One of the benefits of living in a surveillance society is that when something interesting happens, there is usually good video of it. I study bad guys, I want to know how they work. This video has some great teaching points for bad and good guys.

According to the New York Post, “The suspect entered the restaurant at 3900 Broadway in Kansas City at about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday and placed an order after briefly scanning the menu. The clerk then begins to punch in the suspect’s order as he sways back and forth in front of the register. The suspect then pulls a handgun from the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and cocks it before motioning to the cash register while pointing the gun at the clerk.”

To get the full benefit from a video, you need to watch it more than once.  Watch the video below and please focus on the actions of the clerk being robbed:

The clerk is amazingly calm.  Maybe he noticed what many of you did.  The bad guy was carrying without a round in the chamber and when he tried to load, he created a jam which would not allow the gun to fire. I am happy he was so incompetent, but there are some lessons here for legal concealed carriers. If you carry without a round in the chamber, you may not get your gun into action fast enough to win a gun fight.

Now, watch it again and focus on the bad guy.  He does a good job of concealment.  He does not have experience or training in manipulation.  He snags the presentation and when he attempts to chamber a round, he is completely unaware that his gun is jammed. He waves the gun around and provides ample opportunities for the victim to take the gun.

I have trained and practiced disarming, I would have taken that gun on the off chance that he might figure out what was going on and clear his jam then shoot me. In this case, a take away is the safest move because the gun wont fire. That said, if you have never trained disarming, it is a pretty bold move to invent a technique during a robbery. I don’t recommend it.

The lesson for legal concealed carry is keep your distance from people and don’t point guns at people you are not actively shooting. They may take it away from you.

The untrained clerk’s best move would have been to run out of the store, taking his co-workers with him. That way, if bad guy figured things out and loaded his gun they would be behind cover calling 911. Cooperating was another good option. Mocking the robber and pointing out his error would be satisfying but counterproductive.

One of the advantages we have over the bad guy is we train and think about this. Bad guys think that merely possessing a gun puts them in control of the situation. If you have a little training and are aware of your situation, it gives you a huge advantage.

The clerk did a great job as did the Saint Louis Police. The suspect is in custody awaiting trial.

Photo and video courtesy of Kansas City Police