As reported, a Papa John’s pizza delivery driver was delivering a pizza in Lexington, SC. A robber was waiting for the pizza delivery man, and robbed him at gunpoint. After the pizza delivery driver handed over all the cash and receipts that he had, and began to walk back to his car, the robber continued to threaten his life. At this point, the driver drew his concealed carry weapon, and fired one shot. The robber was hit in the chest, and suffered a non life threatening injury. The pizza delivery man was unharmed, and police have a suspect in custody.
This sort of attack on pizza delivery drivers is sadly common. Criminals see such drivers, who they know are carrying cash, as easy targets. All too often, the pizza delivery driver is killed by a criminal who values the few dollars that they are carrying more than human life. Armed self defense is a pizza driver’s best chance of avoiding that fate, as we have seen in the past.
This robbery also shows, once again, that complying with a criminal’s demands doesn’t mean that criminal will then leave the victim alone. Here, the delivery driver fully complied with the robber’s demands, only to have the robber follow him and continue to threaten his life.
Finally, I would note that this delivery driver showed great restraint by not drawing his gun and firing right when the criminal threatened his life. Instead, he gave the criminal the money and attempted to leave. Those opposed to gun rights like to suggest that concealed carry permit holders are violent individuals who will open fire at the drop of a hat. The statistics clearly disprove this unfounded notion. Here, the delivery driver only opened fire when the criminal continued to threaten his life, despite the fact that he would have been legally justified in shooting as soon as the criminal pointed a gun at him. The delivery driver valued human life – even the life of a violent criminal who threatened his life – and only fired when he had no other option.