Armed customer kills robber at Burger King

Police said a man wearing a ski mask walked into the store at Biscayne Boulevard and 54th Street and demanded money from a clerk. A customer, who has a concealed weapons permit, pulled a gun, said Officer Jeff Giordano, a Miami police spokesman. The customer and robber exchanged fire. The robber was shot dead at the scene.

Full Article Here

This is a good example for why i think more people should be able to carry guns ... if the civilian wasn't there, what would have happened? the robber went to Burger King for crying out loud! i don't think he was hoping to get out of there without taking some hostages ... i don't know that's just my opinion, what are your thoughts?

[edit on 25-3-2009 by baseball101]

Ridiculous that somebody would go hold up a business in the middle of the day. A business no doubt full of customers.

It's unfortunate the man putting down the animal had to get hurt. It's also unfortunate that more of these idiot criminals don't read the paper.

I dont know. Maybe whatever possesses them to rish their lives for a few dollars is really worth it?

Given the incident where Pizza Hut fired a driver for using a gun to defend himself I expect Burger Kings across the country to enact a "gun free" policy. Of course the only people obeying the policy wouldnt be holding up businesses in the first place.

They should put the crooks head on a pike out in front of the store.

My thoughts are that the robber would have acted all tough, waved his gun around, got his money and left. Sure, it would be terrifying for everyone involved, but no-one would have died.
The customer was an absolute moron for opening fire, he was laying his and everyone else's lives down for money that is easily replaced.
Absolutely and completely down right pathetic.

It was only money and it wasn't even his.

The damned fool should of kept his mouth shut and his weapon concealed - now he is seriously wounded.

A shoot out in a restaurant that was busy with school kids could of ended very badly.

reply to post by Zanzibar


Nowhere does it say that the customer opened fire. The article says that the two exchanged gunfire. Perhaps the criminal started shooting first and the customer returned fire.

reply to post by Zanzibar


that's purely speculation no one knows what the robber was prepared to do ...

Originally posted by Now_Then
It was only money and it wasn't even his.

The damned fool should of kept his mouth shut and his weapon concealed - now he is seriously wounded.

A shoot out in a restaurant that was busy with school kids could of ended very badly.

wow ... so if someone was robbing you at gunpoint and there happened to be a passerby with a weapon you would've wanted them to keep walking by as if nothing was happening

[edit on 25-3-2009 by baseball101]

Originally posted by Zanzibar
My thoughts are that the robber would have acted all tough, waved his gun around, got his money and left.

Or.....

Two men with criminal histories, one of whom, the police said, staged five terrifying gunpoint robberies at fast-food outlets in New York last year, were arrested yesterday and charged in the execution-style shootings of seven bound-and-gagged workers at a Wendy's restaurant in Queens.

www.nytimes.com...

That's a coin I'd rather not flip. Dead thug = good thing.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

spot on!
2nd

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

They should put the crooks head on a pike out in front of the store.

Oh man, can you imagine!

Have it your way...


peace

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


My thoughts exactly.
Id want that guy ordering fries behind me.

Sorry, as a Floridian I can tell you this kind of stuff happens in downtown Miami extremely often. Stupid-yes. Common-yes.
However, just like they tell all employees, its just money. Don't be a hero.

That could have gone real bad real quick. And not because the armed citizen didn't know what he was doing. I'm sure he had great aim. Most criminals don't. You shoot at him and he might start shooting all over the place. Its one thing to have a one on one situation in a dark alley...but not in a Burger King full of patrons.
IMHO

If you pull a gun on an armed robber, aim for the head and shoot first.

Seriously though, its a miracle no one else got hurt. As much as I admire the man for standing up to the armed criminal, by pulling his own gun he obviously escalated the situation, and paid dearly for it. I certainly hope he doesn't lose his life, as that would make the story a tragedy. As for the robber, if you swing a loaded gun around in a public place, you get what's coming.

I think if you carry a concealed weapon, its usually not a good idea to pull it unless you see a threat to your life or the lives of others. I wasn't there so I can't say for sure what the robber's intentions seemed to be, but the armed civilian in this case was either reckless or heroic, depending on what went down. This could have ended a lot uglier, or it could have been just another armed robbery.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Perfect. On spot!

2nd

reply to post by baseball101


A perfect example why people need a CCW and a good thing to pass onto congress so they know what good can come out of an armed populace.

Three cheers for the armed customer.

That person performed the actions a police officer would have performed had one been present. One was not, so this citizen stood up and did due duty by helping to keep the peace and removing a vermin from society.

The citizen should get an award.

This is a prime example of the fatal flaw in anti-gun arguments that armed citizens will increase crime rates. Armed law abiding citizens are a force for good for the most part.

Imagine if you will the different outcome on Sept 11, 2001 if 90% of the airplane passengers had been similarly armed.

Restrictions on citizens' right to bear arms never turns out well. The scare tactics of "oh, they'll start shooting people right and left!" are just that - scare tactics, with no emperical evidence to back it up.

Can you imagine the whining that the anti weapon crowd would spew if they found out someone was carrying during a robbery in which they were the victim and did nothing?

I carry and my wife does as well. That doesn't mean we have to draw down on thugs just because the law is on our side. That means we have the option of defending ourselves, family and friends if necessary. I'll err on the side of caution. Those who think people who carry concealed weapons are pathetic are free to cower behind me anytime.

Pathetic indeed.

I find it ammusing that here in the UK the Burger King folks have a tv advert which basicaly implies that one of thier deals is so cheap that the consumer may feel as if they have robbed BK of revenue . In the advert the customer who has just recieved his apparantly overload of change, begins to hurdle tables and dives through a plate glass window before jumping through the rear window of his car and telling his wife/gf to drive !
If there are ever incident photos of the robbers body , then you can bet theres going to be a motivational poster somewhere that has a caption ...."You'll feel like you've robbed us!"

I myself have a ccp, and drive a repo truck part time.
And ive only pulled my gun once.
My life was in danger.
Im not sure if id pull if it was someone elses, id maybe let the guy go, unless i knew he was gonna shoot.

Originally posted by guinnessford
I myself have a ccp, and drive a repo truck part time.

Carrying and training should be mandatory for repo guys, tow guys and delivery guys.

These jobs have to be more dangerous than being a cop. Some psychos might think twice before pulling on a cop but what's a lowly wrecker driver or pizza driver to them?

I had a confrontation with a tow driver one night and I was in the right but the whole time I was talking to him I kept thinking what if I was some deranged lunatic or just a violent moron? Those guys have terrible freaking jobs out there dealing with lord knows what kind of person at all sorts of crazy hours.

I had to take training at the local p.d.
I always wear a vest, and somtimes thats enuff to make people think twice.