(NC) Would-be robber assumes room temperature

Halo · November 29, 2001, 06:14 PM

Look how they went out of their way to title this story, even when down at the bottom the DA simply says it appears to be a case of self-defense:

http://www.nbc6.com/news/big_story.c...age=local_news

Storeowner in Shooting May Face Charges

Gastonia, N.C. --A Gastonia storeowner could face charges after shooting and killing a robbery suspect Wednesday night, police said.

The owner of the West Main Newsstand and Book Nook, Gary Cannon, tells police he shot the suspect because he was trying to rob his store.

Police are still searching for a second suspect. Investigators say they have some good leads because the suspect’s shoes fell off in the parking lot as he ran away from the scene.

The only way into the business is through a back door. Several customers who were in the store last night said they feared for their lives when two men wearing panty hose over their faces walked into the store and demanded money.

"I was thinking about my kid and my husband at home and if I was ever going to see them again," one witness said.

The suspects were carrying guns and threatened to kill them, witnesses said.

The storeowner says the robber stuck a gun in his face and threatened his life. But when the robber swung the gun around to point it at two pregnant women, the merchant says he reached into a friend's purse and shot Derick Christopher Foust, 29 in the throat and chest.

"It's scary when you got a gun in your face," Cannon said. "These young people don't realize that all of us are not going to go for that. I'm not going to work 140 hours a week and let somebody come in here and threaten my life and my business, my people and me not protect myself. I'd rather be dead."

After the shooting, one of the customers started performing CPR.

Eva Colinger is four months pregnant. She took the mask off Foust's face and wiped his mouth.

“I prayed that maybe he would breathe if he had kids, if he had a wife or you know a mother,” she said. “And that’s what I kept telling him is that he’s got to breathe.”

Foust died at Gaston Memorial Hospital.

It is not clear yet if the storeowner will be charged. The DA has not received the official police report yet but he tells 6NEWS from what he knows, this does appear to be a case of self-defense.

There were six people inside the store at the time of the shooting, including two pregnant women.

Halo · November 29, 2001, 06:45 PM

For some reason the way this story was presented really irked me. I sent them the following email:

Quote:

To whom it may concern:

In reference to the story of a Gastonia man who shot and killed a would-be robber, posted on nbc6.com 11/29, I am curious as to why it was entitled "Storeowner in Shooting May Face Charges" - as if to imply that charges are a likelihood and in fact the entire gist of the story. I am wondering specifically, is this is in part due to some aversion among the media to any other-than-malevolent portrayal of firearms?

Wouldn't something like "Attempted Robbery Suspect Shot" convey these events in a manner that is less insinuating of guilt, considering the fact that the DA had not even received a police report at the time of this story?

I will post their lucid response here if it somehow is anything other than auto-generated

.

rock_jock · November 29, 2001, 07:01 PM

I agree. The title wrongly focuses attention on the law-abiding store owner and attempts to associate him with the criminal act.

It's pure spin, and not unlike calling the hijackers of 9/11 "victims of a plane crash".

bestdefense357 · November 30, 2001, 05:33 AM

Thanks for the post. Another one for the ever-growing self-defense files.

Robert
http://www.robertwaters.net

stevetuna · November 30, 2001, 07:12 AM

I guess the editor vetoed, "Brave Store Owner Saves Two Pregnant Women, Shoots Masked Criminal," eh? Thanks for the post. It is quite a reminder of what we're up against.

Double Naught Spy · November 30, 2001, 09:04 AM

What idiots whose life were put into harm's way by lawless bad guys would then turn around and try to save the life of one of the bad guys? Sorry to be cold, but my personal sentiments are that I don't help anyone who threatened or tried to harm me and I am not a doctor and so I should not be performing any sort of medical life-saving tasks.

Tamara · November 30, 2001, 09:21 AM

...actions like those of the store owner used to get you the Key to the City and a pat on the back from the chamber of commerce.

Now they get you painted as a criminal in the local Party Organ... er, newspaper

:barf:

**Mal H** · November 30, 2001, 09:22 AM

I have to agree 00Spy. Leave the life-saving attempts to trained pros who no doubt arrived within minutes of the event.

As for the perps kids/wife/mother, and we know he had at least one of them, he should have thought about them long before he entered the store waving a gun around.

longship · November 30, 2001, 09:24 AM

I agree that the story is presented in a less than self-defense friendly tone. This state seems to have been undergoing a battle on the gun ownership and self-defense mindset during my lifetime here. I suppose this trending attitude is in response to both the national anti-gun sentiments that seem to be more and more popular and the tremendous amount of urbanization that our state is undergoing, supposedly called progress and development.

On the flipside, I was told by my instructor during my CCW course that in NC, even if you shoot someone and it is clearly a self defense case, the law requires that you undergo a criminal investigation. He went on to say that if you were not guilty of breaking the self-defense laws (which are complex and I will not go into here) then the judge would simply drop the charges against you. Just what I was told. I wasn't so aware of how self-defense unfriendly our laws are until I took my course.

When I was kid growing up in a rural community, it was not uncommon for a person to have a gun on their person or in their car. It was no more abnormal than someone having a pocket knife or any other tool. Nowdays, very few of the people I work with have a gun and most of them ask me why I feel I need to own one. What a sad day. I patiently try to explain how a gun is no different than any other tool and how I use the ones I own for recreation, hunting, and self-defense and how it is my legal right to own one. I am usually amazed at the philisophical arguments people have against gun ownership. They just simply don't make any sense. As long as I use a gun with safely and responsibly it is no different than driving my car. I would hurt lots of people with either and would face legal charges with either if I acted irresponsibly but for some reason people have some mystical evil image of a firearm. Anyway, I'll stop ranting. I'm just disappointed at the trend in thinking in my state. Yes, I do write the appropriate people and I try to educate the sheeple whenever possible but the trend against responsible gun ownership often seems overwhelming.

Snowdog · November 30, 2001, 10:03 AM

Gastonia this, Gastonia that.... ect.
I'm not sure how far Gastonia is from here, but that seems to be the norm for that area from what I've been hearing about it for the past 20 I've lived here.

BTW, thanks for the link.

Halo · November 30, 2001, 03:18 PM

As an update, the DA has ruled self-defense, the obvious decision to anyone who is not a journalist with an agenda.

They have not replied to my complaint. Their email link probably points to the electronic equivalent of a dead letter office anyway.

However, it does appear that they changed the title of the article. It now reads "Suspect in Botched Gastonia Robbery Still on the Run".

November 29, 2001, 06:14 PM	#1
Halo Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 408	(NC) Would-be robber assumes room temperature Look how they went out of their way to title this story, even when down at the bottom the DA simply says it appears to be a case of self-defense: http://www.nbc6.com/news/big_story.c...age=local_news Storeowner in Shooting May Face Charges Gastonia, N.C. --A Gastonia storeowner could face charges after shooting and killing a robbery suspect Wednesday night, police said. The owner of the West Main Newsstand and Book Nook, Gary Cannon, tells police he shot the suspect because he was trying to rob his store. Police are still searching for a second suspect. Investigators say they have some good leads because the suspect’s shoes fell off in the parking lot as he ran away from the scene. The only way into the business is through a back door. Several customers who were in the store last night said they feared for their lives when two men wearing panty hose over their faces walked into the store and demanded money. "I was thinking about my kid and my husband at home and if I was ever going to see them again," one witness said. The suspects were carrying guns and threatened to kill them, witnesses said. The storeowner says the robber stuck a gun in his face and threatened his life. But when the robber swung the gun around to point it at two pregnant women, the merchant says he reached into a friend's purse and shot Derick Christopher Foust, 29 in the throat and chest. "It's scary when you got a gun in your face," Cannon said. "These young people don't realize that all of us are not going to go for that. I'm not going to work 140 hours a week and let somebody come in here and threaten my life and my business, my people and me not protect myself. I'd rather be dead." After the shooting, one of the customers started performing CPR. Eva Colinger is four months pregnant. She took the mask off Foust's face and wiped his mouth. “I prayed that maybe he would breathe if he had kids, if he had a wife or you know a mother,” she said. “And that’s what I kept telling him is that he’s got to breathe.” Foust died at Gaston Memorial Hospital. It is not clear yet if the storeowner will be charged. The DA has not received the official police report yet but he tells 6NEWS from what he knows, this does appear to be a case of self-defense. There were six people inside the store at the time of the shooting, including two pregnant women.

November 30, 2001, 09:04 AM	#6
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	What idiots whose life were put into harm's way by lawless bad guys would then turn around and try to save the life of one of the bad guys? Sorry to be cold, but my personal sentiments are that I don't help anyone who threatened or tried to harm me and I am not a doctor and so I should not be performing any sort of medical life-saving tasks. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

November 30, 2001, 09:21 AM	#7
Tamara Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 11, 2000 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 16,002	You know, ...actions like those of the store owner used to get you the Key to the City and a pat on the back from the chamber of commerce. Now they get you painted as a criminal in the local Party Organ... er, newspaper :barf: :barf: __________________ MOLON LABE! 2% Unobtainium, 98% Hypetanium. The Arms Room: An Online Museum.

November 30, 2001, 10:03 AM	#10
Snowdog Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2001 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 1,074	Gastonia this, Gastonia that.... ect. I'm not sure how far Gastonia is from here, but that seems to be the norm for that area from what I've been hearing about it for the past 20 I've lived here. BTW, thanks for the link. __________________ "What We Do In Life, Echoes In Eternity" -Gladiator- ************************* Brevity Is The Soul of Wit. -Shakespeare-

November 30, 2001, 03:18 PM	#11
Halo Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 408	As an update, the DA has ruled self-defense, the obvious decision to anyone who is not a journalist with an agenda. They have not replied to my complaint. Their email link probably points to the electronic equivalent of a dead letter office anyway. However, it does appear that they changed the title of the article. It now reads "Suspect in Botched Gastonia Robbery Still on the Run". Last edited by Halo; November 30, 2001 at 03:39 PM.

November 29, 2001, 07:01 PM	#3
rock_jock Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2000 Location: SE Texas Posts: 1,779	I agree. The title wrongly focuses attention on the law-abiding store owner and attempts to associate him with the criminal act. It's pure spin, and not unlike calling the hijackers of 9/11 "victims of a plane crash".

November 30, 2001, 05:33 AM	#4
bestdefense357 Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 1999 Location: Ocala, Florida Posts: 426	Thanks for the post. Another one for the ever-growing self-defense files. Robert http://www.robertwaters.net

November 30, 2001, 07:12 AM	#5
stevetuna Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2001 Location: Nantucket, MA Posts: 258	I guess the editor vetoed, "Brave Store Owner Saves Two Pregnant Women, Shoots Masked Criminal," eh? Thanks for the post. It is quite a reminder of what we're up against.

November 30, 2001, 09:22 AM	#8
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,949	I have to agree 00Spy. Leave the life-saving attempts to trained pros who no doubt arrived within minutes of the event. As for the perps kids/wife/mother, and we know he had at least one of them, he should have thought about them long before he entered the store waving a gun around.

November 30, 2001, 09:24 AM	#9
longship Member Join Date: July 5, 2001 Location: Mooresville, NC Posts: 65	I agree that the story is presented in a less than self-defense friendly tone. This state seems to have been undergoing a battle on the gun ownership and self-defense mindset during my lifetime here. I suppose this trending attitude is in response to both the national anti-gun sentiments that seem to be more and more popular and the tremendous amount of urbanization that our state is undergoing, supposedly called progress and development. On the flipside, I was told by my instructor during my CCW course that in NC, even if you shoot someone and it is clearly a self defense case, the law requires that you undergo a criminal investigation. He went on to say that if you were not guilty of breaking the self-defense laws (which are complex and I will not go into here) then the judge would simply drop the charges against you. Just what I was told. I wasn't so aware of how self-defense unfriendly our laws are until I took my course. When I was kid growing up in a rural community, it was not uncommon for a person to have a gun on their person or in their car. It was no more abnormal than someone having a pocket knife or any other tool. Nowdays, very few of the people I work with have a gun and most of them ask me why I feel I need to own one. What a sad day. I patiently try to explain how a gun is no different than any other tool and how I use the ones I own for recreation, hunting, and self-defense and how it is my legal right to own one. I am usually amazed at the philisophical arguments people have against gun ownership. They just simply don't make any sense. As long as I use a gun with safely and responsibly it is no different than driving my car. I would hurt lots of people with either and would face legal charges with either if I acted irresponsibly but for some reason people have some mystical evil image of a firearm. Anyway, I'll stop ranting. I'm just disappointed at the trend in thinking in my state. Yes, I do write the appropriate people and I try to educate the sheeple whenever possible but the trend against responsible gun ownership often seems overwhelming.