Good Tactics Win the Day

Akron, Ohio – A man was killed after attempting to rob his victim at gunpoint on Sunday night.

Akron Police Department received reports of gunfire in the 600 block of S. Rhodes Ave. at around 10:30 p.m.

Responding paramedics found 22-year-old Jontae Alexander lying on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his torso and transported him to Cleveland Clinic Akron General for treatment. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:06 p.m.

After police found the other man in the shooting, they were told the 27-year-old victim was walking down Rhodes Ave. when Alexander approached him, brandishing a gun.

The unidentified victim said Alexander demanded his valuables, which he turned over. At some point in the robbery, Alexander became distracted and looked away from his victim, who used the opportunity to draw his own gun.

He opened fire on Alexander, who shot back. The victim received non-life-threatening wounds to his arm and torso from the exchange of gunfire and was taken by Paramedics to the same hospital as Alexander for treatment.

Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office cited the cause of Alexander’s death was the gunshot wound to the torso but noted he had also been shot in the leg.

Drawing your concealed carry pistol on a threat that already has the drop on you isn’t a good idea. It may be easy to fall into this way of thinking since we have been primed by television and movies to think a good guy with a gun can outdraw and outshoot the bad guy.

This is less of a training issue, and more about the limits of the human reaction time. No matter how good you are, it’s unlikely you will be able to beat the reaction time of your attacker who has a gun already trained on you. A better tactic is to wait for an opportunity to draw your gun like the victim in the above example.

What stands out to you? Leave a comment below to let us know.