A Yakima, Washington man was attacked in a Walmart by a suspect armed with a bat, and the local media reported part of the story:

A 32-year-old man who was shopping with at least three children at a Yakima Wal-Mart was the victim of an unprovoked assault when a stranger picked up a metal tee-ball bat and struck him, according to Yakima police.

The victim was not injured, but he did have a concealed weapons permit, which he immediately put to use, police said.

A store security officer reported hearing a man in the sporting goods department yelling “Get on the ground!” and found one man pointing a pistol at another, who was lying on the floor.

Police arrived a short time later and arrested the 30-year-old suspect, who remains in Yakima County jail in lieu of $30,000 bail set Monday.

That’s part of the story, but definitely not all of it, or even the most important part. As is so often the case, the real story emerged in the comments to the article, where Brad Walker, who self-identified as the father of the victim, explained that the criminal’s apparent goal was to steal his son’s openly carried Sig Sauer pistol.

The attacker swung full force for his head.
The gun was carried “open Carry”
It was a 357 sig We think this person was trying to get the handgun by knockout hitting him in the head with a aluminum bat.
He side stepped the blow and took the impact in the neck and shoulder he is receiving Dr.s treatment.
He thanks god that no one else was hurt and that he did not have to use lethal force.
I was in law enforcement and during my academy training my son helped me study he knew how to safely defend himself and his family lawfully.
Hopefully this attacker will not be released to hurt other people.

Mr. Walker goes on to state that the man who attacked his son for his weapon was a convicted felon with previous assaults on his record.

He also stated that he thinks that his son will now follow his advice and carry his weapon concealed from now on.

* * *

Open carriers have been robbed before of their weapons, and it appears that the suspect in this case and in prior instances was set upon by a criminal in a crime of opportunity.

While open carry is legal in most parts of the nation, comparatively few people who have the option exercise it, and almost none who have considerable self-defense training take this route. Well-trained gun owners instead preferring to carry concealed so as to maintain anonymity so that they don’t stand out as a target for criminals and retain the tactical advantage of being armed, but not visibly so.