Guns Do Get Taken Away And Used Against Them

From Oct. 5, 2015 Fox News DC:

WASHINGTON - A weekend triple shooting in Northeast D.C. appears to be a case of self-defense from a robbery.

Four people were walking in the 700 block of H Street around 1 a.m. Saturday when a man identified as Jerome Wright held them up at gunpoint. But according to a source close to the investigation, one of the victims fought back.

In the struggle, two of the robbery victims were shot. One of them, after being hit in the chest, managed to wrestle the gun from Wright and fatally shot him.

Police did not identify the robbery victims, but said they are expected to survive.

“It’s a justifiable homicide, but the issue is it could have been very tragic the other way,” said Sgt. Delroy Burton of the D.C. Police Union.

FOX 5 has learned that Wright was a career criminal. He just spent five years in jail on felony robbery and other charges. He got out of a halfway house in June. By September, he was back out selling drugs on H Street.

Washington, D.C.

From the Washington Post of January 27, 2006

Teen Bystander Wounded in D.C. Shootout

A 16-year-old bus passenger was wounded in the arm after a gun battle broke out between a liquor store owner and three robbers yesterday afternoon on a busy commuter route in Northeast Washington, D.C. police said.

The shootout took place about 1 p.m. after three masked robbers entered Rhode Island Liquors in the 1800 block of Hamlin Street NE, police said. Two of the men appeared to have guns, police said.

The men stole cash and ran out of the store while the shop's owner retrieved his own handgun, police said. As the robbers fled, the store owner opened fire, police said. They said the robbers apparently fired back.

One of the bullets pierced a Metrobus that was nearby on Rhode Island Avenue and hit the teenage passenger in the arm, police said. The youth was taken to a hospital where he was being treated last night. Authorities said his injuries were not life-threatening. No one else was wounded.

D.C. Police Cmdr. Jennifer Greene said that investigators were trying to find the robbers, who fled in a red Nissan Pathfinder. Detectives also were questioning the store owner last night. Authorities did not release the owner's name. No one answered the phone at the store last night.

Crime laboratory technicians were trying to determine which gun fired the bullet that wounded the teenager, and investigators were not sure last night how many shots were fired.

Greene said that investigators were also looking into whether the store owner possessed the handgun legally. District law prohibits ownership of handguns except for those who had the weapons before the restriction went into effect in the 1970s.

Washington, D.C.



From Washington's WTOPnews.com of March 3, 2004:

Police (sic) Shoot Would-be Robber of Armored Car



Investigators are swarming over a D.C. bank where authorities say a would-be armored car robber was shot.



It happened outside the Chevy Chase Bank on 15th Street, near "I" Street Wednesday afternoon.



A Dunbar Armored Car was parked in front of the bank, and one of the guards was delivering cash, says Commander Tom McGuire of D.C. Police.



The guard was confronted by a shotgun-toting suspect in a hallway outside the main part of the bank. But the guard turned the tables and shot the man in the leg.



A scuffle followed, spilling out onto the sidewalk.



The suspect was taken to George Washington University Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds. Police and the FBI are talking to witnesses.

Of course, armored car guards aren't police. They are civilians protecting a corporation's property. It is a shame that if you live in Washington, and want to protect something far less valuable--like your life--you can't get permission to carry a gun.