Here we go again.

Silent Witness is looking to the public for help identifying a man who stole a gun from a man in line at a Phoenix McDonalds, officials said.

On April 7, at Southern and Central Avenues the suspect approached a man ordering from behind before taking the pistol from the man’s back pocket and running from the restaurant, according to Silent Witness spokesman Sgt. Jamie Rothschild.

The victim then chased the suspect in an attempt to retrieve his stolen gun but the thief turned around and pointed the pistol at the victim before fleeing, according to Rothschild.

The suspect is described as a black male between 18 and 25 years of age, 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds.

Time and again, were seeing this same scenario playing out.  We’re seeing open carriers (or poorly concealing concealed carriers) with little to no formal defensive firearm training, no retention training, and typically poor equipment selection and poor physical shape targeted by criminals. They are almost always successfully robbed.

In this instance, the bad guy didn’t even bother to end his phone call or even run as the article claimed; he continued on his phone call and strode out of the store at a fast walk. By the time the clueless open carrier wrapped his brain around the fact that he’d lost possession of his weapon, the suspect was already to the door.

As a general rule, criminals are not intimidated by handgun open carriers in the slightest. They see the $300-$800 gun on your hip the same as they would a fat wallet, ripe for taking.

The harsh reality is that open carriers are not crime deterrents. They are targets for criminals.