You’ve heard the reasons not to play with guns from A Christmas Story…”You’ll shoot your eye out, kid…” Now, there’s a reason not to steal from shops where the owners wield shotguns. They’ll shoot your arm off.
On July 31, around two in the morning, four men entered the Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, California. It already looked like trouble because they were wearing facial coverings and had their hoods pulled up. Oh, and one was brandishing a rifle.
Craig Cope, the 80-year-old owner of the store, saw the suspects exit the vehicle with the surveillance cameras. That was all he needed to arm himself with a shotgun.
There’s footage of the exchange. Cope offered a warning to the suspects. The suspect with the rifle continued to aim at Cope. That’s when Cope had no choice but to open fire, hitting the man in the arm.
The wounded suspect quickly fled back to the vehicle, yelling, “He shot my arm off, he shot my arm off.”
This is definitely a case of self-defense. After all, Cope could have either let the man fire his rifle or he could choose to shoot first. He chose the latter. He offered some kind of warning, but the suspect likely assumed that the man was not serious.
Surprise. He was absolutely serious.
The wounded suspect has not been named by officials, though he is in the hospital and in critical condition. The remaining three suspects are in police custody and have been booked for robbery and conspiracy. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department says that the three men, all under the age of 30, are being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Cope suffered a heart attack after dealing with the suspects, though he’s expected to make a full recovery.
The Sheriff’s Department also went on record to say that Cope is a “lawfully armed member” of the community.” Further, his actions “prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects.”
Many criminals throughout California and elsewhere around the U.S. feel as though liberal politicians will protect them. Don’t worry, you won’t go to jail. Don’t worry, the racist cops won’t hurt you…
What they forget is that too many shop owners are tired of the liberal politicians doing nothing to protect businesses. As a result, they’re taking matters into their own hands. Criminals have to realize that they cannot just walk into a business, take what they want, and walk out. Business owners have a right to defend themselves and their property.
There’s a warning to pay attention to in this story. Criminals need to take warnings seriously. Cope tried to play nice. The suspect continued to aim the gun. And he may be one arm down by the time he’s out of the hospital – and all because he thought that crime was acceptable in today’s society.
The Norco area of California isn’t safe, so it’s not surprising that Craig Cope chose to have a shotgun within his store. Neighborhood Scout says that residents have a 1 in 675 chance of being a victim of a violent crime.
And the Democrats want to take away our right to carry? Absolutely not. Before they can even think about taking away guns, they have to create a safer neighborhood for everyone to live and work in.
Cope may be 80, but he’s proven that it was a good thing that he had his shotgun with him. That should be all the deterrent that criminals in the area need now that one nearly had his arm shot off, too.
