Introduction-

Rob- Welcome to episode 334 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. We’re glad you found us if you’re well trained.. and if you’re still learning about armed defense. I’m Rob Morse and we’re joined this week by firearms instructor Andee Reardon. A lot of things have happened in Maine since we’ve talked. Tell us about it.

<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_1666" style="width: 374px;"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-1666">Andee Reardon</figcaption></figure>

Andee- Hey Rob! It’s been a while. I’ve been super busy with life and meeting the demand for training here in Maine after the active shooter situation in Lewiston. There’s a lot of people waking up to the fact that they are their own first responder and they want to be prepared to protect themselves. I had the honor to work with one of the women who survived the attack to teach her a handgun lesson and help her find the right firearm for her. She said she never wants to feel helpless again.

How about you?

Rob- I try and work out every day. I know you do too. Being fit lets us pay attention when we’re tired.

How do we fit a gun to a new gun owner? Is it like a shoe salesman? Is it like an optometrist, the gun on your left, or the gun on your right?

I’ve been dry practicing and I’m still waiting to get my gun from ATEI in Michigan. We didn’t have any new ratings or comments on iTunes. Again, I want to thank Roger for his help this week. We’re still looking for listeners who want to write or edit this podcast. All this can be yours.

Andee- Please go to the iTunes store where you subscribe to podcasts and tell new gun owners why you listen.

Here in the US, we defend ourselves with a firearm thousands of times a day. We look at a few recent news stories to see what we can learn. The links back to the original news articles are on our podcast webpage.

Our first story took place last week in Chicago, Illinois.

Rob- First story- Are you armed at work?

You are working in a liquor store. It is late on a weekday night and you’re about to close the store. Two men come inside. One of them draws a gun and demands the money in the cash register. You back away. One of the robbers hits you in the head with a bottle. You present your firearm and shoot at your attackers until they run. You stay inside and call 911 for help.

EMTs take you to the hospital in serious condition. Later, you give a statement to the police. It isn’t clear if you have security video. 8 liquor stores were robbed on the  northside in the last month. Most stores are closing earlier.

You are not charged with a crime.

What did our defender do correctly?

(Bullet points by Roger T. Please do not make changes to these notes.)

• 
  
  
  
  • The defender knew that he had a dangerous job. He probably also knew that other stores in his area had been robbed so he decided to have a gun at work.
  
  
  
  

• The defender recognized an immediate, lethal and unavoidable situation. 

• The defender stayed in the fight even after he was injured.
  
  He presented his gun and shot at the attackers. 

• The defender stopped shooting when the attackers turned and ran out of the store.
  
  The defender did not chase the attackers. He called 911 for help.
  
  

What would you tell your students to do (that the defender should have done)?

(Bullet points by Roger T. Please do not make changes to these notes.)

• The defender went through the process of getting a FOID card, buying a gun and learned how to use it. Maybe he had a license to carry as well.

• Hopefully, the defender had a plan since his job put him in danger on a daily basis. Did he visualize numerous possible scenarios in his mind in order to build his “Library of Responses”? That’s a critical step in inoculating himself to the effects of adrenaline and stopping the brain from freezing in a crisis. Creating a defensive plan in the middle of an attack is next to impossible. 

• Could the defender have used “Tactical Patience” or distractions to keep from getting into a hand-to-hand confrontation? Could he have thrown the money on the floor or knocked a bottle off the counter as a distraction?

• Did the defender move as he drew his gun? The first rule of self-defense is not to get shot.

• Did the defender know close quarters techniques including retention shooting?

• Did the defender carry his gun on him or was the gun staged under the cash register? Why not both? Carry a small, highly concealable micro semi-automatic or revolver and also have a larger, double-stack pistol or short-barrel shotgun under the counter or in the back room. Multiple guns gives you many options. “Two is one, and one is none.”

• Once the robbers left, the clerk should have: locked all doors, moved any customers to safety and turned off all the interior lights so the returning attackers or their friends wouldn’t have easy targets. The threat is not over until the cops arrive.

• Make sure your hands are empty and visible when the police arrive. Holding a  gun or a cell phone can get you shot. 

Andee- The defender probably saw the news and knew that other stores in his area had been robbed. Before the attack, he got his firearms owners ID card so he could go buy a gun. The night that he was attacked, he recognized an immediate, lethal and unavoidable situation when the robbers presented a firearm and then hit him in the head with a bottle. If you doubt how serious that can be, then fill an empty wine bottle with water and go hit the side of a 2×4 with the side of the bottle. Look at the bruise on the wood and then figure out what that will do to your skull and to your brain.

The defender stayed in the fight even after he was hit in the head. I teach my students, when it comes to life or death, quitting means game over. You fight and stay in it until you are safe.

He presented his gun and shot at his attackers. He then stopped shooting when the attackers turned and ran out of the store. (This is a very important piece if you want to be seen as the good guy in the eyes of the law. You MUST stop shooting the moment the threat has ceased.)

Rather than chase the bad guys, he stayed inside and called 911 for help. (You’re not superman or a police officer, it’s not your job to catch the bad guy.)

Rob- Are there other things you want us to do that were not mentioned in the news reports?

Andee- It is hard to get your carry permit in Chicago. It’s worth the trouble. I want him to have his carry permit so he can carry all the time, even when he carries trash out to the dumpster late at night.

I want you to have a plan. It is like having a cheat sheet of options. Part of having a plan is also establishing limits that say what you’ll do and when you’ll do it. When will I yell stop when two customers come in looking like robbers? When will I present my gun and where will I move? What will I say? You have to walk through that plan often enough that your reactions are a habit rather than a thought. Situational training doesn’t have to always take place at the range. Walking through a scenario in your head creates neural pathways in your brain, allowing you to react quicker if you’re presented with a similar scenario in real life.

Rob- Isn’t walking through your place of work the best simulator we could ask for?

Andee- I can be, particularly if you have a co-worker who works through the scenario with you.

Another thing I think of reading this story is “be careful about letting people into your danger zone” One of the attackers was close enough to hit the defender with a bottle. We should be very careful as to who we let in our bubble. I often show my students in class how fast someone can get to you from 25 feet away, about the same time it takes someone skilled to draw their firearm. Situational awareness should be warning us whenever someone is within that distance. We should be prepared to “move off the line” if the threat makes a charge. Could the defender have dropped the money tray and a bottle on the floor and backed away? That gives him a moment as the armed attackers are distracted.

If you have to present your firearm, then I want you to move as you do. Don’t just stand in the open. Find cover.

I want you to have close quarters practice so you can shoot without moving your firearm to full extension. That is accurate enough at short d