This article was written by me and printed in the June 1994 issue of Combat Handguns Magazine. They have a regular feature called, "It Happened To Me". In this forum are stories recounted by those of us who have had to use a firearm in self-defense.

The magazine staff gave this one the name -

BB "King"

It was November of 1991. The weather in Richmond, VA was turning cold. Because of this many large, bulky coats were coming out of closets and seeing use. As security for a family owned grocery store these types of coats are a particular nuisance for me. One can conceal a multitude of items under them, anything from a bottle of wine to a pack of steaks to a gun. Because of this my training and experience tell me to pay special attention to this potential problem.

On this particular day I was walking around the store, making my rounds, when I saw a young man in a large down coat walking around the store looking at everything except the merchandise. My antenna went up and I decided he needed watching. He had several pieces of candy in his hands and continued to walk from one aisle to the next, always looking over his shoulder and at his surroundings. This went on for several minutes when he became aware of my presence. He went immediately to the cash registers, put the bulk of the candy back on the rack, and purchased a bag of chips and a candy bar.

I was satisfied that he had not concealed any merchandise and was about to leave the front of the store when the young lad went outside the front door and handed his bag to another boy and then ran along the sidewalk in front of the store to the far side of the building and around the corner. This struck me as rather odd behavior. Had he concealed something before I began watching him? Why did he give his purchase to another person and then run away? I determined to find some answers. I went outside and started to walk toward the end of the building where the young lad had run to. Before I got halfway there the boy came back around the corner walking toward me rather quickly and adjusting the front of his pants, under his coat. His coat was now unzipped and hanging partially open. He looked right at me and apparently made note of the fact that I was observing him.

We were still about twenty feet apart when he opened his coat to reveal the grip of a .45 autopistol tucked in his waist. OH S---! Now what is he going to do? He had not yet reached for the gun, simply pulled the coat back. I tried to act like I hadn’t noticed him or the gun and hoped to walk right by him as if I were going someplace else. Then once behind him I would have the upper hand.

Well, how does that saying go?’ "The best laid plans..." At about ten feet apart he pulled the gun out of his pants with his right hand. Just as he went for his gun I pushed back my open jacket with the pinkie of my right hand and drew my S&W M459 9mm and quickly assumed a weaver stance with my weapon aimed right at center of mass. He was now holding the gun in front of him, pointing toward the ground to his left, finger on the trigger. My first thought was, "Dear God, I hope he doesn’t make me have to shoot him!"

We stood there looking at each other for what seemed like many minutes, but was only mere seconds.

I had determined that if he moved to bring the gun up toward me I would shoot. I yelled at him to drop the gun, identifying myself as a police officer (I am a Special Police Officer in the city of Richmond). He just stood there looking at me. I yelled again. His reply was, "Mister, it’s only a BB gun." My response was, "Then drop the BB gun." After a few more seconds of staring at me he complied. I had him lay on the sidewalk and then cuffed him.

When I picked up the gun it was indeed a .45 auto replica pellet pistol. I had been able to avoid shooting him and now I wanted to beat the tar out of him for scaring me like he did. I asked him why the hell he was carrying the gun. He said that he wanted to impress his friends and make them think that he was someone you didn’t want to mess with. I asked him if he realized how close he came to being killed. He just sat there and stared at the floor.

When the police officers arrived to take him to juvenile detention they too explained to him that had I shot him he would be dead, I would not be charged with any crime, and his friends would be impressed alright. Impressed with how stupid he had been.

Upon reflection I tried to evaluate my response to the situation. You may ask how I would have felt having shot a thirteen (13) year old boy. The fact that he was so young did not did not deter me from taking action. Thirteen year olds can kill you just as quick as a thirty year old. I was angry that he had put me in that situation and would have appreciated the opportunity to give him a good spanking.

I felt that I showed good restraint. Given the circumstances, had I shot him I very likely would not have faced criminal charges. However, that would not relieve me of the angst of having shot another person, justified or not. I escalated the force I responded with based upon his actions and went only as far as I had to. I am thankful that he chose to drop the gun and did not try to point it at me.

I read Combat Handguns often, going back over old issues to keep training techniques fresh in my mind. This, aside from my formal training, has done much to help me deal with situations such as I have just described. Do not take the lessons that can be learned from this important publication lightly.