On Jan. 9, in the small community of Ellijay, Ga., a 39-year-old previously convicted felon walked into a convenience store and grabbed an energy drink. Then he allegedly pulled a pair of women’s panties up from his neck to his face, went behind the counter and pointed a .45-cal. pistol at the clerk, demanding money. One of the customers inside the store produced a concealed firearm and intervened. Another customer left the store to retrieve his firearm from his vehicle and returned to the store, along with a third armed citizen who had been pumping fuel, to help subdue the suspect. The first customer who’d intervened told the other two not to shoot, as the would-be robber had been disarmed. When police arrived on the scene, the suspect continued trying to leave and did not follow their instructions to stop and get down. They tased the man and took him into custody. The suspect’s wife, who had remained in a vehicle outside, was also taken into custody. The two were being held without bond and with pending charges of aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Georgia became the 25th “constitutional carry” state (requiring no permit to carry concealed) in 2022. (Ellijay Police Dept. Ellijay, Ga., 1/10/23; Ammoland Shooting Sports News, Sebastian, Fla., 2/8/23)
