Man Shoots 16-Year-Old Mugger

[come-and-take-it-FL]

Police say he did the right thing... score one for the good guys!

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Published : Thursday, 11 Jun 2009, 6:22 PM EDT (Updated: Thursday, 11 Jun 2009, 7:29 PM EDT)
Ray Collins

Sarasota - Sarasota police say a teenage gunman tried to rob a man Thursday morning, but the victim turned the tables on his attacker. The attempted robbery happened early this morning in the 3800 block of Rilma Avenue, and now the suspect is the one who is nursing a gunshot wound.

Elliott Firby was driving home from his overnight job at the post office when he saw a pick up truck get behind him. When Firby began to unlock his front gate, the truck stopped at his house.

"A guy jumps out of the passenger side with a pump shotgun, tells me to 'give it up sir, give it up sir'. I immediately reached for my weapon in my pocket and did what I had to do to keep from being killed," Firby said.

Firby pulled out a handgun and shot the armed mugger in the stomach. The would-be mugger hobbled back in the truck and drove off, and Firby called 911. Police later found the 16-year-old suspect in the hospital emergency room. They say Firby did the right thing.

Firby just got the gun last year after someone shot him with a paintball while riding his bike. He says he never expected to use it, but is glad he had it early Thursday morning.

He hopes to get the gun back from police soon. "My pillow don't feel right," he said.

The young suspect will be charged with a felony once he's released from the hospital. He's identified as 16-year-old Brandon Ellis. Police are still looking for an accomplice in the truck.

 

[gdcleanfun]

Teacher's comment...

I hope the kid learned his lesson! :biggrin:

 

[HK4U]

Sounds like he did everthing right except sleeping with the gun under his pillow. That may not be the best idea.

 

[Glock Fan]

Sounds like he did everthing right except sleeping with the gun under his pillow. That may not be the best idea.

Maybe he's referring to not being able to sleep comfortably knowing that his gun is within arms reach while he sleeps. :biggrin:


gf

 

[Scarecrow]

good for him.. and a good reason to have multiple pistols. in case you have to use one then give it up to the police for a while.. then you still have more in case you need them.

 

[KimberPB]

Good for him!! Gotta love Florida. I think our permit wait time is up to 100 - 110 days now and last I checked over 600,000 active permits. Bad guys be warned!

 

[Greg Scott]

Actually, he did at least one thing wrong: He used too small a gun. On the other hand a larger gun may not have fit in his pocket and this was an ideal time for a pocket pistol. I'd sure want to totally stop an assailant with a shotgun, though.

 

[MADnMO]

good for him.. and a good reason to have multiple pistols. in case you have to use one then give it up to the police for a while.. then you still have more in case you need them.

Damn, I guess I better go get another gun. I hate it when that happens.

 

[Onlinedad]

My training was always to put two shots in the thoratic region, asses the situation, and if the threat is still immanent you put one in the ocular crainial... Just to be sure

 

[festus]

Sounds like military training

My training was always to put two shots in the thoratic region, asses the situation, and if the threat is still immanent you put one in the ocular crainial... Just to be sure

I rember that from the good old days of USAF M-9 Training

 

[Piece Corps]

Actually, he did at least one thing wrong: He used too small a gun. On the other hand a larger gun may not have fit in his pocket and this was an ideal time for a pocket pistol. I'd sure want to totally stop an assailant with a shotgun, though.

He did another thing wrong - he didn't shoot the kid enough times. Unless my gun jams, anyone I point my gun at will receive at least 4 rounds. And if he's still wiggling around after that, I have 9 more, and at least one extra mag.

 

[MNSteve]

He did another thing wrong - he didn't shoot the kid enough times. Unless my gun jams, anyone I point my gun at will receive at least 4 rounds. And if he's still wiggling around after that, I have 9 more, and at least one extra mag.

But the Pharmacist that did that is up on murder charges. Oh, that's right he stopped by and shot a few more times :biggrin:

 

[Piece Corps]

From what I gleaned from the report, the kid was shot once. I don't advocate shooting him once, and then getting out of the car, chasing him down and executing him. But while the kid was holding a gun on ME, I would have fired several times to make sure he wasn't capable of shooting back.

I have an XD-40 with 13 rounds, and I could have put at least 4 of them into the kid before he could exhale. And after that, I don't think he would be able to retreat, or breathe, anymore.

 

[Jay]

...shoot until the attack stops, period. Doesn't matter if it's one round, or the entire cylinder/magazine.

... just my two cents

 

[armyman_83]

He did another thing wrong - he didn't shoot the kid enough times. Unless my gun jams, anyone I point my gun at will receive at least 4 rounds. And if he's still wiggling around after that, I have 9 more, and at least one extra mag.

Amen to that. I totally agree.

 

[Piece Corps]

To qualify any statements I may have made in this matter -

The idea is to stop/remove the threat. I would fire at least 3-4 rounds simply because it would only take me around 1.5 seconds to do so. I don't think that one round will ALWAYS stop a perp, and this kid is proof. He retreated from the vehicle, but he could have turned around and opened fire.

I don't believe in executions, and as always, we do NOT shoot to kill. We shoot to stop the threat. We shoot when we are in fear for our lives. When someone points a gun at me, it instantly becomes me or him. And if I have my way, it ain't gonna be me.

 

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Piece Corps
He did another thing wrong - he didn't shoot the kid enough times. Unless my gun jams, anyone I point my gun at will receive at least 4 rounds. And if he's still wiggling around after that, I have 9 more, and at least one extra mag.

...and if the threat is negated after the second round, and your actions are witnessed, you'll go to jail. Your call.... and congratulations on being able to know ahead of time just how many rounds you're gonna use.

 

[Red Hat]

I always taught students to double tap if you fire. Now it's recommended to triple tap. So three or more rounds will give you an advantage to insure that the threat has been stopped. If someone points a gun at me no matter the age, I'm going to make sure they don't have a chance to pull the trigger.

 

[HK4U]

I think it is Gabe Saurez, someone correct me if I am wrong, that teaches "shoot em to the ground". If that takes 2 rounds or 12 so be it. If I have to pull the trigger it is not my intent to kill but rather to keep from being killed.

 

[Piece Corps]

If someone is standing at my truck window, pointing a gun in my face, I will fire at the threat until it is no longer in my window. I say "4 shots" because I have practiced 3 and 4-shot "taps" with my XD-40, and I can truthfully say that at less than 3 feet, I can put 4 rounds into a target in 1.5 seconds. I have 12+1 in the gun, so that still leaves me with 9 rounds if the threat is still standing there, which would be hard to imagine after taking 4 .40cal JHPs in the chest.

And I think the only witnesses close enough to state how many shots I fired would be "friends" of the perp, and I doubt they would be very credible witnesses.