For the next edition of my articles looking at various historical events and how it relates to self defense, we’re going to look at one that involves an exceptionally well known person to those in the Firearms community (at least those who take time to study these things). While his exploits are fairly well-known, there are some interesting facts that tend to be overlooked, and as we go over and examine these overlooked facts, I’m relatively sure that there will be some hurt feelings. I can’t help if that is so, and I can only address the facts and speak as truthfully as possible.

We’re going to take a look at Lance Thomas and one of his multiple gunfights. Mr. Thomas is truly a warrior and a hero. A normal everyday citizen (a jeweler and watch repairman by profession) who was faced by criminal violence again and again and yet came out on top every time. There are so many lessons to be learned by paying attention to his story. Not the least of which is his mindset in dealing with violence and the willingness to prepare to face it.

For anyone not familiar with Mr. Thomas, before reading any further I strongly advise you to take a look at the following video. It is a short 10 minute overview of his story and includes him speaking his own words. Listen closely to his answer to the interviewer’s question about why not just give the robber what he wants. Incredibly empowering. 

In this article we are going to look closely at the third of the five gun fights Thomas was involved in. On December 4th 1991, a man and woman entered Mr. Thomas’s watch shop where the woman inquired about watch repair. As Thomas went to look at the watch in question, the man – Valdeas O’Neal – jumped over the counter and jammed a Glock into Thomas’ neck. 

Now before we go any further I want to set the scene properly.  Lance Thomas had already been involved in two other gunfights, one of which involved him going up against 5 criminals. He had already embarked on a strength and conditioning program so that he would be physically fit enough to face bad guys. He had also set up his shop to make it as difficult as possible for bad guys to enter or to easily move around and attack. Thomas spent hour after hour game planning every conceivable way criminals could enter and how they would be able to attack him, and he had worked out every conceivable option in advance. Also, as you could see in the above video, the countertop over which Thomas interacted with customers was not just a small table or small counter. It was long, heavy, and wide and the front was not open to the customers. You can also see in the video there’s a heavy piece of wood across the front of the counter making even more of a barrier. 

Let’s contemplate this for a moment. Lance Thomas was as prepared mentally, emotionally, and physically as it is possible for a human being to be prepared for violence. It was not new to him and he had thoroughly thought it through. He had more experience with gunfights and violence then probably 90% of  law enforcement officers in the country. It’s safe to say that his mindset was secure, as was his environment. Not only had he wargamed every conceivable situation, the actual set up of his shop was ideal for defending himself and keeping bad guys at a distance.So he was personally prepared, and he was about as prepared tactically and strategically as anyone could be. 

And yet even with all those advantages, Lance Thomas found himself involved with the bad guy in actual physical contact with him. Or, in other words, he was inside the range that we would consider an entangled fight. A gun jammed into your neck and a man telling you he’s going to kill you pretty much defines entangled fight in a weapons based environment. And for all his prior planning, Thomas did not truly prepare for it, and the only reason he did not pay the ultimate price for that failure was sheer, unadulterated luck. 

I hammer this point home here because so much of the advice in the self-defense community is wrapped around the idea of being situationally aware or having your head on a swivel and that that will take care of all issues and allow you plenty of time and distance to get your gun out and use it at extended range. Yet here is a man who defines situational awareness and having your head on a swivel and being prepared for violence in every conceivable way but he still found himself in contact with the bad guy.  And let’s not overlook the fact that O’Neal was 6 ft 5 and 250 lb. He’s not somebody who’s going to sneak around in a small shop and suddenly appear as if by magic. Mr. Thomas knew he was there and even with every possible preparation in the book he still found himself in the range of an entangled fight.

The point to remember is that more often than not, the criminal decides at what range the violence will occur, and you need to be prepared for that, rather than live in a fantasy camp where things will always go the way you want/think. 

As the Glock was pressed into his neck, Thomas jerked his head aside and grabbed the SIG P225 that was close at hand. He was instantly shot through the neck! As author Paul Kirchner writes in his terrific book “The Deadliest Men”, O’Neal then hesitated. Why? No one knows. Rather than firing more rounds immediately, he stopped for a moment. Thomas then fired three rounds from his SIG which then malfunctioned (most likely because the gun was in some contact with part of O’neal’s body – that is my hypothesis based on seeing thousands of students go through Force-on-Force training evolutions where that exact thing happens time and again), and as he went for another gun close by, O’Neal fired two more shots which missed, and then Thomas shot him dead with the other pistol. 

While he won the encounter undoubtedly because of his proper fighting mindset and willingness to fight no matter what and not give up, he only survived because the universe smiled on him. The bullet through his neck did not hit anything vital, but it could just as easily have done major damage and killed him. He might easily have bled out before medical aid arrived. Thomas was also blessed that O’Neal paused after firing the first shot. If he had fired multiple rounds without a pause, it is very likely Thomas would have been severely injured or even killed. And then, because he never prepared or thought about the close range fight, when Thomas’ gun jammed, he was able to grab a second gun and end the fight solely due to the fact that O’Neal’s later rounds missed him. If one or both had hit him, the fight could have ended the opposite way there as well. 

Fortunately, Lance Thomas survived, and ended up in two more gunfights later, where he also was victorious. However, the point I am trying to convey stands. He survived this gunfight mostly through luck, because he was not prepared for a contact fight involving firearms. And those events happen often, and far more than some want to believe. Learn from the good things Lance Thomas did, but also learn from his mistakes because if it happens to you, I strongly urge you NOT to rely on the universe smiling on you in the moment.