Episode 282 with Tony Simon

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Introduction-

Rob- Welcome to episode 282 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. We’re glad you found us if you’re well trained.. and if you’re still learning about armed defense. I’m Rob Morse and we’re joined this week by firearms instructor Tony Simon. How have you been, Tony?

Tony- Hi, Rob. I’ve been spending a lot of evenings at the range for the Second is for Everyone.

How about you?

Rob- Tony, one of our listeners asked if I wrote about the second amendment and armed defense outside of this podcast. I do. My writing is at the SlowFacts Blog and at Ammoland. Be warned that I also write about politics there.

We received a few comments from our listeners on the podcast websites.

-Michael got back to us about insurance plans. Insurance is issued on a state by state basis. For example, USLaw Shield started as TexasLaw Shield. There are a few exceptions like the armed citizens legal defense network and USCCA.

Tony- Dan was looking for a book about situational awareness and gun safety for women. Paxton Quigley has several titles, the most prominent is “Armed and Female.” Kathy Jackson has “The Cornered Cat: A Woman’s Guide to Concealed Carry”. Beth Alcazar wrote Women’s Handgun & Self-Defense Fundamentals.

Rob- Dustin left us a thank you message. Thank you, Dustin.

Tony- Our listeners can do something that we can’t do. Leaving us a rating and a comment on iTunes raises our ranking and helps new gun owners find us.

Here in the US, we defend ourselves with a firearm thousands of times a day. We look at a few recent examples to see what we can learn. The links back to the original news articles are on our podcast webpage.

Our first story took place last week in Hartford, Connecticut.

Rob- First story- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?

You’re at home just after midnight. You’re startled by the sound of breaking glass and splintered wood. You get up to find two young men in your home. They attack you. The news reports are not clear if you were armed before you met your attackers or if you had to fight your way back to your gun. You shoot your attackers. They run back outside your home.

You stay inside and call 911. Police find your attackers on your front lawn. You put your gun away. Emergency Medical Services transport your attackers to the hospital. You give a brief statement to the police. You’re treated by EMS for the injuries you sustained during the attack, but do not need to go to the hospital.

You don’t know your attackers. They are declared dead at the hospital. They were 15 and 16 years old and did not live in your town.

Tony- Wow. You wake up and a few seconds later are thrown into a brawling fist fight against two young men. I’m glad our defender had his house locked up. I’m glad he paid attention to the sound of a forced entry. I’m glad he owned a gun and used it rather than deciding to fight hand to hand against two opponents.

He defended himself and then stopped shooting when his attackers turned and ran. He stayed inside and called 911 for help. He put his gun away when the police were nearby, and he gave a brief statement of facts to the police.

Rob- Is there something else you’d like us to do if we were in that situation?

Tony- These stories are incomplete, so the defender might have done a few things that weren’t noticed by the news reporter. You could put a motion detector on your porch light that sounds a chime when someone moves by it. You could sleep with your bedroom door closed and locked so that you have a few more seconds to respond. You could have your gun in a bedside safe so that it is secure, but you can still get to it in seconds. Because it is stored securely, we can have our guns loaded and ready to fire.

After the attack, if there is any doubt, then go seek medical attention to have your injuries documented. Finally, you could have a lawyer to call to help you fill out the police report.

Rob- From the police report, the victim is wondering, ‘Why me?’

Tony- Sometimes there is a reason, and sometimes there isn’t.

Rob- Do home invasion robberies happen very often?

Tony- I’ve seen statistics that say it is about a million times a year. If there are about a hundred million households in the US then that means 1 out of a hundred homes will be targeted each year. Trailers and mobile homes are hit more often because the doors are so easy to force open. About a third of assaults, and almost two thirds of the sexual assaults, happen during a home invasion.

Rob- I’m glad that more women are armed. When do your students learn about protecting themselves at home?

Tony- Our students learn about defending themselves in our basic classes. We continually tell students they are responsible for their safety and their families security. Outsourcing their safety and security to government agencies is a horrific idea. No one can respond to your emergency faster than you can.

Rob- Do you see more you want to cover, or should we move on?

Tony- Lots of crime is driven by drugs. Either the attackers are high, or they are robbing someone in order to steal drugs, either legal drugs from the medicine cabinet, or illegal drugs. You might be at increased risk if you recently came home from the hospital and your neighbors know you had pain medications.

Rob- That is sad.

Tony- It is. Our second story happened in Clearwater, Florida.

Rob- Second Story- Do you have a firearm nearby after the sun comes up?

You are at home and asleep a little before 9 in the morning. You wake up when you hear the sound of someone breaking down your door. You call 911. A stranger enters your bedroom and attacks you. The news reports are not clear if you had your gun in your hand or if you had to fight your way to your gun. You shoot your attacker until he stops hitting you. He runs out of your bedroom. You stay inside and wait for the police.

Police find your attacker. It isn’t clear if he died at the scene or was transported to the hospital before he died. You’re treated by EMS. The police identify your attacker as someone who lived nearby.

You are not charged with a crime.

Tony- I wonder if this guy was drugged, or crazy, but maybe he was simply a rapist who attacked the wrong woman. I’m glad she owned a firearm and kept it loaded and nearby. She locked her doors and windows so the intruder had to make noise. I’m glad she responded to the sound of the broken door. I love that the defender called 911 when she heard the intrusion and before the fight started. She defended herself and didn’t chase the bad guy. She put her gun away when the police arrived and she gave them a statement.

Rob- What does best practice look like?

Tony- Reinforce the strike plate on your door so the attacker has to work to get inside. Grab your gun and lock your bedroom door. Get behind the bed and call 911. If the intruder breaks through your locked door then shoot him until he stops. Do not go hand to hand with him.

Rob- Does that mean our defender was lucky?

Tony- You don’t know if the intruder had a knife. If you go hand to hand then you could be seriously injured, or killed.

Rob- When the police are there, is that when I call my lawyer?

Tony- Have a lawyer to call so that he can fill out the police report for you.

Rob- You mentioned that before. Why is it so important?

Tony- The police report describes the facts of the case. It is a legal document and you want to get the facts and the legal points right the first time. Since I am not a lawyer, I’ll have my lawyer write it for me.

Rob- When do you tell your students to not play lawyer?

Tony- Always get a lawyer. I live in New Jersey and it is not gun-friendly.

Our third story happened in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rob- First this message from doctors for responsible gun ownership.

https://drgo.us/

Rob- Third story- Are you armed at work at night?

You’re sitting in your car taking a break from your job as a clerk in a convenience store. It is about 10 pm when a man climbs into your car and demands your keys. You tell him to leave and he wont. You get our of your car and run back into the store. Your attacker chases you. You’re armed and you present your firearm. The attacker says he’ll kill you. You shout for him to leave. He grabs you and tries to take your gun. You shoot him. Now he stops. You back away and call 911.

You holster your gun when the police arrive. You give them a brief statement. Emergency medical services say your attacker died at the scene.

The police were headed your way before you called them. Your attacker was being taken to a mental hospital by his family when he jumped out of their car. He was then struck by another car before he found you sitting in your vehicle.

You are not charged with a crime.

Tony- It sounds like this man’s family waited too long to get him the mental health treatment he needed.

I like that our defender was armed. I like that he ran away when the attacker confronted him in his car. I like that he defended himself and then stopped shooting. Our defender called for help and stayed at the scene.

Rob- This story could have gone wrong.

Tony- This was much too close.

Please lock your car doors. If a stranger says he is going to take your gun and kill you then don’t let him get close enough to grab you. Present your gun and shoot him if he is close enough to reach you.

Rob- Saying I’ll kill you is a lethal threat.

Tony- Yes, it can be if the person that said it has the ability and opportunity. In this case the attacker physically attacked the employee in the parking lot, again in the store and upon seeing the employee was armed said he was going to kill him and attempted to disarm the defender. Yes, the bad guy announced he was going to kill the employee and then attempted to kill the employee. That’s definitely a deadly threat.

Rob- Is there anything else you notice about this story?

Tony- I suspect there was surveillance video, but the news report doesn’t mention it. If there wasn’t, then there should be video of the store.

One other thing is when to draw your gun. You had a crazy man chasing you. You can draw your gun before you intend to shoot. That is usually a deterrent that will stop most attackers.. Unless your attacker is a crazy man or a veteran criminal. Many criminals have been confronted with firearms during their crimes, some have been shot, everyone isn’t going to stop attacking due to you pointing a gun at them.

You aren’t required to try and negotiate with someone attacking you. Shoot them before they get close enough to rip your gun from your hands. The bad guy could hit you with a lucky punch or stab you. Both of these can cause death or serious bodily harm.

Rob- There is no perfect defense.

Tony- The bad guy is part of the equation.
Rob- Where are we headed for our last story?

Tony- Our fourth story took place in Houston, Texas.

Rob- Fourth story- Are you armed at work?

You are a sales clerk working behind the counter. You are helping a customer when you see a stranger move behind the display cases. He walks up to the cash register, opens the cash drawer, and takes some money. You shout for him to get out of there. The stranger turns toward you and draws a knife.

You’re armed. You have your carry permit. You present your firearm and shoot your attacker two times. Your attacker drops his knife and runs outside. You stop shooting. You shout to your co-workers and call 911.

Police find your attacker outside. EMS takes him to the hospital. The police were already on the way since your attacker stole a pair of pants from the clothing store next door. You give the police a brief statement. They interview witnesses. The police find the knife inside the store.

The news article doesn’t mention it, but there was probably a security video too because you are working in a gun shop.

Your attacker is declared dead at the scene.

Tony- The employees in a gun store are armed. The store clerk recognized that a knife is a lethal threat. He defended himself until the threat stopped. He stayed inside and called 911.

Rob- Tell me about an attacker with a knife.

Tony- This is a problem of time and distance.

You have to shoot your attacker hard enough and early enough that he can’t reach you and kill you. That takes time because your shots won’t stop him instantly. You do not want to shoot him so late that he reaches you and stabs you.

You lose a tie. We’d normally tell our students to back away from their attacker, but this clerk was trapped behind the checkout counter and couldn’t back away.

Rob- You could lose a tie even if your attacker didn’t have a knife. When do your students learn that their firearms are not magic that stops attackers instantly?

Tony- We explain the basics of wound ballistics to our students in the first armed Self-Defense class. Pistols aren’t great for instantly stopping an attacker. That’s why we teach people to fire quickly and accurately in 3 to 5 round strings of fire before stopping to access the situation.

Rob- When do your students learn to draw their firearm as they are moving or backing up?

Tony- We attempt moving & shooting as a concept in the initial class. They see how difficult it can be. That becomes their homework until the next class in which we instruct them how to move with a firearm.

Rob- Someone threatens you with a knife. He is close enough that he can stab you before you draw and present your firearm, aim, and fire. Should we move so that we have a display case between us and the attacker before we draw? And with the small guns we have now, how many times can I shoot at the bad guy?

Tony- I feel it’s important to have a many rounds in a firearm as possible. If you have multiple attackers and a limited capacity firearm 3to 5 rounds fired at each attacker leaves you with an empty gun if you have 5 or 6 rounds in your revolver or micro carry pistol. 12 to 15 rounds in a compact handgun is easier to fire accurately and quickly at multiple attackers.

Exit-

Rob- That wraps up this episode. Tony, thank you for helping us again. Where can we learn more about you?

Tony- Find me at Diversityshoot.com I’m also on Instagram and facebook at Simon Says Train

and at The 2nd is For Everyone podcast.

Rob- Look at Tony podcasts and at his classes. Then, please leave Tony a message on the podcast episode webpage.

Tony- We share this podcast with you for free.
Please share the podcast with a friend and give us a rating on I-Tunes and Stitcher.
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Rob- This show is part of the Self-defense radio network. Find more pro-freedom podcasts at sdrn.us

I’m Rob Morse. We’ll be back in a few weeks with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.

~_~_

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