Followup NC: Detailed account of Long Jewelry Armed Robbery and Defensive Shooting

Long, a soft-spoken and youthful looking 52-year-old, was wearing khakis, a button-down shirt and a holstered handgun on his right hip. I wondered aloud if that was a new thing since the robbery. It wasn’t.

“To be unarmed, for me, is unthinkable because I’m high risk,” he explained, referring to his jewelry business. “I’ve open carried for years.”

Might have killed us all

We walked to the back of his store and sat down in a small room where Long works on and repairs jewelry. A new 12-gauge was leaning against the wall; police had to keep the other one for evidence when the other two robbers are caught and put on trial.

A gun collector and a target shooter who “shoots a lot,” Long said he decided to talk because “I want people to be aware and take care of themselves. They need to be armed and protect themselves. If I didn’t have anything, he might have killed us all and taken everything I’ve worked my whole life for.”

A little more than 24 hours later, on Sunday evening, Long’s point was underscored dramatically at a Family Dollar on Rural Hall Road. Two employees were injured after a shot was fired during a robbery, even though they were complying with the gunman’s demands.

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