TTAG commentator Jim writes:
This video of the jewelry store robbery in Bakersfield CA raises some interesting questions. The storyline [via bakersfieldnow.com]: “Three men in masks are seen running into the store. One man comes to the back of the store where Jarvi was working and jumped over the counter. Jarvi grabbed a gun from his pocket and said he fired a shot . . . In the video, that man is seen wrestling with Jarvi. The shop owner said the suspect grabbed his hand and got his gun away. A second man is seen in the video approaching the same counter a couple seconds later. That’s the suspect who had come into the store with a gun, Jarvi said . . .
Right then, Jarvi said his wife hit a button that activated a siren in the store. He said that helped save him.
The man with gun opened fire on him, Jarvi said. The store owner managed to reach into his office and get a second gun.
“We both exchanged shots at one another,” Jarvi described. He said the suspect’s bullets went right past him, and one ended up in a doorway and the other hit a desk. According to police, Jarvi fired two shots at this time.
In short, the store owner fired once from his gun before it was taken away by perp #1. Perp #2 is the only one who came into the store with a gun. I don’t think perp #2 ever fired his weapon. So the two shots that almost hit Mr. Jarvi came from his own gun.
Questions raised . . .
Jarvi probably only saw the first perp coming at him (who didn’t have a weapon), so his shots were against an unarmed attacker. That’s a reasonable reaction for someone in fear for their life BUT it would have been extremely bad press had he killed the unarmed perp.
The wife pushed an audible alarm button—which probably would have scared everybody away. Maybe with no shots fired. Remember: the only gunfight you win is the one you never have.
Notice the baby and family in the store. The robbers pay them no mind as they hit the deck. They seem to focus on him and not the wife. If Mrs. Jarvi had been armed she would have had more time than her husband to shoot their attackers.
I don’t know what I would do. I certainly wouldn’t let them take my gun. So I guess I would be shooting and retreating, not running sideways. If perp #1 saw the gun pointed at him with the owner yelling stop maybe they would have all run off.
Who knows? [ED: result.]