Bars and clubs are places where people go to have some fun, blow off some steam and forget about the workaday world. Unfortunately for thieves who think knocking off the corner tavern could provide them with some fast cash, armed citizens often thwart such efforts.
Following are five times when armed citizens saved the day in their favorite bars and pubs.
A man walked into Parkside Pub in Queens, N.Y., and attempted to rob the bar and the customers inside. One of the customers was a 69-year-old retired police officer, who responded to the threat by drawing a gun and shooting the robber, killing him. (Time Warner Cable News NY1, New York City, N.Y., 06/13/16)
A Kenner, La., man walked up to the bar at the Cajun Pub in New Orleans, pulled a gun on the bartender and demanded money. The bartender responded by shooting the suspect in the chest. The bartender later told authorities he had been suspicious of the man from the moment he entered as it was a warm morning and the man was wearing a jacket. The bartender immediately moved to the end of the bar where a .38-cal. revolver was stored and kept his eye on him. The suspect, Troy Wright, died at the scene. He had recently been released from prison after serving 13 years for rape and robbery. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La., 8/15/01)
A bar patron thwarted an armed robbery of the Gin Mill in Fort Wayne, Ind., when he shot the suspect with his licensed handgun. According to police, Mark Dickmeyer walked into the Gin Mill about 2 a.m., went behind the bar and demanded money. Dickmeyer then pulled a handgun from his waistband, and that’s when customer Mitchell Westerfield ordered him to stop. When Dickmeyer did not comply, Westerfield shot him. (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind., 5/19/01)
When a man walked into a Little Rock, Ark., bar and ordered a drink, the manager refused to serve him because the man appeared to be drunk. The man became belligerent and drew a large knife and threatened Harold Gurley and his customers. When the knife-wielder began throwing bar furniture around, Gurley pulled a .38 and fired it. The man left. (The Arkansas Democrat, Little Rock, Ark., 10/24/86)
Crooks sometimes don't consider the weight of numbers when they attempt a robbery. Three would-be robbers, one of them armed with a pistol, attempted to hold up McCary's Bar and Grille in St. Andrew's, S.C., but didn't bank on the crowd resisting so heavily. A cook slipped out the back door and alerted a customer outside of the robbery in progress. The man grabbed a pistol from his car and spotted one of the robbers leaving the building. The man tackled the first suspect who was held for police by other patrons. The armed customer then entered the establishment, saw the robber holding a gun to the owner's head and opened fire. The thug stumbled out the door and collapsed across the street. The third crook got away, but was later captured when he returned to the scene to check on his accomplices. (The State, Columbia, S.C., 8/2/97)
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