I would like one of the internet experts who insist that no private citizen will ever be involved in an entangled fight in a weapons based environment to explain this headline to me. I know we can complain about “fake news”, but this seems like it actually happened.
Let’s look at the headline: “Arizona armed suspect storms into smoke shop and tackles armed employee”. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is a private citizen involved in an entangled weapons fight that was not of his choosing and that was initiated by the armed bad guy who already had his weapon out and who voluntarily closed the distance onto the good guy.
Also note that the good guy was armed and had his handgun in his waistband. I can hear the people screaming now “but Cecil! If he only had good situational awareness he would have been able to get the gun out early!” What a load of crap. The guy is a clerk at a shop where people are walking in and out constantly throughout the day. Do you really think that any human being would be aware that the person coming in the door is any different than the other hundred people he sees during that day? And keep in mind the size of the store, it’s very small. We know thanks to the Tueller Principle that an average human can cross seven yards in a second and a half. From the front door to the counter in this smoke shop it’s a lot less than 7 yards so, even if you have a sub second draw the bad guy is still going to be on you before you have time to do anything. Unlike drills on a shooting range, you can’t have your gun out and ready to go in a moment’s notice. Try pointing your gun at every customer that walks in the door. See how that goes for you.
The bad guy rapidly closed the distance, made contact with the good guy and created an entanglement. Fortunately the good guy was able to fight back in a manner where he was able to get his gun out and fight back and end the situation properly and safely. My guess is that it was Pure Luck. I doubt the good guy had any particular skill set in grappling. and I can absolutely guarantee you he had put zero time into grappling with guns available. So the fact that he made it through this can only be chalked up to luck and a good fighting mindset. However, basing future survivability on luck is not a good plan. In reality, it is the height of stupidity.
And this particular incident resonates with me because this smoke shop is just over 15 miles from my own Academy and I have regularly been in that area where this took place. So please don’t tell me these things don’t happen because they do, and if you want to keep your head in the sand that’s fine. But I have the calling to help people and I want them to stay alive and I’m not going to pretend these things never happen. We need to be prepared mentally emotionally and physically to deal with them. Wishful thinking doesn’t help. Ever.