The Armed Citizen® Jan. 12, 2024

Armed Citizen® Today

A food-truck owner in Maine was forced to shoot at a knife-wielding assailant as he set up to do business in the parking lot of a T-Mobile store ahead of a local town holiday parade.

As he prepared his food truck to serve the coming holiday crowds, the owner noticed a man armed with a knife who was allegedly threatening to kill motorists in the area. He called out to the man to stop the threats, but the suspect then focused on him. The man approached the truck owner, walking slowly with the knife and saying, "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to stab you."

The truck owner told the man to calm down and sit down, but he kept advancing. Confronted with the truck owner's Glock 43X pistol, the assailant apparently wasn't fazed in the slightest, telling the armed citizen to shoot him. The truck operator fired once, striking the suspect in the leg. Once shot, the man collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain and shouting "Rape!" and accusing the truck operator of having shot a woman. The wounded suspect then threw the knife toward the armed owner, then his phone, with no results.

"It was the hardest thing ever in my life, decision-wise," the truck operator told the Portsmouth Herald. "I never would have thought I'd be in that position." The wounded suspect was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in serious condition. (Portsmouth Herald; Sanford, Maine; 12/1/23)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – March 1962

Brandishing a .22-cal. pistol, a thief entered James E. Ralph's Little Rock, Ark., package store and said "Give me your money and put your hands up," to the clerk on duty. As the clerk handed over the money from the cash register, Ralph fired a .30-30 rifle from the rear of the store, killing the holdup man. (Arkansas Gazette)