Gunfire has been used as a means of signaling and communications as long as there have been guns. A warning shot is essentially a means of communicating a deadly threat without actually harming the person being warned. I may have to start a new category: warming shots that worked. I have routinely advised students against firing warning shots with the usual caveats; the bullet has to go somewhere, innocents may be hit, and a round is wasted that you might need. Not to mention it’s frequently illegal. Many claim that a warning shot may be considered as evidence that the warning shot shooter wasn’t serious. I think that is unlikely. And there is apparently at least one prosecutor who thinks that firing a warning shot demonstrates restraint . . .
In Las Vegas, there was a recent attempted restaurant robbery. From ijreview.com:
According to reports, a family saw the robbery and followed the suspect. The father, who holds a concealed weapons permit, fired a shot into the air. This was enough to spook the suspect into dropping the cash register and fleeing.
It’s noteworthy that the local reporter praises the armed citizen. From ktnv.com video:
Reporter Denise Wong: “I am sure that a lot of customers are very glad that guy had a gun on him last night.”
Second Amendment supporters are winning the culture war. The police captured the suspect a couple of blocks from the dropped cash box.
The suspect, Dillon Webb, is now in custody.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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