We go to the gas station several million times a day. It is part of our routine. As ordinary as filling up your car or van can be, sometimes unusual things happen because gas stations bring all kinds of people together. Some customers want to get gas and go. Some visitors need a restroom and a coffee break. Some criminals want to murder bystanders and steal cars and a convenience store located just off the highway is their hunting ground. In this case, an armed driver in Marengo, Ohio stopped a carjacking-murder spree that started hours before and miles away.
It was about half an hour after sunset on Sunday, February 26th. A man was driving a U-Haul van and he pulled into a gas station just off the highway. The gas station is about 35 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. The news articles aren't clear if the van's driver was sitting in the driver's seat or if he was standing at the side of the van. We know the driver heard gunshots as a murderer shot an innocent woman who was filling up her minivan at the pumps. The murderer then shot at the driver of the rented van. What made this attack different is that this driver was armed. He shot back.
The armed defender who was driving the U-Haul van was not hit by the attacker's gunfire. The defender's shots struck and disabled the murderer. The defender stopped shooting when the threat stopped. He stayed at the scene and called 911 for help. The defender gave a statement to the police when they arrived.
What the defender didn't know and couldn't know was that he was the stopping point for a long string of violence.
EMTs tried to treat the wounded woman and the armed attacker. Both were declared dead at the scene. Eventually, the police connected the armed attacker to three other carjackings, attempted home invasions, and armed attacks that happened in the last few hours. The carjackings started in Columbus where the attacker also shot at his victims.
The news articles don't mention if the defender had his concealed-carry license. Ohio is now a constitutional carry state so the defender didn't need a permit to conceal his legally owned firearm in public. It is obvious that the driver of the van had every right to stop the murderous attack against him. What is less obvious to new concealed carriers is that the defender had the right to stop the murder of other innocent victims. The defender didn't act in time to save the woman driving the minivan. He did save other unknown victims that were waiting down the road.
This story is one of many that go under-reported by the mainstream media because it shows a positive image of a law-abiding gun owner defending their life and their family. It is our responsibility at AmmoLand to report these stories to you. While we will continue to report these stories, groups like the Crime Prevention Research Center, led by Dr. John Lott, are fastidious in studying the use of firearms for self-defense. Stay up to date with all news on self-defense by following CPRC and Ammoland.
Read the original article in its entirety at Ammoland.
Kudos to the shooter who dropped him.
Mac 10, 11 time, Death Wish
Make My Day
Magnum time
I live in MN.. As soon as Omar the Menace and her ilk took office, crime rates began to soar in our state. They said that we didn’t need policemen and women, that a “social worker” could handle most cases that were happening then. Right. I seriously doubt that a “social worker” could have talked that criminal from shooting to death the woman at the pumps in Ohio. I doubt that they could talk anyone into giving up their weapons in the heat of the moment. It takes AUTHORITATIVE people who have been trained to act and speak with that same Authority and who are also armed to bring peace back into a situation. Not a Social Worker, but an armed POLICEMAN or WOMAN that can back up their authority with a weapon. Did Minneapolis politicians take this into account. They did NOT.!!! Now that it’s dangerous to go downtown even in the daytime, those same people who were screaming to “DEFUND” the police and hire more Social Workers are now crying and gnashing their teeth trying to hire more police persons. They don’t seem to realize that they can’t have it both ways. They are idiots and have put a lot of people into dangerous situations with their leftist-leaning stupidity. And do they learn from their mistakes. Oh hell, no. !!!!!!