“Ruben Kendrick had just stepped out of the bathroom of a Citizens Bank in Warren [MI] when he was confronted with a bank robber pointing a gun in his face,” freep.com reports. “Moments later, Kendrick, 60, was able to draw a pistol of his own – and he emptied the gun as the suspect tried to flee, authorities said.” As scandalous as that may sound to those who recoil at the thought of recoil – firing wantonly at a bad guy’s back! – authorities are providing new details of the robbery which put Mr. Kendrick’s actions in perspective. . .
The teller asked [the bank robber] to have a seat. But instead of waiting, Mann took out a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at her, according to the complaint.
Kendrick was standing near the counter when Mann then trained the gun on him. He told Kendrick to step behind the counter with three other bank employees.
But Kendrick said that he couldn’t. Mann then grabbed him by the back of the neck and pushed him to one side of the counter, the complaint said.
Mann then demanded that he be given “all the (expletive) money,” with no hidden dye packs, according to the complaint.
Students of armed self-defense note: the more aggression a bad guy displays in the commission of a crime, the more likely he is to use his weapon. When bank robber Mann grabbed bank employee Kendrick, it was a signal that a “simple” robbery could get very, very bloody. That’s without considering the robber’s body language, word choice or tone of voice. The fact that Mann knew about dye packs also indicated it wasn’t his first rodeo.
Indeed it wasn’t. freep.com casually tosses in the fact that Mann “has a violent criminal history, having been convicted of second-degree murder and assault/bodily harm less than murder in 1989.” Not that Kendrick or anyone one else knew that at the time, but again, subconscious cues. And retroactive props.
Employees handed [Mann] the cash, but Kendrick looked over his shoulder and put a round in the chamber of his concealed Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9 mm, which could hold eight rounds, according to Fouts and Warren Police. He had a license to carry a concealed weapon, Fouts said.
Then Kendrick opened fire. He emptied the rounds, hitting the robber three times – once in each arm, and once in a leg. Another shot smashed the glass of a bank’s window.
Mann never returned fire, though his Colt Mark IV was found to be loaded.
Moments later, Mann staggered out of the bank and fell. Of the $11,000 or so he dropped, about $2,000 is still missing, Fouts said.
Click here to read Ralph’s review of the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield in 9mm. The gun comes complete with two magazines: 7- and 8-rounders. According to this report, Mann didn’t keep one in the pipe. (Not ideal: chambering a round takes time, makes noise and limits capacity).
Anyway, assuming Kendrick shot at Mann seven times (using the seven-round mag), he achieved a 42 percent hit ratio in the middle of an armed robbery. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Kendrick’s adversary was carrying a Colt Mark IV semi-automatic pistol, either a Series 70 or Series 80 model. (Colt stopped manufacturing the Model 70 in 1983 to make the gun drop-safe, then reintroduced it in 2003) Like all “standard” 1911’s, the Mark IV accepts seven-round magazines. Although Mann might have kept a round chambered, we’re still talking approximate like-vs.-like capacity wise. Yes but . . .
Mann’s gun was a .45, Kendrick’s a 9mm. You can debate caliber efficacy until the cows come home, but I know which gun I’d rather carry. Do carry. That said, the firearm wasn’t the determining factor of the outcome of this confrontation, was it? Truth be told, it hardly ever is.