Based on even the low-end estimates of defensive gun uses, there are hundreds of such incidents every day throughout the United States, though few of them ever get reported in the media.
Given the restrictive carry laws in California and the unwillingness of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to process concealed carry applications in a timely manner, it's probably the case that Los Angeles County has fewer DGUs than it should have, but that doesn't mean that these incidents are non-existent. In fact, according to the LASD, one woman likely saved her life and the lives of others at a beauty store in Compton last weekend.
Deputies responded to reports of a shooting at Pink Beauty Supply in Compton around 3:30 p.m. Sunday and found a man dead from a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials said the man entered the store and followed a female customer before he groped her, prompting employees to demand he leave.
The alleged pervert became “increasingly verbally assaultive toward employees and customers” and started “throwing and damaging merchandise in the store.”
“The incident rapidly escalated. Employees and customers noted that the male had an object in his hand that they believed was a knife,” officials said.
“The male made verbal threats that he was going to kill and harm everyone in the store.”
Following the threats, another female customer pulled out a gun and fired a warning shot at the suspect.
The man, however, rushed at the armed female customer, who fired a second, fatal shot.
Police did not identify the man who was killed, but CBS LA reported he was a 42-year-old with possible gang ties and a criminal record that included assaults, robberies and thefts.
Police didn't arrest the woman after the incident, though the L.A. County District Attorney will be the one to decide if she'll face any charges. Based on the circumstances described by the sheriff's department, I doubt that prosecutors will go after her for shooting someone who was threatening to commit an act of mass violence, but it's entirely possible that they could pursue charges if she doesn't have a valid carry permit, or even for firing a warning shot.
The LASD doesn't say if the "personal firearm" the customer used to protect herself or others was legally carried, but the department itself has been sued by both Second Amendment advocates and the DOJ's Civil Rights Division for its inability or unwillingness to process concealed carry applications in a timely manner. Multiple plaintiffs have had to wait a year or more for their carry permits to be issued, though the department says it's improved its processing time since the DOJ began its investigation into the department's practices.
It's good that no one was injured by the suspect, but this should serve as another reminder that "warning shots" aren't a good idea; from both a self-defense and legal standpoint. If you truly believe your life or the lives of others are in imminent danger, you should shoot to stop the threat. If, on the other hand, you don't believe you or others are at immediate risk of death or great bodily harm, keep your finger off the trigger.
Under California law, willfully discharging a firearm in a "grossly negligent manner that could result in injury or death," is a crime, and prosecutors only have to show that the shot had the potential to cause injury or death, even if no one was actually harmed. It isn't hard to imagine a zealous prosecutor deciding that firing a warning shot in a crowded store was grossly negligent, and though a conviction wouldn't be guaranteed under these circumstances, the armed citizen would still face the prospect of a criminal trial and the cost of defending herself in court.
We'll keep an eye out for any updates on this case, which only highlights the need for the LASD to process carry applications in a timely fashion. Lives are at risk when the sheriff's department doesn't do its job, and its failure to issue permits within the time allotted to them under state law only encourages otherwise lawful gun owners to risk arrest and prosecution because they don't want to be disarmed and defenseless against violent predators.
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