I was 50 years old and never needed a permit to carry. Still haven’t but then I have a few fire extinguishers I haven’t needed yet too.
Not very long after receiving my permit, I posted this story on IDO. Some have seen it, other have not. It might not seem as a very big deal to the readers, but at the time, many things rolled through my head.
Edited to shorten it up…
… the FW had her Friday Night shoes on and it was off to the Bungalow in Lakeland.
As we were walking towards the building (we park in the back) I heard a short slide of tires on tar with a crunch at the end. It didn’t sound real loud…maybe just a bit more than a fender bender. I start walking around the South side of the building and the FW says to walk through the building to see what happened. (good thinking) As I turn back towards her…a male about 20ish is high tailing it towards the river on the North side. He had something in his hands but I couldn’t make it out. Later I learned it was the rifle.
(EDIT: Later I found out he was looking for a car to get away with. Good thing for us he was focused on getting out of sight running towards the river)
I noted his white pants as he passed under a light.
Once to the front of bar area I was surprised to see the squad cars there already. Then the bartender announce that “we are locked down because the police say there’s a SHOOTER loose”. The employees kept the customers away from the window…and I started talking to a friend that happened to be there.
At approx. 10 pm the SWAT Team entered the Bungalow with weapons at the ready and herded us back to the bathroom area. They told us what was going on after the building was secured. All the lights were turned out.
After 45 minutes or so we were told we could move around but to stay low and away from the windows. At a few minutes after midnight one car load at a time was escorted to there cars and after going through a maze of squad and swat cars, were on our way home.
The Washington County Sheriff said that all off duty officers were called in and there were over 150 officers in the area going door to door. Helicopter lights were seen shining down on the trees through the windows.
My hats off to these guys! They secured our safety quickly and kept us informed as to what was happening.
(EDIT: Later we found out the rest of the story)
From Channel 5’s web site:
Police shootout in WI ends with home invasion in MN
An armed man fires at sheriff’s deputies in Wisconsin, then flees to Minnesota, but not before the deputies wound him.
Investigators with the Washington County sheriff’s department say around 9 last night, the wounded suspect headed west on 94, crashed his SUV on Rivercrest Road in Lakeland, then ran.
Deputies say he had two guns and forced his way into a house on Old Toll Bridge road. (Actually he was in two houses but the residents of the first house escaped)
After shooting the homeowner during a struggle, deputies moved in and tasered the 23 year old suspect.
(I spoke to the homeowner a few days later. At rifle point he and his wife were lead into the garage and were going to be taken along. The husband took the rifle away from him but struggled when the bad guy pulled out a .45 from his paints and shot the homeowner in the buttocks during the struggle. They ended up on the floor with the homeowner on top of the bad guy. Mean while the wife ran back into the house and called 911. When the police arrived, they told the homeowner to get off of him and they immediately tazed and cuffed him)
The homeowner is in the hospital, but will be o-k.
The suspect, from Circle Pines, is also in the hospital and listed in serious condition.
END
If all he wanted would of been my truck, not a problem, take it. However this guy was taking the husband and wife along with the car when the struggle began. Would he have done that to us had be been just a few feet closer? If so, we would have clearly seen his face.
It was after this incident that I had a sit down talk with myself about taking the life of another. It’s easy to be a keyboard cowboy. Not so easy taking another’s life unless you are sure it’s the last resort.
No shoot to wound.
No shoot to kill.
Shoot until the threat is eliminated.
