CCW holder foils armed robbery and holds thug
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Shopper pulls gun, stops robbery cold
Held suspect at grocery store until police officers arrived
c 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.
Sure, he should have already had a round in the chamber, but it turns out the dopey thug was packing unloaded, too. Maybe Charlie racking a round convinced Smith he was in deep do-do.
To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59503
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Shopper pulls gun, stops robbery cold
Held suspect at grocery store until police officers arrived
c 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.
Sure, he should have already had a round in the chamber, but it turns out the dopey thug was packing unloaded, too. Maybe Charlie racking a round convinced Smith he was in deep do-do.
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Racking the slide is a critical moment. And sound. 0 -
Good for him! But WHY WAS HE CARRYING AN UNLOADED PISTOL????
Sure the magazine was loaded, but the gun was not.
Good for him that the robber's gun and magazine were unloaded, and he had time to "rack the slide," and that the robber was compliant.
This could have been nasty had the robber's gun been loaded, and had he started firing shots at Merrill before Merrill had a chance to load.0 -
Premature carry..
Never go in unloaded...0 -
quote:Originally posted by nunn
Good for him! But WHY WAS HE CARRYING AN UNLOADED PISTOL????
Sure the magazine was loaded, but the gun was not.
Good for him that the robber's gun and magazine were unloaded, and he had time to "rack the slide," and that the robber was compliant.
This could have been nasty had the robber's gun been loaded, and had he started firing shots at Merrill before Merrill had a chance to load.
+10 -
Glad it turned out well, but after you point a gun at somebody ain't the time to start getting ready to shoot. 0 -
Now thats newsworthy! 0 -
Is it possible that Mr. Merrell's gun WAS loaded prior to the incident?
When he initially drew his weapon on the suspect and ordered him to put down his gun, the suspect hesitated.
It could be that our hero was reluctant to splatter the perp's brains all over the mini-mart and chose to rack the slide to show he "meant buisness" instead.
It would have cost him a round and took his weapon out of action for a couple seconds, but its not beyond the realm of possibility0 -
quote:Originally posted by Rack Ops
Is it possible that Mr. Merrell's gun WAS loaded prior to the incident?
When he initially drew his weapon on the suspect and ordered him to put down his gun, the suspect hesitated.
It could be that our hero was reluctant to splatter the perp's brains all over the mini-mart and chose to rack the slide to show he "meant buisness" instead.
It would have cost him a round and took his weapon out of action for a couple seconds, but its not beyond the realm of possibility
Interesting theory0 -
That would require Waaay too much thinkin' - for me.
Doug0 -
Unless we know or get to interview Mr. Merrell, we'll probably never know about the condition of his weapon prior to the confrontation. Nor will we know the relative positions of those involved, i.e. were they in direct view of each other the whole time?...what made him think he was quick enough to draw his gun while the perp's was already engaged?...obviously more questions than answers and we're certainly not likely to get any straight dope from the press in this matter. Nevertheless, no one died--indeed, apparently no shots were fired; the bad guy is in custody; one of "our own" has favorable light shone upon him. I call it a good outcome, all things considered. [^] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Ramtinxxl
I call it a good outcome, all things considered. [^]
+10 -
quote:Originally posted by Doug Wilson
That would require Waaay too much thinkin' - for me.
Doug
You and me both, Doug!
Ramtinxxl - I agree wholeheartedly!0 -
I have a puny 380 double action that is always just a trigger pull away. Rack the slide back, not hardly. Maybe these guys should carry a little device that sounds like a slide being wracked. Hey maybe someone here will come out with such a sound device. Sort of like the "clicker" of WWII fame. 0 -
Had a similar incident in this state a few years ago. A goblin went into a wal-mart and stabbed his girlfriend who worked there. Lucky for her an elderly gentleman was armed with a 1911 and failure drilled his sorry butt. turned out he was a retired NRA firearms instructor and had taught many courses for law enforcement. He was given an award for his actions. I believe in everyones right to carry concealed, however I also believe that not everyone should. Passing a background check, filling out an application and taking a 2-3 day course doesnt qualify you to carry a firearm. There are a lot of outstanding people out there who are wise enough to do so, but you have to admit that there are a lot of knuckleheads who have passed this check and are carrying them. [;)] 0 -
Pipe7, You got to translate your 3rd and 4th sentence for me. Please, Tom 0 -
quote:Passing a background check, filling out an application and taking a 2-3 day course doesnt qualify you to carry a firearm. There are a lot of outstanding people out there who are wise enough to do so, but you have to admit that there are a lot of knuckleheads who have passed this check and are carrying them.
Being an American qualifies you, I hope you agree. However, the lack of preparation and knowledge of the laws by some folks is very disturbing.0 -
Maybe Mr Merrel pulled the trigger on the armed robber and the round did not ignite so in the time it took to rack the slide mr Merrel decided to let the robber live.
Anyway it happened that robber is lucky to be alive.0 -
I agree with tccox about needing a translation, and also wonder who mr.pipe7 would unarm. 0 -
I don't have the time or patience to research it with dial up, but there may be more to this story at
www.indystar.com
if it isn't too old (you must subscribe to access the older archives)0 -
the problem is the robber lived.......... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by mateomasfeo
Racking the slide is a critical moment. And sound.
Probably true. Unless of course you have already been shot dead by your opponent who entered the gun fight with an already racked slide.0 -
The shotgun and the rifle carried in my police car are carried with chambers empty. The actions have to be worked to put them into action. If I need either weapon, the chances of a potential bad guy hearing the action work prior to the first shot are zip. The weapon will be loaded as soon as it clears the car door. Rain on making action noises for effect. That's TV stuff. 0 -
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 12:19:04 AM
I agree with tccox about needing a translation, and also wonder who mr.pipe7 would unarm.
Translation for both of you is. The gentleman was lawfully carrying a concealed weapon, he knew how and when to use it, defeated a threat and saved a womans life. You ask who I would unarm??? I dont understand what you are referring to. All I'm saying is not everyone should be carrying a concealed firearm. [;)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by nunn
Rain on making action noises for effect. That's TV stuff.
I agree with nunn. Anybody who isn't impressed by having a gun pointed at them won't likely be impressed with the noise, and probably needs to be shot.0 -
What do you think would have happened to Mr Merrel if he was carrying without a permit? 0 -
OLD NEWS , some one posted this story 2 days ago.... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by fishkiller41
Posted - 01/04/2008 : 12:57:39 PM
OLD NEWS , some one posted this story 2 days ago....
quote:Posted - 01/02/2008 : 8:22:15 PM
Duh, a fairly accurate calculation. [:p][:D]0
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