https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/08/06/las-vegas-smoke-shop-owner-fights-back-stabs-robber/
(photos courtesy of Fox5 Vegas)
Over the past couple years or so; we’ve seen an elevated amount of robberies not only of individuals, their homes but at places of business as well. There are many factors that contribute to this; whether it be teenage arrogance, faulty upbringing, desperation in the uncertain economy, etc. In this article we will go over just a couple points of staying safe in an event that threatens the workplace in a unarmed robbery.
We will use the latest incident of when 3 teenagers attempt to rob this smoke shop here in Las Vegas, NV. We will even go over some points of what to do and what not to do based on this particular incident. Keep in mind that although we rarely offer opinions in such cases; we will absolutely say that this intervention by the shop owner was justified up until the point where he continuously stabbed the criminal – that’s where he may have crossed the line and got very lucky that he hasn’t gotten charges pressed against him….so far.
- No weapons presented: Tell them no and and to leave. This is what the shop owner did as he gave them a chance to reconsider their actions. Sometimes this actually works; especially when giving the criminals options and deals such as “take the cash but leave me the coins, I need them”. Not only are you showing that you’re a real person but offering deals adds sensibility to the whole encounter.
- Avoid a physical confrontation: If you’re behind the counter; stay behind the counter. This is what the shop owner did as he did not provoke a physical altercation. The last thing you want to do is be the aggressor.
- Don’t brandish a weapon: This one is considered a dicey subject as it can do either/or. Either it can be a deterrent in which it will convince the criminals to leave or can escalate to where the criminals can deploy their own weapon. In this case – a medium range weapon is the only solution as a visual deterrent. The last thing you’d want to do is show a knife and have the criminals deploy a firearm. Such was the case of this particular incident. The Shop owner absolutely did the right thing by not letting the criminals see the knife before hand. Although we are fans of the 2nd Amendment; we still also know the value of non-lethal defense items such as a stream or gel version of O.C Spray which reaches further than most traditional pepper spray cans.
- If a criminal jumps over the counter: Be VERY SURE of the reason why this person is jumping over the counter. If they are jumping toward you then it is absolutely justified in you making the first move to prevent yourself from being attacked/injured/killed. This is NV law that states you do not have to retreat or wait to be attacked. However; attacking them with a weapon if they’re not even facing you could be construed as you inflicting deadly force in a non-justified situation. A weapon should only come out if you’re unable to subdue an attacker due to size, strength, if they’re using a weapon, etc. Defending your business is perfectly fine even when using physical force, however; using a weapon right off the bat is not recommended due to reasons stated above.