Good News Story From H-Town

[Bill]

Bar customer shoots, kills 2 in attempted robbery

October 4, 2014
HOUSTON (AP) — Harris County sheriff's deputies say a customer at a bar has fatally shot two of four armed men who came into the place and announced a holdup.

Homicide Sgt. Robert Spurgeon says patrons were ordered to get to the floor early Saturday but one of them pulled out of gun of his own and started shooting.

Two of the would-be robbers were found dead in the parking lot. Two others fled.

Spurgeon says the gun-toting customer also left the scene and authorities are trying to find out who he is and why he left.
Deputies believe the robbers may be responsible for a number of other recent holdups in the area.

Bar customer shoots, kills 2 in attempted robbery - Houston Chronicle

The bolded is the only bad news. The patron who shot the robbers clearly was justified. HCSO should just drop the matter. What good is it going to do to locate the shooter? He did good, possibly saving lives. Hopefully, that's just lip service and they aren't really going to look for him. I mean, they didn't bother to look for the thieves who tried to steal our tractors from a federally protected gasoline storage terminal years ago. Nope, no investigation there, no fingerprints taken, no attempt to find the thieves. Yet they say they want to find the guy who actually stopped a crime.

[Bill]

Bar owner calls customer a hero for fatally shooting 2 robbers

Michelle Iracheta, Houston Chronicle | October 4, 2014 | Updated: October 5, 2014 11:21am

Two men were fatally shot by a customer after they attempted to rob a north Harris County bar early Saturday — the latest in a flurry of shootings in Houston this week.

Jenny O'Donnell, owner of EJ's Place, said four armed men came to her bar in the 16400 block of Kuykendall at Colwell, around 2:30 a.m.

O'Donnell, who was not there at the time of the incident, said a head bartender and waitress were closing up for the night when two men walked into the bar and demanded everyone get down on the floor. Two other men "lingered at the bar door," she said.

That's when a customer at the bar pulled his own gun and started shooting at the men, she said. The attempted robbers fired at least three rounds inside the bar, said O'Donnell.

"That man was a hero," said O'Donnell. "We could have had some bodies."

The men then turned around and ran out the door, O'Donnell said. One of the men died right outside the front door, while the other man died at the end of the bar's parking lot, she said.
The other two men and the unidentified customer with the gun fled the scene. Authorities are searching for them.

O'Donnell said the bar had cameras that were functioning at the time of the incident, and she is cooperating with the investigation.

This is at least the fourth serious shooting of the week in Houston. On Friday, a man was fatally shot at a south Houston mobile home park after an unidentified armed man got into a heated argument with another man who was visiting one of the mobile homes, police said.

A homeowner Thursday confronted three men breaking into his home and shot one of them, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, police shot and killed a man after the man got into a physical altercation and shot at police during a traffic stop, an HPD spokesman said.

The cases are unrelated and remain under investigation.

Bar owner calls customer a hero for fatally shooting 2 robbers - Houston Chronicle

[SQUIRMIN VERMIN 84]

I wonder if Texas has laws restricting firearms in bars as we have up here in the
Socialist State of Washington. That might be another but not stated reason they are looking for the armed customer....

He did the right thing! Gun-Free zones are green lights for gun-carrying thugs.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Sounds like the wild west is still as active as ever!

They probably should make side arms mandatory. Sad but true.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by SQUIRMIN VERMIN 84

I wonder if Texas has laws restricting firearms in bars as we have up here in the
Socialist State of Washington. That might be another but not stated reason they are looking for the armed customer....

He did the right thing! Gun-Free zones are green lights for gun-carrying thugs.

From Wiki:

Businesses posting a compliant "51% sign" - It is a felony to carry a firearm while on the premises of a business that makes more than 51% of its revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption (colloquially "bars", "nightclubs", "taverns", "saloons", etc.). A person with a CHL that is in violation has a defense that the establishment did not post the proper signage, as required by the Government Code section 411.204. The proper signage contains similar language as is required of all liquor license holders, but with the addition of a couple of words to prohibit licensed as well as unlicensed carry, and a background containing a red "51%" to make it obvious at a glance that the sign applies to CHL holders.

The shooter fled because he didn't want to become enmeshed in the maw of the justice system....and who can blame him? It's sad when we have to be afraid of doing the right thing. Maybe Texas needs a "Good Samaritin" law that specifically gives a pass to those in this same situation....they used their firearm to protect lives and property, even if it was in a "gun free zone."

[CubSmurf]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

From Wiki:

Businesses posting a compliant "51% sign" - It is a felony to carry a firearm while on the premises of a business that makes more than 51% of its revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption (colloquially "bars", "nightclubs", "taverns", "saloons", etc.). A person with a CHL that is in violation has a defense that the establishment did not post the proper signage, as required by the Government Code section 411.204. The proper signage contains similar language as is required of all liquor license holders, but with the addition of a couple of words to prohibit licensed as well as unlicensed carry, and a background containing a red "51%" to make it obvious at a glance that the sign applies to CHL holders.

The shooter fled because he didn't want to become enmeshed in the maw of the justice system....and who can blame him? It's sad when we have to be afraid of doing the right thing. Maybe Texas needs a "Good Samaritin" law that specifically gives a pass to those in this same situation....they used their firearm to protect lives and property, even if it was in a "gun free zone."

If I recall correctly, Tennessee law WAS this way. It was illegal to carry in 'bars' but if you used it justifiably you wouldn't be charged. However, they changed that law to remove the last part. Morons.

[syf350]

Yep, illegal to carry in bars here. That's why he fled.

[benny42]

He likely isn't a CHL carrier anyway. The 51% rule is drilled into your head in the classes
here and the risk is way too high to break it. In the class i took, the LAST thing you do
in a scenario like that is to draw and fire. Do not risk shooting any innocents.

[OddBall]

Shooter may have been wanted for something himself.

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by OddBall

Shooter may have been wanted for something himself.

The Shooter was committing a felony himself by carrying in a bar. Now that he's fled, this won't end well for him if they ever catch up with him.

[Aerovette]

[LATB]

The shooter is considered a hero by some.

Would a LEO be given the same status under similar circumstances?

[Bill]

Originally Posted by LATB

The shooter is considered a hero by some.

Would a LEO be given the same status under similar circumstances?

A: Yes, and the LEO wouldn't have to worry about pesky issues like being charged with a felony for having that gun in a bar. Whatever the guy does for a living, his actions make him a hero....he saved property and lives.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

A: Yes, and the LEO wouldn't have to worry about pesky issues like being charged with a felony for having that gun in a bar. Whatever the guy does for a living, his actions make him a hero....he saved property and lives.

How about if the 2 dead men were black and the cop was white?

[Bill]

Originally Posted by LATB

How about if the 2 dead men were black and the cop was white?

In this case, as in the case of the woman who was tased while clearly not a threat to anyone, race is unimportant. In fact, both news accounts I read of the aborted robbery failed to mention the races of anyone involved.

All I need to know is:

armed citizen=hero

4 robbers=scum

Now, perhaps the armed citizen turns out to be a POS himself. Let's say he is wanted, beats his wife, whatever. He still did a good thing this time, and shouldn't face punishment for this because he saved property and lives.

[VatorMan]

I doesn't matter if what he did was justified- In today's world, the dead's families will STILL sue you, causing you to hire a lawyer and relive this instance for many, many years. I'd split too.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by LATB

The shooter is considered a hero by some.

Would a LEO be given the same status under similar circumstances?

Since the bar owner gave the sheriff's dept. the video footage, the best possible case would be if the shooter turns out to be an off duty cop. That's the only scenario where the shooter isn't guilty of a felony.

This case highlights why laws banning guns are a bad idea.

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Since the bar owner gave the sheriff's dept. the video footage, the best possible case would be if the shooter turns out to be an off duty cop. That's the only scenario where the shooter isn't guilty of a felony.

This case highlights why laws banning guns are a bad idea.

There's no way a cop would have fled the scene though.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Stangkiller

There's no way a cop would have fled the scene though.

If he had been drinking and/or was legally drunk he might. Why do drunks flee accident scenes? It makes it a lot harder to prove they were DWI the next day when they are sober and show up to face the consequences.



Edit: What are the odds that any bar patron is stone cold sober while at a bar at 2:30am?

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

If he had been drinking and/or was legally drunk he might. Why do drunks flee accident scenes? It makes it a lot harder to prove they were DWI the next day when they are sober and show up to face the consequences.



Edit: What are the odds that any bar patron is stone cold sober while at a bar at 2:30am?

the CHL is a little ambiguous regarding drinking and carrying a handgun. It uses the term intoxicated which is widely accepted as:
(A) not having the normal use of mental or
physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a
controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of
two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the
body; or (One could argue with 2 hits, he was thinking and seeing clear enough)
(B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or
more. (this could be an issue, however he might have a little wiggle room in this, since the actual CHL laws do not define intoxicated)

I think the biggest issue was that he was carrying in a bar or was it a restaurant...was this a legitimate 51% posted type bar?