Concealed carry permit holder shoots suspect
6:40 p.m. Monday, January 22, 2007
An Oklahoma concealed-carry permit holder thwarted a robbery at a Topeka convenience store Friday night, police said.
Police said 57-year-old Michael Mah shot a 17-year-old suspect who was trying to rob the Phillips 66 at 29th and Randolph, after telling him to drop his weapon. The owner of the store, Dean Yee, told police two men ran inside, when one of them pointed a gun at him and demanded money. Concealed weapons advocates said Mah did the right thing.
“The bad guys … better be careful who they pick on,” said Troy Powell, a retired cop who recently moved here from Texas.
Powell said the shooting is exactly what concealed-carry is intended for.
“The guy was right there on scene and had firsthand knowledge that it was happening,” said Powell. “I think he reacted appropriately and probably he could’ve saved that guy’s life and his own.”
Police said Mah shot the man just once.
“I don’t think any of these people that carry-concealed are wanting to do someone it, they’re just wanting to stop the guy, to keep him from hurting … someone else,” Powell said.
Mah had a concealed carry permit from Oklahoma, one of 22 states from which permit holders can also carry a weapon in Kansas, police said.
Powell said the shooting reaffirms the decision legislators made last year to override the governor’s veto and pass the law.
“This incident, it supports that they’re right,” he said. “Concealed carry is a privilege that citizens should have.”
Police said the man who shot the suspect likely won’t be charged with a crime, since he had a valid permit. But, the final decision will be left up to the district attorney.
The man was one of 10 people injured in shooting’s last Friday.
Rash of Shootings
A map depicting the locations of recent shootings in Topeka is available here.
Early Friday morning, six people were shot during a club shooting at 6th and Lake. Four people were shot just outside the club. A 15-year-old was shot in his backyard two blocks away and another man was found shot at 6th and Quincy.
Later Friday morning, a 27-year-old man was murdered at his apartment at 12th and Garfield.
That night, police said Jeremy Crowder, 24, was shot in his car at 12th and Washburn. A young child in the car was injured by shattered glass.
Then on Sunday, a man was injured during a drive-by shooting at an apartment complex at 21st and Fillmore.
In all of last year, there were 59 people shot in Topeka, including six homicides and three justifiable homicides.
The attorney general’s office said they’ve received 5,600 concealed carry applications as of Friday and just more than 2,700 permits have been issued.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)