It may have been as easy as using the key. New details as Memphis Police investigate nine rifles that were stolen from a Cordova Walmart.
…A Memphis Police spokeswoman says two rifles were stolen on January 27th. On February 11th, seven more rifles worth a total of $6,400 were stolen.
…According to a police report, a manager told officers that the gun case was new and the keys were stuck to the back of the gun case.
Not only was their “Security” only slightly better than nothing, but Walmart is a “Gun Free Zone” in all effects. Yes they have lots of guns, ammo, and magazines there, but per gun-control zealot “Safety”, those items are all stored in separate locked containers.
Every independent gun shop I’ve ever shopped in most of the employees were armed. Not only is this good for security, but its good for business. I was once at the counter and a man was talking with the clerk about buying a 1911, but was concerned about concealing the gun for carry. I simply pulled back my coat and noted that mine concealed just fine. The clerk pulled back his and showed a Glock 21 in the same Galco holster as I was wearing. After a bit more talk about body type and clothing (he was also wearing a button-up shirt like us, and was about our body size) and noting that the big Glock was actually bigger in overall dimensions as the commander 1911, the sale was made. It also helps sell guns when shoppers see people carrying the very gun they’re thinking of buying.
But as for security, the only time I’d shoot a fleeing person in the back who poses no direct threat to me, is one who is attempting to steal a gun. It may be a little grey on the legal side, but my assumption is that a gun that is stolen is very likely to be going into “Criminal Hands”, and those criminals being the type of people who murder people. So while the fleeing suspect is not posing a direct threat at the time, if they escape with the gun the chances of somebody being murdered with that gun are amazingly high.
The same can be said about these shoddily secured guns.
If that Walmart was staffed like the one in our town, they could have walked out with the entire gun case, and no one would have noticed. The two cashiers are too busy with the 15 people in their lines, the three stock people are hidden behind the 8 foot stack of cartons and boxes in their aisles. No one will see or care until they check the video tape.
There is never anyone in the gun kiosk or any other kiosk in the store, and hasn’t been for 3 years. I personally think that Walmart has begun the Kmart death spiral.
Yeah I know people who buy ammo at Walmart, personally I don’t CARE how good the prices are, its not worth all the time it takes to FIND somebody to CALL somebody to come staff the counter, then deal with somebody who knows nothing about guns and ammo and try to explain what ammo you’re buying and which unit you’re planning to pay for, then deal with the 2-3 times they hand you exactly what you DON’T want before you FINALLY get what you would have just picked up from the ammo pile and walked to the register in a local gun shop.
Or what I can simply “add to cart” in an online purchase.
Same goes with movies. I buy DVDs online or at Target because target just keeps the DVDs on a regular rack. All the Walmarts I’ve been to they keep them in a locked case and you need to find a flunkie to get the disk you’re looking right at….and the idiot will grab the one beside it and the lock the case and start to walk away before you can point out they’re a moron and should have studied harder in school.
… the only time I’d shoot a fleeing person in the back who poses no direct threat to me, is one who is attempting to steal a gun.
That’s an interesting test of legality. I think it is at least one step too many removed for a self-defense plea (too much else has to happen prior to an imminent threat to self or another becoming a credible claim). Can’t say for other states, while here in Texas the law allows for “defense of property” as a legitimate justification for shooting someone, even that is hedged around with specific circumstantial limitations.
I admire your intention here, but I urge caution and a good deal more legal research before making the above proviso a hard and fast position.
And I agree Walmart is becoming more and more an unattractive shopping option.
Turning to the Massachusetts section of my handy-dandy copy of SELF-DEFENSE LAWS OF ALL 50 STATES (2nd edition) by Mitch Vilos & Evan Vilos, the authors note that they could find neither statute nor case history specifically addressing Use of Deadly Force to Prevent Serious Felonies and suggest that surrounding state legislative and court rulings might be used to judge such an instance as you suggest Weer’d. I would assume also Federal rulings might be considered.
You no doubt mean well, but doing as you suggest to a gun thief would appear to be a particularly frustrating form of suppuku in Mass.
Further, the authors also say: “Massachusetts is another state in which the statutory law is pathetically deficient in putting innocent citizens on notice as to what is expected of them in situations where they are forced to defend themselves and others … We encourage Massachusetts legislators (and we hope you folks from Massachusetts join in the effort) to enact and simplify a comprehensive self-defense statute that protects the innocent and imposes serious legal and physical risks upon the guilty.”
One can always hope …
I 100% understand, my stance is one of morality, not of legality.
Thankfully even the what-if scenarios where I will witness the theft of a lawfully held gun while the perpetrator is not posing a direct threat is slimmer than the standard mugging or group of unarmed assailants, or even firing into an angry mob.
So thankfully in this situation the chances of me choosing moral standing vs legal is almost nil.
Thanks for your research!
Based on how the Supreme Court ruled on a police officer who shot a fleeing burglery suspect in the back (i.e., since burglery isn’t a capital offense, shooting him dead for running wasn’t OK), I would say you would be up the creek without a paddle, liable for at least a manslaughter charge.
Now, if you had a reasonable belief that that individual was offering an imminent and credible threat to an innocent person (i.e., running away while shouting, “I’m gonna blow that bitch away now!“), different story in most places (if not all).
Now, when I was a gun pimp, our SOP for an armed robbery (as opposed to a snatch and grab theft) was to assume that, by introducing weapons as an aggressor into an environment where all employees were visibly armed, it was unreasonable for us to assume they intended to leave any witnesses alive.