AZ:Armed Robbery: Distraction = Death

A common theme in the failure of armed robbers is the problem of becoming distracted, if only for one or two seconds.   That is all the time a prospective victim needs to access a weapon and strike a fatal blow or three.   Robbers want compliance and money or goods.   They generally do not want murder, at least until after they get the goods or money, which compliance helps them to obtain.   In this case in Phoenix, the would be robber was distracted, and loses the subsequent gunfight.   From kpho.com;  Crump is a police Sargent:

The suspect walked up to the 54-year-old seller, who was in the back seat of a vehicle, about 9:45 p.m., Crump said.

But when the seller asked to see the suspect's medical marijuana card, the suspect pulled a handgun and tried to rob the victim.

Crump said the suspect's attention was diverted and the victim also pulled a handgun and shot the suspect several times.

The suspect returned fire and struck the victim's vehicle at least once, but did not hit the seller, Crump said.

The lesson for potential armed robbers is, distraction = death.  It is very difficult to avoid all distraction.   For a single robber, it is almost impossible.  He has to cover 360 degrees, and the noise at the back room or door could as easily be a deadly threat as the clerk that he is holding at gun point. 

Even professional robber teams get distracted and die.  I recall a failed robbery in Florida, where one of the victims was a 71 year old retired Marine with a concealed carry permit.   It took two attempts to get the robbers distracted; they were canny and suspicious of the older man who wasn't acting exactly as they wished.  They were correct in their suspicion:  he pulled out his legally carried pistol and killed one and severely wounded the other.  They were ordering him into the store restroom when he shot them.


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