We often talk about the “good guy with a gun” as being the way to stop a whole lot of crimes in their tracks. Meanwhile, anti-gunners pretend the good guy with a gun is a myth and little more. Of course, we know that’s untrue and have plenty of examples otherwise.

However, we now have one more. This time, the good guy with a gun also put an end to a #MeToo moment.

A 14-year-old was arrested after Clay County deputies said he threatened a Fleming Island Walmart customer with a knife and demanded she have sex with him.

According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, a man who was nearby stepped in with his gun to help. Deputies said he had a concealed-carry license and did the right thing.

According to the incident report, the assault happened Tuesday around 6 p.m. at the Walmart on County Road 220. In a Facebook post, the women explained she thought the teen wanted to help her with groceries, but as he approached he told her, “I want you to have sex with me. I’ve got a knife in my pocket.”

When she saw a man walking by the aisle, she yelled for help, the Sheriff’s Office said. News4Jax spoke with that man, who wished to remain anonymous.

You never know when something bad is going to go down. As I’ve said before, we good guys don’t have the initiative. The bad guys always get that because they pick the time and the place of the crime.

All we can do is respond.

Luckily, though, in this case, the woman called for help, and the assistance came in the form of an armed citizen. That ended the threat quick, fast, and in a hurry, as it should have.

Of all the crimes out there, sexual assaults of various degrees are among the very worst. They not only victimize the person at that moment, but the damage is long lasting. It creates trauma like few other crimes do.

To see a 14-year-old attempt something like this is horrific, but knowing that a good guy with a gun was there to stop is settles my soul.

I can’t help but think of my own son at 14, when he was more likely to be focused on video games and goofing off with his friends, and not carrying a knife to force a woman to have sex with him. Then again, it’s also clear that I’ve raised my son far better than some people have raised their own kids.

I’m just saying.

Luckily, this ended well enough for all involved. The teen is being held for mental evaluation, though he’s lucky he didn’t get perforated by the armed citizen. The woman was unharmed, and the armed citizen is fortunate not to have to deal with the psychological ramifications of shooting a 14-year-old kid, regardless of what he was doing.

And yet, let’s also remember that this encounter won’t show up in many statistics as a defensive use of a firearm simply because the gun wasn’t fired. Go figure.