While there aren’t many hard numbers to back this up, I suspect most armed citizens only figure they’ll have to deal with a single, armed bad guy should they need to use their firearm. I figure a few others sport fantasies about going all John Wick on a gang of criminals, but recognize it for what it is, a fantasy.

Contrary to what some might think, the average gun owner doesn’t let his fantasies override his good sense.

When you’re outnumbered and outgunned, discretion might be the better part of valor.

Then again…

LEXINGTON, NC (WFMY) – A Lexington teen was found dead behind a vacant house Wednesday morning after several calls to police about gunshots were found to be linked. Thursday, police sent a release saying the teen was part of an attempted robbery among four people.

Police say during the robbery the victim shot a gun, striking 18-year-old Antoine Gelzer. All parties left the scene after that with the victim leaving in a car and Gelzer and his three associates on foot.

…

Earlier police reports said around 11:30 p.m., Lexington police got a call from someone who heard gunshots around Connor St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The caller told dispatchers that a car was seen in the area parked in the street with flashers on. Officers arrived and didn’t see a matching car nor hear any further gunshots.

Around 2 a.m., police got a report Gelzer was missing and had possibly been shot, stemming from an altercation around Hamil St. and Tussey St.

Police went to look for Gelzer and found him dead behind a home in the 500 block of Tussey St. Gelzer had been shot.

It’s unclear how the police know this was a robbery attempt. In fact, there’s a lot of information missing from the report. However, we do know that several others were taken into custody.

Something else we know is that it appears only a single individual was able to fend off multiple robbers with a firearm. In other words, when you’re outnumbered, it’s not always the best policy to simply comply and hope they go away. You can fight, and you can win.

It’s also worth noting that upon meeting armed resistance, the criminals ran. Despite still having numbers on their side, they decided to book it.

The reality is that most criminals aren’t particularly brave. They’re not particularly interested in winning at all costs. They pick their targets based on what they think will be easy, not what they think is challenging. They’re not looking to test themselves. They’re looking for as easy a payday as possible.

Even when outnumbering their opponent, a swift and violent act of opposition may be enough to scatter the entire gang and leave them running for their lives.

Sorry, but that’s a win for the good guys. It’s a win if you’re the good guy in question and you’re still alive because of it.

Now, I’m not saying that despite being outnumbered, you should go to war and start shooting at bad guys. What I am saying is that being outnumbered shouldn’t be a deal breaker like it is for some people.