Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 29

A 23-year-old family man was recently shot and killed in Phoenix, Arizona after he, his wife and mother (celebrating just purchasing a brand new car) happened to see someone attempting to steal two 30-packs of beer from a local Circle K store and said something to the thief (who is apparently an illegal immigrant gang member; his entire family has now been arrested for allegedly helping the thug run away to Mexico) because the victims knew the workers at the shop and were attempting to assist them.

Let's let the first police officer to arrive at the crime scene (full disclosure:  he is one of our favorite bloggers, and we link to his site from ours) explain why law-abiding citizens should carry everywhere they legally can at all times:

I was the first person on scene after the shooting happened. This leads to my first point.

1. There is only one person you can trust when it comes to the defense of you, or your loved ones.....YOURSELF!
I was less than a half of a mile from the store when the shooting happened. I was also with 4 other officers. I arrived at the shooting scene less than 2 minutes from the time the trigger was pulled. It wouldn't have mattered if I was in the parking lot in this case.

2. Bad things happen in fractions of a second.
I watched the surveillance camera footage of this incident. From the time the dirt bag pulled his gun, until he shot the victim was about 2 and a half seconds. If you can legally carry a gun, do it! Not in your car, not in your house, but on you! There is very few circumstances I can recall where a person has the time to retrieve a gun from another location when its time to defend yourself.

3. Don't think that you can avoid every situation.
The victim was with his mother and wife. I don't believe he would intentionally put them in harms way. The wife actually told the suspect to just take the beer and leave. The suspect then hit her with his gun. After his wife was pistol whipped, he stepped in front of her in order to protect her. He was shot once in the chest.

4. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN.....
Nuff said.

5. Tried by 12, or carried by 6.
I know we have had some great debates on when you can legally defend yourself. I know for a fact the family in this case would want there son alive. PERIOD. Whether he was in a legal jam or not.

I feel strongly about these things. My resolve is even stronger after these types of instances, and this is why. When I arrived on scene, I knew the chances of this man living were extremely remote, no matter what was done. I also knew that the Fire Department would not arrive for at least a couple of minutes. So I performed CPR on this dying man, with his wife and mother screaming and crying next to me, so the family would have some type of hope. I then had to stay with the family and get as much information as I could in order to catch the dirt bag.

Please carry your gun. You may never even unholster your weapon, but have it with you. If you think this type of thing could never happen to you, you're wrong. If you think I'm just being paranoid, think about it this way. The next time you get into your car, don't fasten your seat belt. Why wear a seat belt? You're not planning on getting into an accident, right...? 

Powerful and thought-provoking.  Thanks for sharing your experience and for your service, Officer.  It's very much appreciated.

Please follow this professional law-enforcement officer's sensible and hard-won advice.