Violent convenience store robberies show need for self-defense prep

Think it can't happen to you? So did this employee and store customer...

Armed men rob store, still at large
November 2, 2004, Newark Advocate

A convenience store clerk had a gun pointed at his head and was handcuffed by two men during a brazen mid-morning robbery on Hudson Avenue Monday.

Rezene Ahferom was working the counter at the Old Town North Market, 322 Hudson Ave., at about 10:30 a.m. when the two men entered the store.

"They came in behind the counter and put the gun to my head," Ahferom said.

After that, they handcuffed him and pushed him to the ground in the back of the store while the robbery continued, Ahferom said.

Another customer at the store also was cuffed and restrained by the robbers, Newark Police Capt. Al Zellner said.

Newark police had yet to make an arrest Tuesday morning.

The following Toledo Blade story is severely lacking in details over how citizens tracked down and detained this armed criminal for police. To have chased down a homicidal criminal, they were either armed or stupid. The Blade tells us nothing, which makes us suspect they were armed.

Shooting injures employee of Auburn Avenue carry-out
November 8, 2004, Toledo Blade

A clerk of a Toledo convenience store was in fair condition last night after he was shot yesterday afternoon by a man who opened the door to the carry-out and fired several shots inside, police said.

The employee, James Galloway, 33, was being treated in Toledo Hospital with injuries to the abdomen and shoulder.

After the shooting, which occurred just before 3 p.m., another employee of the Macomber Market on Auburn Avenue at Macomber Street went looking for the assailant and, with the help of several friends, seized a suspect several blocks away. They held him until police arrived, Sgt. Greg Smith said.

"They were good citizens, and they turned him over to us," Sergeant Smith said.

Mr. Galloway was working at the store at 2267 Auburn when the shooting occurred, police said. A man opened the door just as a customer was leaving and fired several shots inside.

Several other customers inside were not injured. No demand for money or items was made. "It was absolutely ridiculous that somebody would do something like this," Sergeant Smith said. "It was a callous disregard for another human being."

You carry jumper cables, a spare tire, a first aid kit, extra blankets, flashlights and a fire extinguisher in your car. You wear your seatbelt. You buy homeowners insurance, medical insurance, vehicle insurance, uninsured motorists insurance, and emergency tow insurance. So why not carry the best-available tool of self-defense?

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