Store Clerk Keeps Her Wits, Shoots Robber With His Own Gun

Armed robbery is an intimidation game, where criminals use weapons and surprise to overwhelm the senses of victims, stunning them into shocked compliance.

At least, that is what happens most of the time.

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One attempted robbery didn’t end the way a pair of criminals hoped in Lexington, Kentucky, when they underestimated the store clerk’s resolve:

Zara Adil, 21, was working Friday at Tobacco Zone when two men entered the store wearing masks. One of the men can be seen approaching the register and demanding cash, brandishing a handgun. Adil obliged, opening the register and then stepping away.

That’s when the would-be robber made his mistake — setting down his gun to gather the money.

“So I picked up the gun and pointed it at the second guy, and said, ‘You run or I will shoot you,’” she told ABC affiliate WTVQ in an interview.

Despite the warning, the man approached.

Adil fired the gun, and the man was shot in the shoulder. A fight ensued — and the man eventually ran away, without the money. Adil suffered a few minor injuries, but considered her actions justified in defending the store that her parents own and operate.

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One of the attempted robbers, Darnell Thomas, Jr., 30, has been identified as a suspect wanted in the crime, and police think that the robbers may have been responsible for a spree of about 15 robberies since January.

Ms. Adil said that she went for the robber’s gun and fought back against the robbers because, “”If more people stand up, they won’t have that much courage to go around and do what they’re doing.”

I completely agree with her general sentiment, which is why I strongly recommend that citizens make an investment in their family’s security, take courses in armed self-defense, and carry a defensive firearm with them at all times.

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