Elderly CPL Holders Thwart Armed Robberies in Detroit

According to Fox 2 News in Detroit, on Friday, Feb. 1, the 70-year-old coach of the girls' basketball team at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Detroit was walking two of his students to their cars when two males approached them. Both were former students at the school, one of them recently expelled. The males reportedly tried to rob the coach, and one of them pulled a gun.

At that point, the coach — who has a Michigan CPL (concealed pistol license) and is a reserve police officer — pulled his concealed handgun and fired on the duo, killing one and wounding the other.

Check out the video from Fox 2 News in Detroit.

Fox 2 News Headlines

That same day, on Grand River Avenue in the middle of Detroit, a man attempted to rob an older man. The elderly gentleman had a CPL, drew his weapon and shot the suspect.

Fifteen years ago, it was very common in Detroit to see men and women, especially those of middle age and older, walking around with very sturdy and stylish walking sticks, constructed of hardwood and/or steel. Those walking sticks are very scarce today. Why?

The residents of Detroit were not burdened with bad knee joints; they were burdened with politicians who refused to issue them concealed pistol licenses. CPLs were issued by the Wayne County gun board, and "self defense" was not recognized as a reason to carry a gun. Walking sticks are not "weapons," so they were not prohibited, and their carriers were not hassled. When the State of Michigan passed legislation turning it into a "shall issue" state, the citizens of Detroit traded in their mugger-whackers for tools a little better suited to the job — handguns.

The standard phrase, "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away," isn't even very accurate when it comes to Detroit. Due to the crumbling city economy and rising crime rates, most of the time the Detroit police — who are stretched very thin — will take a lot more than a few minutes to respond.

These two incidents are a perfect example of the reason behind and effectiveness of concealed carry, especially for seniors and others who might appear to be tasty meals to predators.

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