Robbery at Lee Station Wal-Mart

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I tried to find a news link to the story about a knife wielding thief at the Lee Station Wal-Mart in Massoponax (sp).



A couple of questions being new to VA and all.



1.) Would someone either OC'ing or CC'ing be justified in interviening in this situation?



2.) Would you intervene if faced with a similar situation?



As a former military guy, I did not need to take a course for my CHP, so I probably missed out on a lot of good training in this area. I do plan on taking some sort of training to be more aware of use of force laws pertaining to armed citizens.

Thanks in advance.....

Cap

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Someone else will undoubtedly reply and be able to be more specific, but in Virginia you can use force (up to and including deadly force) if you are in reasonable fear for your own life OR the life of another (as long as you weren't part of the inital confrontation, in which case you still can use force, but under considerably more stringent conditions).

However, there is no specified right to use any degree of force to protect property - including your own. Of course, there are examples of folks who have done so without prosecution due to local mores, Virginia's appointed judges, etc. But I wouldn't count my freedom onthis factin any way.

If the robber was pointing a gun at the clerk (real or fake, loaded or unloaded - as long as a reasonable person would think her life was at risk)then you could use force to stop him. If he was walking away after having robbed her with a gun, and now was just leaving with his loot, then you shouldn't.

The General Assembly last year failed to pass a law specifically protecting those who lawfully use force, with the main argument being it is unnecesary as traditionally Virginians haven't had to worry about the police, local prosecutors, or the courts when having done so.There is no dramatic example of it having happened here. Expect another attempt to pass this bill next session of the General Assembly.

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SST, I think you summed it up nicely.

Capt, It's nearly impossible to say what one would do or not do in a given situation. There are just too many variables involved that are unknown without actually being there. imo

Read these forums and ask questions is a good way to learn about gun rights/laws in Va. There are many instructors that can teach how too shoot but their knowledge of the law is crap! What I am saying is, you 'may' have missed out on some useful knowledge but instructors have been known to put out rubbish too. Seek out the knowledge on your own and you will be better informed.

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To complete the story, here are the local paper's accounts of the robbery:

Initial story

Follow-up with pics of robber. I hope the pictures look so bad from the conversion to use on the website.

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That is a tough one. Drawing down on someone who is holding a knife to the victim can result in either compliance to drop the weapon or create a hostage situation.

Hmm.

Sitting calmly, thousands of miles away, I would have to sayIshould try tobe a good witness unless people were being attacked. Whether I could just watch and not "do something" is still undetermined.

LoveMyCountry