Video of WA Convenience Store Gunfight

On Thursday, 18 February, 2016, a robber and store clerk Seul Lim exchanged shots in Lim's Pacific Quickmart.  The robber is believed to be Tyrone Prophet, Jr.  Prophet is 23, Lim is 30.  Police believe that Prophet may have been involved in a string of armed robberies in the area, one of which involved a shooting of another clerk.

In the shootout, one shot was fired by each of the two participants.  Lim missed and Prophet's shot hit Lim in the abdomen. From the brief view of the pistol that Lim used, it appears to be a Glock or glock-like.  A .380 pistol was recovered when Prophet, the robbery suspect, was arrested.  It is likely that the shot by Prophet did not puncture the abdominal wall, as Lim was treated and released from the hospital the same day.  From foxnews.com:

Clerk Seul Lim, 30, and the accused gunman Tyrone Prophet Jr., 23, each got off one shot, authorities told Q13 Fox. His bullet struck Lim in the abdomen. Hers just missed his head.

Prophet is accused of being the masked gunman who walked into Lim’s Pacific Quickmart in Spanaway Thursday afternoon.

In the video, which is just more than 1 minute, a masked gunman demands money from Lim. She surrenders cash from the till and then pulls out of gun hidden near the register when the robber's head is turned.

 Link to Video of exchange of shots

There are several lessons to be learned from this shooting.  Notice that the robber has a very difficult time watching all his surroundings.  He is constantly turning and looking, attempting to cover all possible security threats.  This leaves him open to the defensive fire of Lim.  It appears that the robber racks the slide as he comes in the door, indicating some lack of preparation on the robber's part.

The results are illuminating.  Both participants fired one shot.  Even though the robber appeared to be unskilled, he still hit Lim.   Fortunately, the wound does not appear to be life threatening.  Lim's shot is said to have missed the robbers head.  Cover is always worthwhile.  Lim suffered from significant exposure to the robbers fire.  Perhaps a discreet barrier to pistol fire could  be installed in the counter front.  A quarter inch steel plate would stop nearly all pistol and shotgun rounds.  Vests that are resistant to most pistol and shotgun rounds can be had for a few hundred dollars.  They are mildly uncomfortable to wear.  Defensive barriers should be considered as well as defensive arms.

Gunfights are unpredictable things, best avoided if possible.  Even an unskilled robber can wound or kill you. In this case, it was known that recent robberies in the area had resulted in an unprovoked shooting.  Seul Lim made a judgement call.  She showed good tactical sense in waiting for the robber to be distracted. While Lim was wounded, her actions also lead to the arrest.  The robber left his mask at the scene, and did not take any money. 

It is wrong to expect victims to win every situation.  They do not have to.  Robbers who attack armed victims face bad odds.  They have to win every time to survive for very long.  This may be one of the reasons that violent crime has dropped precipitously while concealed carry permit numbers have risen explosively.  Violent criminals make up a tiny segment of society.  Remove them from society, and crime rates fall.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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