lucky I guess...
No, you have it all wrong. It was the act of "racking the slide" that made the suspect know that he meant business. If he had a round chambered already, he would have lost that edge and we possible could have had a very different outcome. That "racking" sound is so frightening to people - they just have to surrender. :D
Seriously, there are people who do think that way. People who are convinced that the sound of the pump shotgun chambering a shell will send bad guys running for the hills.
I personally feel that if you are uncomfortable carrying with a round chambered that you should re-consider carrying at all. I have taken simunitions courses twice - and of the many things I learned I learned that you have NO TIME to be fiddling with equipment. Drawing a gun without a chambered round while at contact distance from a BG seems to me to be a recipie for getting shot or stabbed.
Enough people get away with it (like this fellow) that it re-inforces what I consider a bad practice.
The guy did a brave thing. Good for him. But if that is his mindset, and he's brave enough to draw on the BG, then he should get some training.
QuietShootr
02-16-08, 14:15
Just a few blocks up from my old Apartment? It wouldnt surprise me if that complex blows up from someone cooking meth there. It almost happened anyway in one of the houses inbetween the complex and the high school.
Yup, that place.
That made me remember the Festering Fish IED.... I LOLd...
LukeMacGillie
02-16-08, 19:04
Yup, that place.
That made me remember the Festering Fish IED.... I LOLd...
Ah yes, the pickled fish christmas gift.
Yall know that in some parts of the world its considered dirty pool to carry a round in the chamber. Racking the slide is considered giving your opponent one last chance to fix himself before he gets shot.....
Dylan_Porter
02-17-08, 01:32
The dumb thing to do (well, besides drawing an unchambered handgun) was to rack it right there in front of the guy. If the robber had any brains he'd have shot the guy right then. But glad it worked out for him nonetheless.
Don’t rule out the obvious.. the press could have mis-quoted and he could have cocked the hammer rather then racked the slide. I have been close to several types of situations only to see the news report a slightly different variation. Who knows what exactly happened .. either way glad it worked out for him- We certainly need more positive press such as this.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.