Almost exactly one year ago Lynn and I moved to a quaint little town of 35,000 folks in a rural area 35 miles east of Tampa, Florida. It’s a quiet, Mayberry-like town. The police department has 99 employees, including 74 sworn officers, and there is little crime.
A few months after we moved here, there was a fatal shooting here involving a person with a Florida Concealed Weapons License. The shooting was ruled justifiable self defense and no charges were involved. Today, two of our police officers shot to death a violent felony suspect during a confrontation after a vehicle chase, at 7:00 in the morning. The deceased had multiple prior arrests for domestic violence and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
That’s two fatal self defense shootings in one year in my little town. The lesson: there are no longer “safe places”, except where you make yourself safe through vigilance, commitment and skill. Carry your damn gun. Accept that violence can occur suddenly, anywhere. Be mentally prepared. Someone in a setting much like my town once asked John Farnam, “How many times do people get killed around here, anyway?”. John’s classic response was, “Just once, just like every where else.”