In Defense of Others

Ocoee, Florida: On January 5, 2008, as a Kangaroo convenience store clerk was working the night shift, three criminals entered the store intent on robbery. One of the clerk's longtime customers noticed the suspicious activity and left the store to dial 911. Hearing the woman's screams, he rushed back into the store. "Hearing a lady scream to where it sounds like bloody murder, to where I thought she was going to be killed, I decided to help the lady. I've known her for years. She's a friend of mine, and I wanted to go in and help," said the 26 year old young man.

Realizing the woman's life was in immediate jeopardy, the customer identified only as "Chris" had retrieved his 40 caliber handgun from his truck outside the store. As Chris reentered the store, he saw one of the robbers behind the counter brutally beating the female clerk over the head with a beer bottle.

With his cell phone held to his ear, the armed customer fired two shots over the counter, killing Freddie Carson, a career criminal. "911! Yes, there's been a robbery," shouted Chris as he shot the assailant and began to scan the store for his accomplices.

"I just shot him, I just shot him. You're OK. Where's the other one?" asked Chris as he looked outside the convenience store. The other two robbers escaped into the night.

"Yes you need paramedics. A man just broke in. I shot him. I have a gun," Chris told the 911 dispatcher. "He was beating her over the counter and I shot him. I came in and I shot him. You need paramedics. Oh my God, I can’t believe I just shot somebody."

"When I first walked in and he stood up, I thought my life was going to be in danger. I did not know if he had a gun in his waistband, if he was beating her with a gun, if he had a knife. Not only that, he was beating her with a beer bottle. She had a huge knot on the back of her head," Chris later recounts. The clerk was treated at a local hospital and released. Chris was questioned by police and released. The handgun used by Chris was taken into evidence. It was not the only handgun owned by Chris. He retains possession of his other firearms while waiting to determine if he will go before a grand jury. The two criminals who escaped are still at large. Chris, the man who prevented a vicious robbery and quite possibly saved the woman's life has does not have a Florida concealed weapons permit. He does not consider himself a hero. "I feel very shaken. I feel very glad that I was here, that I could help my friend," he says.

See Chris' interview here and another interview here.