A Toledo robber is in serious condition tonight after being shot by the owner of the music store he attempted to rob.
According to reports, Steve James, 30, entered Allied Music on South Byrne Road in Toledo and inquired about a job. He left, then returned and attempted to rob the store while pointing a gun at the clerk's head. The clerk called for help and store co-owner Eric Bilger came out from the back with his own gun and exchanged fire with James. James was hit twice, once in the hand and once in the body.
According to Bilger's brother Mark, the store had been robbed three times since last summer and obtained a concealed carry license to protect himself and his employees.
Anti-gun pundits will tell you the only good course of action in a robbery is to comply with all instructions and give them what they want. They claim guns are rarely successful for self defense and that a criminal will just disarm you and shoot you with your own gun. I think Eric Bilger has put those lies to rest.
Because he chose to take responsibility for his own safety, he and his employees were uninjured in the attack. Lawful self-defense works.
Comments
Isn't it wonderful when the good guys win...
This is a case of the good guys winning but if someone is going to use this as a reason to go out and buy a gun for self defense then finish the job by going to a combat gun range and learning how to shoot at moving targets so you hit what you are aiming at and not an innocent person. I am a firm second amendment advocate but I see so many people buy guns, pass a safe handling test and never spend a day on a regular range much less a combat range to get acquainted with their weapon. Three cheers for the owner who hit what he aimed at and with luck he will not have the responsibility of taking a life on his mind. The robber will spend some time in jail and hopefully learn a new profession. He obviously was not very good at this current one.
Statistics show that states with Concealed Carry laws have less violent crime than those that don't. It's pretty simple to figure out why. Criminals seek out soft targets. When you increase the probablity that a target MAY NOT be soft, you decrease the violent crime. Episodes such as this one only work to decrease violent crime further as a reminder/example to the local criminal population as to the potential results.
"They claim guns are rarely successful for self defense and that a criminal will just disarm you and shoot you with your own gun."
If this were true, it would be logical to give all criminals guns, so that we could take them away from them and shoot them. Not to mention cheaper.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!