Episode 308 with Amanda Suffecool

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Introduction-

Rob- Welcome to episode 308 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 Amanda Suffecool. What has been keeping you so busy?

Amanda- Hi, Rob. I’ve been building houses and doing my radio and TV shows. I taught at an ambassadors academy where I talked about presenting ideas to the media. I also spoke at the Florida Freedom Fest, and testified for permitless carry at the Florida capitol in Tallahassee.

How about you?

Rob- I’m not nearly that exciting. I wrote and dry practiced. Oh, also I was on two radio programs on Sunday and another one on Monday. Those are Tom Gresham’s gun talk, Charles Heller’s America Armed and Free, and Bill Frady’s Lock N Load radio.

(is 337,185) We received a new rating and comment on iTunes. D Duke left us a five star rating and said the podcast gets him thinking about confrontations that could happen. He said you must listen to the podcast if you concealed carry.

Amanda- Thank you, D Duke.

Jim gave us a message on our Facebook page. He said that these DGU stories help him be mentally ready for an attack. The guest instructors provide clear legal guidance when possible, but they recognize that all states and situations are different. I recommend this podcast for anyone concerned about self defense.

Rob- Thank you, Jim.

Dave sent in an older story that was news to me. We used it this week.

I’m trying to travel more now that I’m retired. That means we are looking for volunteers to help produce this podcast. Please send us a message.

Amanda- Go to the iTunes store where you subscribe to new podcasts and tell new gun owners why you listen.

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 just north of Seattle, Washington.

Rob- First story- Are you armed at work?

You are working behind the counter of your smoke shop. It is 4 on a Monday afternoon when a customer comes into your shop. You recognize most of your regular customers, but this one is new. You ask how you can help him and he pulls a gun from his belt and points it at you. You’re being robbed.

What happened next isn’t clear from the news reports.

Your robber shoots at you. You present your concealed firearm and shoot back. You keep shooting until your robber runs out of the store. You don’t chase him. You fall to the floor and put pressure on your wounds. Bystanders come into your shop and put tourniquets on your legs to stop the bleeding. EMS takes you to the hospital. You give the police a statement from your hospital room.

Your attacker died outside your store. You are listed in serious, but stable condition. You are not charged with a crime.

Amanda- Our defender recognized that he and his brother who own the shop were at risk because they run a small retail shop that makes cash sales. He decided to defend himself and he bought a gun. He defended himself even though he was injured. He also stopped shooting when the attacker ran away. I suspect he called for help so that other people could treat his injuries. He gave a statement to the police.

Rob- Are there any other things you want your students to do that were not mentioned by the news reporters?

Amanda- There is so much we don’t know in this story. What happened after the criminal announced the robbery? Usually we don’t want to take our firearm out of its holster when the robber is looking at us and has his gun pointed at us.

Best practice is to give them the money and fill their hands with stuff before you fill yours with your gun. Also, where are videos from the security cameras? You should have cameras.

Rob- When do your students learn to defend themselves at work?

Amanda- there are things you are taught in classes that you can take back to your workplace, but very few instructors focus directly on workplace issues. I advise you to gather small snippets of info and carry it back to implement piece at a time.

Rob- That is a first introduction. How would your students get to practice what they learned?

Amanda- Listen to programs like these. Read about crime in your area. Dry practice at home. Shoot at the range, and go to a competition when you can. Sports like IDPA will have you moving to cover before you present your gun and shoot. AND LOOK at your workplace with fresh eyes for opportunities to defend, cover, concealment and for other security tools.

Rob- What else comes to mind?

Amanda- That does it for this story. Our second story happened in Hemet, California.

Rob- Second Story- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?

You and your husband are at home on a weekday night. It is about midnight when you hear someone break through your back door. Both you and your husband grab your guns. You leave your bedroom and walk into the center of your home. You see an intruder in your bathroom. Your husband goes into the bathroom and the two men fight. You hear them hitting each other as they lurch from wall to wall. Your husband shoots his 22 and hits the intruder three times in the chest. The intruder runs out of the bathroom and hits you in the face. You shoot him in the shoulder with your 357. Now the intruder turns and runs out the back door the way he came. You and your husband stop shooting. You call 911 and ask for help. You and your husband are in your 70s.

Emergency medical services treat you and your husband. They take your husband to the hospital to make sure his ribs are not broken. About an hour and a half later, your attacker goes to a hospital for treatment of his gunshot wounds.

The staff treat your attacker for his non-life threatening wounds and then the police arrest him. He is charged with home invasion robbery, burglary, elder abuse and assault. He has a long history of criminal arrests and convictions, but is out on parole after a burglary conviction.

Amanda- This couple was in their 70s and they both were armed at night. I like that. They worked as a team. They defended themselves even though they were physically attacked.

I also like that the couple didn’t chase the bad guy across the lawn and shoot at him. They stopped shooting when the threat stopped. They stayed at the scene and called for help. They gave a statement to the police.

It seems strange that he was shot four times in the torso and they said that the wounds were not life threatening.

Rob- What else would you like us to do?

Amanda- I want everyone to have a plan so they do a better job at midnight. We want to walk through that plan enough times that our hands and feet know what to do even if our brain is fuzzy with sleep.

Grab your gun – preferably a gun larger than a .22. . Lock your bedroom door. Turn on the lights and get behind the bed, or behind some cover. Then call the police.

This robber broke in and headed to the bathroom to look for drugs in the medicine cabinet. It is easier and cheaper to replace the drugs than to get punched and maybe have a gunfight.

Rob- When do you tell your students about that?

Amanda- I start with this is a gun class where I want you to run away. The fight you don’t have to engage in – is a fight you are sure to win.

I repeat and expand on that in the class…

Rob- How would I find classes like that since I don’t live in North-East Ohio near you?

Amanda- There are classes all over the country. Nra uscca As a matter of fact, in the past year I have taken training in Florida, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Rob- Where are we going for our third story?

Amanda- Our third story happened in Chicago, Illinois.

Rob- First this message from the Crime Prevention Research Center.

https://crimeresearch.org

Rob- Third story- Do you have a firearm nearby early in the morning?

And here.

You hear something outside. It is 3:40 in the morning when you go look at what is happening to your car. You see two men under your car. You go outside and one of the robbers points a gun at you. You are armed and you shoot at them. They run to their car and you hear them drive away. You also hear them hit another car. You call 911 and ask for help.

You put your gun away and talk to the police. You show them your driver’s license and your Illinois carry permit. You’re 70 years old and the number of catalytic converter thefts in the area has increased three fold. The thieves cut your exhaust pipe but didn’t take your catalytic converter. Now you have to go to a muffler shop to get your car repaired.

You are not charged.

Amanda- How old are you? Did you turn this into the self-defense show for 70 year olds? I didn’t sign up for that.

Rob- I’m in my 60s. I don’t make the news, I only report it. What do you think is happening in these stories?

Amanda- Criminals attack older people because they are easier victims. Except this guy was armed. He recognized that he lived in a dangerous area where criminals would target him and his home. He got his carry permit. He got his gun. He investigated a noise at night. He lived in a nice neighborhood, but criminals go where we are because they want to rob us and take our things.

Our defender tried verbal commands, like get away from my car. He recognized a lethal threat when the thieves pointed a gun at him. He stopped shooting when they ran away. He stayed at the scene and called the police.

Rob- Are there other things you want us to do when we hear a noise in the middle of the night?

Amanda- Follow your plan so you don’t do something stupid and get shot or killed. Call the police. Get your gun. Turn on the lights, including outside lights. If you have to go outside, then bring lots of armed friends to investigate that problem with you. Don’t stand in the middle of the driveway so you are an easy target.

I noticed that there is an election to replace the mayor of Chicago and the newspapers didn’t cover this story. It doesn’t look good for the mayor when thieves are invading the nice neighborhoods – and the election results prove that We The People have had enough crime in our cities – in Chicago anyway, and they are going to have a new mayor.

Rob- Is there anything else you want to tell us about this story?

Amanda- You probably want to have security cameras for your garage and your driveway. Since you can afford a Prius, you can afford security cameras to protect it.

Rob- Our good guy shot and missed. Talk to me about older people shooting at night?

Amanda- They make red-dot sights for a reason. They let us shoot without having to wear our reading glasses. That really helps at night and in low light situations. Go to a gun range and ask if you can try shooting one of their guns that has red-dot sights.

AND again, he used his gun to defend his car. He has insurance for that. If you pull your gun for the principal of things, you could be guilty of a homicide crime in some states. Best thing – as much as it chaps my behind – is to stay in the house and call the police.

Rob- I want to be sure I understand you. You said he had a right to defend himself when the thieves pointed a gun at him, but it is a better plan to call the cops so we don’t get shot over a car exhaust system.

Amanda- That is about it. You have the right to walk out on your driveway and get shot. It is a bad plan.

Rob- Where are we going for our last story?

Amanda- Our fourth story took place outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Rob- Fourth story- Are you armed in the morning at home?

It is 6 in the morning on a Saturday when you hear several women screaming outside your apartment. You step outside and see a man stabbing the woman who lives next door. There is already a woman on the ground bleeding. You shout for the man to stop. Another injured woman is shouting from the parking lot.

You are armed and you present your firearm. You shoot the attacker until he drops the knife and stops the attack. You stop shooting. One of the stabbing victims already called the police. You put your gun away and stay at the scene. You try to help the victims.

Police sort out the scene. The victims who can stand say you helped them. All of the stabbing victims are taken to the hospital along with their attacker.

You give a statement to the police. They want to see your identification. You are not charged with a crime. The detective said he is glad you acted to stop the attacks.

Later, you find out that one of the victims died at the hospital, but the other two are going to be alright. Your attacker died of his gunshot wounds.

Amanda- This guy saved lives. He was armed and he moved toward the sound of the attack and stopped it. He recognized an immediate, lethal and unavoidable threat to innocent victims. He used lethal force to end the attacks, and then he stopped shooting. He helped the victims, and gave a statement to the police when they arrived.

Rob- What else do you tell your students to do?

Amanda- There is more we can do. I want you to have your carry permit so that the police know you have a clean criminal record. I want you to recognize when you can and when you can’t use lethal force so that you don’t hesitate. I want you to call 911 so that you are listed as the complainant rather than the perpetrator.

Also, we are lifesavers first and firearms are one of the tools we use. When you’ve stopped the threat, I want you to have first aid training and supplies so you can save more lives.

Rob- When do you talk to your students about saving lives that way?

Amanda- Classes want to get into discussions of scenarios – I decline and send them to this podcast. But – what i do tell them is they have a split second to determine who is the victim, who is the aggressor and what action you are going to take. Jurys have months to tear apart your actions. ALSO first aid supplies are critical for us all.

Rob- I went through my medical kit yesterday. I forgot that I had gloves and a pair of shears in there.

Amanda- That is a good start. Maybe you can take a refresher class on first aid.

Rob- Is there anything else you want to talk about before we close the show?

Amanda- Keep training folks. Keep training – these are perishable tools.

Exit-

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

Amanda- My eye on the target radio show is syndicated coast to coast on Sunday nights from 5 to 7 eastern time. I instruct on the weekends in Northeastern Ohio. I’m part of the DCProject that you can find at DCProject.info, and I’m on TV at the OpsLens channel with both Eye on the Target on Sundays and Women for Gun Rights on Fridays at 7 pm eastern.

Rob- After you listen to Amanda podcasts and watch her TV shows, then please leave her a message on our podcast episode webpage.

Amanda- 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.
We’re also available on
Amazon, Google Podcasts, Tunein, Spotify, Podbean and iHeart Radio.

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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Apple categories- news commentary, self-improvement