It Happened To Me

This article was written by me and printed in the December 1990 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 -

"Supermarket Showdown"

As in any large city in our country my city (Richmond, VA) has its neighborhoods that have high crime rates. My father and uncle own a couple of supermarkets in just such neighborhoods. As a result of this crime problem I had taken it upon myself to receive training in self defense, handgun, and law enforcement techniques.

I have been granted Special Police Powers in the city of Richmond and operate my own private security services business. As a result of the latter I have received much more extensive training which has allowed me to become a state certified instructor in handguns and security work. I also utilize techniques and ideas gleaned from Combat Handguns magazine. Keeping this in mind I wish to relate the following story.

One of our stores had been having a particularly annoying problem with late night break-ins. Now break-ins were not uncommon for us, but this recent spate had produced several over a three week period. As a result myself and another similarly trained employee received permission from the management (my father and uncle) to stake out the store in question. The first thing we did was call the local police precinct to advise the watch commander that we would be out there and give him a description of ourselves and the car we would be using. I am most fortunate in that I have developed a good rapport with the local police because of my frequent job related contact. They knew who we were and said they would stay away from the area while we were there.

The store took up the better part of a city block and was mostly a solid brick front with the exception of the doors and three large plate glass windows. The break-ins had been of the smash-and-grab variety. A rock or brick thrown through a window and as much beer, wine or cigarettes as the culprits could carry was taken. We parked the car across the street and half a block away amongst some other parked cars. It was 10:00 p.m. on a warm spring night so we got comfortable and waited.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. we observed a group of seven (7) male teens walking toward the store front on the other side of the street. Because of the hour and the fact that traffic was very slow we felt that this might be our gang of thieves. As they walked past the doors they looked inside and continued to the corner at the intersection. While the others stood by looking around, one of them picked up a rock from under a nearby bush and he and a second male walked toward the doors.

I had my hand on the key, but was still slumped down in the seat. My partner and I were as still as one could be considering the adrenaline that was flowing quite freely now. As the rock hit the door window the alarm went off and the group on the corner scattered while the two at the door followed the rock inside. I started the car (thank goodness it didn’t flood out this time) and sped across the street and right up to the door, blocking it with my car.

My partner and I bailed out and entered the store through the same door as the crooks. Both our weapons were drawn at this point and we entered cautiously. I had my Smith&Wesson Model 59 loaded with 115 grain Winchester Silvertip hollowpoints. My partner had a Smith&Wesson .38 Model 10 heavy barrel, also with Silvertips. There was a small partition that separated the cash registers at the front from the beer/wine case, which is where the suspects had run to. My partner and I took up position behind the heavy cash register counters and waited for the suspects to return. When they did they were loaded down with more beer and wine than you would think a person could carry without a bag. I challenged them, Police, don’t move! They stopped, looked at us, dropped their purchases and ran to the rear of the store. While I kept watch, my partner got on the phone to make sure back-up was on the way.

Having been assured that units were enroute we both moved into positions of cover which would allow us to view the rear as well as the front of the store. I was at a doorway that led to a long hall that ran the length of the building. As I took a quick-peek down the hall I saw one of the suspects running right toward me. I leveled my weapon and again called for him to stop. This time he hesitated and in doing so turned slightly to his right placing his right hand behind him, in the area of his hip. I hollered at him to get his hand where I could see it, but he still did not move. I felt he was sizing me up and trying to decide whether or not to draw a weapon. I began to pull back on the trigger and could feel the hammer easing back when he turned and ran from whence he came.

I let the hammer back down and was thankful that he had not caused me to shoot him. Our backup was slow in coming and, feeling that the suspects might try to get out through the back doors, we decided to move closer. As a result I was able to apprehend one of the suspects myself (the one I had almost shot). The entire time I was cuffing him he was whining about how They were going to take his mother’s house, more on that later.

The police arrived and took my suspect away, the other was still hiding in the store. After a search he was found and also taken downtown. I later learned that my suspect was one of several male teens who, two weeks earlier, had been arrested for robbing a city bus and its passengers at gunpoint. He had been released on bond (his mother had used her house to cover the bond). The other had a rather extensive arrest record for similar offenses.

Would I have been justified had I shot my suspect? Maybe, but my training allowed me to evaluate the situation and not over-react. When I saw that he was not armed and was not making a threatening motion toward me I backed off the trigger. I don’t remember drawing my pistol as I entered the store. As I have always been taught, You react the way you are trained, you do not have time to think!. I found this to be quite true. I did not forget to stay behind cover, clearly identify myself, not get tunnel vision, and communicate with my partner. All important factors in coming out of any such situation alive.

Remember, always try to make your training as realistic as possible. Look at the environment that you have to work in and train accordingly. Always think of your safety first, don’t get tunnel vision and rush into something foolishly. And finally, remember to continue to read Combat Handguns, even back issues. The information found within them is invaluable.

Floyd C. Bayne

Richmond, VA