North Carolina Sees More Killings As Concealed Weapon Permits Increase
A Glock 22 tucked under his shirt apparently saved a Pizza Hut delivery driver’s life not long ago.
After being robbed — twice in two years — the driver who asked for anonymity started packing.
Gregory James Hardy and Dauntrae Wallace, both 21, and convicted felons were killed in the shooting. “If the bad guys attack, they’ll have guns,” said the driver. “The cops won’t protect everyone.”
Detectives didn’t file charges in Charlotte, North Carolina’s third case in two weeks where a would-be victim used deadly force against an assailant. The cluster of cases may reflect an increased attitude among the public which feels it needs to defend itself.
A few days before the Pizza Hut shooting, a man broke into a Union County, North Carolina home and was beaten to death by a baseball bat-wielding homeowner.
A few days before that in Greenville, North Carolina, a drummer for a rock band was in a shootout in Rock Hill with a pair of thieves who tried to rob the group. Demarcus Burris died from gunshot wounds, and the other would-be thief was taken to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment.
While overall crime is down 14% in the Charlotte metro region, homicides have risen 23% while concealed weapon permits rose 142% in the previous 36-months.
Vigilante justice is rising as the perception of higher crime has skewed reality resulting in more people buying handguns.
With a clear difference between a person using deadly force in self-defense and someone employing deadly force when there is no threat, the debate won’t end soon.
In Charlotte, in 2015, C. L. McClure, 76, shot and killed a 15-year-old who took part in a home-invasion at McClure’s residence. Brandishing his weapon, McClure chased the thieves into a wooded area and shot and killed one.
North Carolina law rules shootings justifiable when an intruder is shot. McClure though chased the robbers and thrust the case into a gray area. Nevertheless, Mecklenburg’s DA, Peter Gilchrist, chose not to charge McClure and labeled the shooting as self-defense.
Mike Hinshaw, the owner of Handgunners, Inc, said, “Each case is a judgment call.” Hinshaw’s gun safety classes have increased over 50% during the last 24-months.
“Watch the news,” Hinshaw claimed, “and you’ll see crime is getting more severe.”
