"Where I come from, it's kill or be killed"

Permit Holders Stop Crimes

by Robert A. Waters

“In all honesty, if he didn’t die this way, he would have ended up dying.  He would have ended up killing himself on drugs.”  These heartbreaking words were spoken by the sister of William Smith, 29.  Smith had attempted to rob the Prime Food Store in Orange Park, Florida when he was shot by a clerk.  Cops said the robber staggered outside and died in the parking lot, his hand next to a pistol he’d been carrying.  The family member’s reaction uncovers a lifetime of pain and dashed hopes that their loved one might someday kick his addiction and go straight.  The clerk, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was not charged.

Sixty-three-year-old Bennie Sideboard grew up on the dangerous streets of New Orleans.  He joined the navy, became a merchant marine, and later moved back to his hometown.  One evening, as he and a friend got out of his car to enter his home, two armed teenagers attempted to rob them.  Sideboard, a permit holder, shoved the assailant’s gun away, then drew his own firearm and opened fire.  A few minutes later, Andrew Spikes turned up at a New Orleans hospital with a bullet in his belly.  Spikes and his accomplice were arrested and the shooting was ruled self-defense.  “It happened so fast,” Sideboard said, “but I’m used to bad stuff going down.  Where I’m from, it’s kill or be killed.”

Andres Herrera died in a blaze of gunfire while attempting to rob customers at a San Antonio, Texas Popeyes Restaurant.  KOAT News reported that “Herrera, 19, approached Carlos Molina, 32, who was eating with his family.  Herrera demanded money, but Molina said he didn't have any because he spent it on dinner…Molina asked if Herrera would let his family go, and the gunman agreed.  Molina's wife and two of his children left the restaurant, but two more of his children were still in the bathroom.  Herrera spotted the remaining children walking out of the bathroom and pointed his gun in their direction.”  At that point, Molina drew his firearm and killed the robber.  Police found items stolen from a pawn shop in Herrera’s motel room, and identified him as the suspect who had recently robbed a Dollar General store.  Molina was not charged with any crime.