Video Update: Robber of Circle K Stores in Phoenix armed with Semi-Automatic

Link to video

In 2013, Circle K revealed a corporate policy of disarming their employees.   Circle K fired an assistant manager in Georgia for having a firearm in violation of corporate policy, after he defended himself from an armed robber.   A clerk had been murdered in the store a few years previously.  From 11alive.com:

Jarriel said Circle K suspended him right after the Saturday morning robbery and then gave him a firing notice Thursday for violating its company policy against guns on the property. 

In Phoenix, Arizona, the robber shown above took advantage of that policy by robbing three Circle K stores in one early morning hour between 4 and 5 a.m. 

The screenshot shows what appears to be a full sized semi-automatic handgun in the right hand of the robber.  The resolution is not good enough to establish the make or model.  It looks real, but it is possible that it is a fake or a toy.   It is also possible that it is not loaded, has the wrong ammunition, or is inoperative.  Armed criminals are known for their lack of technical knowledge of firearms, and for depending on a bluff to get what they want. 

A defender should make the assumption that the threat is real, unless he has conclusive evidence to the contrary.  Some knowledgeable members of the gun culture can easily determine if a gun is real, a toy, or a BB gun.  If the lighting is right, it is possible to see if a revolver is loaded or not by looking at the front of the cylinder.

From what is shown, the use of deadly force would have been justified, if anyone had decided to resist.

Policies such as Circle K’s, ma attract robbers and increase risk instead of decreasing risk for innocent people.  Some states have changed their law to reflect that possibility. 

Wisconsin granted immunity from liability to establishments that allow their customers and/or employees to be armed.  Similar legislation has been considered in several other states.     From Wis. Stat. § 175.60(21)(b), (c):

(b) A person that does not prohibit an individual from carrying a concealed weapon on property that the person owns or occupies is immune from any liability arising from its decision.

In Wisconsin, a business that requires its employees to be disarmed rejects the immunity from liability that the law offers.

How long it will be before an injured employee or their survivors, sue a business for creating an unsafe working environment by requiring their employees be disarmed in the face of the clear and present danger of armed robbery.

In the Phoenix case, no one was injured or killed.   I hope that Circle K employee’s luck will continue to last.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.  Link to Gun Watch