Armed citizen stories are awesome. They’re a reminder that good guys with guns stop violent crimes all the time, which is good considering how some claim they don’t.

Today, we’ve got a story that came out of Tampa, Florida, where a group tried to rob a man. It didn’t work out well for them.

A group of crooks likely figured they had easy pickings when they ganged up on a 32-year-old man in a park in Tampa, Florida, last week and not only robbed him but also shot him.

But as we’ve seen time and time again, those who commit crimes apparently are not taking into consideration the number of Americans who are exercising their Second Amendment rights and acquiring guns to fight back and level the playing field.

What happened?

The man responded to the attack against him in Takomah Trail Park by opening fire with his “legally-owned and properly-permitted” concealed gun, Tampa police told WFLA-TV.

The victim as well as the attackers fled the scene. Police caught up with the victim later, and he’s reportedly cooperating with police and recovering from wounds he suffered during the assault. His injuries aren’t life-threatening.

I can’t say that I’m surprised he vacated the area, though that’s not the best move one can make in most circumstances. Then again, neither is standing around waiting for them to come back with more guns, so I’m not exactly going to berate the guy.

Yet, these are the stories some say simply don’t happen.

If you want evidence that this isn’t uncommon, look for these kinds of stories at MSNBC or CNN. Hell, look for them at Fox.

If these were as rare as anti-Second Amendment types claim, then it would likely be national news. It would be too sensational for even their anti-gun sentiment to ignore.

But it’s not.

Every year, millions of armed citizens step up and protect human life, either their own or someone else’s. They do so because they have firearms on their person and the will to act. Not everyone has that last part, but those who do can change the entire situation.

This man should have been, at a minimum, robbed. He likely would have been seriously hurt or killed.

Instead, he sustained minor injuries, one of his attackers is dead, and the rest are likely reconsidering their life choices. I’m sorry, but that’s a net win for society.

It’s my hope that the armed citizen in question recovers fully from his injuries and can come to terms with what he was forced to do. He shouldn’t have to, but he shouldn’t have found himself in that situation. That wasn’t of his making, so it sucks that he’s in this position now.

However, it sounds like he handled it about as well as he could have under the circumstances. Here’s to hoping that he’s able to get back to where he was.

Here’s also to hoping that the rest of his attackers are brought to justice soon. I’m all for letting them rethink their life choices, but I’d prefer they do it in a jail cell.