Episode 49 with Tony Simon

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Introduction- Rob- Welcome to episode 49 of Self-Defense Gun Stories.  This show is for people who think they might want a gun for self-defense, and those who already have one.  I’m Rob Morse and we’re joined this week by self-defense instructor Tony Simon.

Tony – Hi, Rob.  Hi to our new listeners, and welcome back to our regular listeners. We report and analyze three examples of armed civilian defense each week.  I hope we inspire you to defend the people you care about.  If you have questions or want to hear more, then please leave us a message on our facebook page.

Our first story took place this month in Pennsylvania.

First story-  Are you armed when you go out to pick-up Chinese food?  A 31 year old man walked across the street to pick up his order for Chinese food.  That done, he tried to return to his Philadelphia home.  A teenager punched the man in the face as he lef the restaurant.  The victim takes the punch, drops his food, and runs across the street trying to avoid a fight.  The robber pursues the victim and catches him across the street.  That is where the victim drew his firearm and shot the robber one time.

The victim stayed at the scene and spoke to police.  He had a license to carry.  The restaurant owner said that two people a week are mugged outside his store.

Tony – Be aware of what is happening in your neighborhood. Robberies by groups of young people have been happening in this area at the rate of  twice a week, according to a witness. If you know this type of crime is happening and you have a description of the suspects then be aware of people that fit the description.

Rob- The victim tried to run.  There wasn’t any question about who started this fight.

Tony -The victim did some things correctly. He dropped what he assumed the attacker wanted and tried to disengage from the confrontation. It seems that he was trying to avoid turning this strong armed robbery into a shooting. He placed rounds on target, making the bad guy stop and he waited for the police to arrive and gave a statement.

Rob- the victim stopped shooting.

Tony- It is hard to think in the moment if you haven’t thought about it ahead of time.

Rob- Could the victim have avoided the assault?

Tony – Our second story took place in Ohio.

Second Story-  Are you armed at home in the evening?  A Cleveland homeowner went out to his car  late friday night.  As he was returning from his driveway and attempting to go back inside when a stranger approached the homeowner.  The robber already had his gun drawn and told the homeowner to go back inside.  That is when another man inside the home saw the victim with his arms raised above his head.  The second homeowner recognized a robbery in progress.  He drew his firearm, and shot the robber. The robber ran.  The victims called police.

Tony – The homeowner got surprised by an armed suspect and complied with his demands. Lucky for him there was someone in the home that recognized what was happening and took action. This criminal had multiple weapons on him and was prepared to use them. Who knows what would have happened inside the home once the bad guy got them behind closed doors. Always let someone know when you are leaving the home, even to run outside really quickly. Not only because of situations like this but other mishaps can happen and without someone in the home knowing anything has happened to you. This could make a bad situation become worse.

For example, it’s cold up here in the Northeast and there are patches of black ice in people’s driveways and it gets dark early. A husband runs out to get something from the car and his wife, whose in another room assumes he’s inside the home. The husband falls and hits his head, is rendered unconscious and lays outside in freezing temperatures until he is discovered a couple of hours later. He could suffer from Hypothermia or Frostbite. This happened to my own father during the winter of 2014. Luckily he was discovered relatively quickly by a passerby and rushed to the hospital.

Rob-  The armed victim had to shoot at night at a moving assailant, with his friend near the target.  Not an easy shot.

Tony – The armed victim had to fire at night with a friend in close proximity to the bad guy. I tell my students that they most likely won’t get into a gunfight on a sunny day with a target that isn’t moving and has no one around him or her. You have to practice things like precision shot placement, shooting in low light and hitting moving targets. That is why we teach these skills and have force on force classes as part of our curriculum.

Tony- Our third story also took place in Ohio.

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Third story- Are you armed when you’re at home late at night?  A man answered his back door late at night in Columbus, Ohio.  Two men said their car broke down and they needed to use a phone to summon help.  The homeowner stepped outside and was hit with a gun when he tried to return back inside his own home.  The robbers demanded money.  They robbers demanded to search the back of the home.  That is where two children were sleeping.  Instead of opening the back room, the female homeowner grabbed a gun and shot the robbers.  They ran, and the victims called police.  Both robbers sought medical attention and were arrested by police.

Tony-  Don’t open the door to strangers late at night.

Rob- What should the homeowner have done if someone asked for help?

Tony- If they have car problems and you want to help then you can make the call for them. There is no reason to open your door and give them your phone.

Rob- You don’t need a permit to carry at home.

Tony- They both could have been armed and not opened the front door. That would have kept bad men outside their home.

Tony- In the online video of this story the family is upset about this robbery and want to move somewhere safer, where they won’t have to depend on their gun for their safety. No matter where you go you are responsible for your safety and security. You are your own first responder.

Exit-  Rob- That wraps up this episode. Tony, thank you for helping me today.  Where can our listeners learn more about you?

Tony-  I teach firearms safety and armed-self defense courses in New Jersey.  Our listeners can contact me on Facebook at Simon Says Train or at The Second is for Everyone and SimonSaysTrain on Instagram.  We have a class scheduled for March 4th in Pine Brook, New Jersey.  Sign up on our web page, BlackBagResources.com

Rob- Our listeners can share their thoughts with us by leaving a message on the podcast facebook page.  

Tony- We offer you this podcast for free.  We ask you to share them with a friend, and to give us a rating on I-Tunes.

I’m Rob Morse.  Please join us next week for more Self-Defense Gun Stories.