Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL)

Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
PO. Box 513, Newington, VA 22122 • 804-639-0600 • 703-372-3285 • 757-271-3705 • 540-446-5783

07/14/09 - VCDL Mini-Update 7/14/09

Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Open carrier saved lives in Richmond shooting on Saturday! 2. Supreme Court candidate Sotomayor won't say she believes that the Second Amendment is Incorporated 3. Two more states have now repealed their restaurant bans 4. VCDL to be on Danish television ***************************************************************************** 1. Open carrier saved lives in Richmond shooting on Saturday! ***************************************************************************** Guns Save Lives On Saturday, a violent criminal shot a store clerk, had the customers in the store lined up, and while reloading his revolver told the customers that he was going to kill them all. Then a person open carrying a single-action Colt .45 came in and shot the criminal in the stomach, saving at least six or seven lives. I received a detailed account from a VCDL member who was at the scene (but not the person with the .45). One of the things I was told is how some of the customers were telling the police that the open- carrier was a hero and how he saved their lives. If that's not being a first-responder when no one else was there to help, I don't know what is. Here is the press coverage (and there won't be a word of any of this on any of the national news broadcasts): http://tinyurl.com/n2m9vq Richmond Times-Dispatch Two shot in South Richmond store By Reed Williams Published: July 12, 2009 A gunman who had wounded a shopkeeper and opened fire on several customers was stopped yesterday when another man shot him at the store in South Richmond, authorities said. The violent attempted robbery took place shortly after 1 p.m. at the Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway, the same store where another man was shot last month -- and only three blocks from the scene of another robbery in June that left a shopkeeper dead. Owners of as many as a dozen Jefferson Davis-area businesses flocked to the scene of the shooting, and many were rattled by such a brazen daylight attack, said Councilwoman Reva Trammell, whose 8th District includes the Jefferson Davis corridor. Trammell, who arrived outside the store shortly after yesterday's shootings, described a frenzied scene. One man told Trammell that the man who had shot the robber was a guardian angel. "Whoever did it probably saved their lives in there," Trammell said of the shooter. Police did not identify anyone involved in yesterday's shootings. The man who shot the robber is a friend of the store owner, and he was wearing a holster with a Western-style revolver, said Managing Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland. After the suspect shot the store owner and opened fire on patrons, the owner's friend shot the suspect once in the torso, took his gun and called police, Thorne-Begland said. Thorne-Begland said it appeared that the shooting of the suspect was justified, although he emphasized that the investigation was in the early stages. Police said they expect to file charges against the suspect. The store owner's injuries did not appear life-threatening, authorities said, but the gunman's injuries were said to be life- threatening. No one else was hurt. Anthony Gregory, who lives near Golden Food, said he was in the store about 15 minutes before the shootings, and that while he was there, he saw a man with a baby making a purchase. Gregory said the owner told the baby, "Welcome to the world. This is a dangerous world, so be careful. But don't worry, God will protect you." Police Cmdr. Steve Drew said officers had been patrolling up and down Jefferson Davis yesterday and recently have bolstered their presence in the area. He said it was unusual for a commercial robbery to happen so early in the day. The previous shooting at Golden Food took place late the night of June 12. And three nights earlier, a co-owner of the Come and Go Food Market, which is about three blocks north of Golden Food on Jefferson Davis, was shot and killed in a robbery. Authorities said it was too early to know whether any of the three shootings on Jefferson Davis are connected. A few hours after yesterday's shootings, Said "Sam" Messaf, the man who was shot June 12 at Golden Food, was at the store to help another man shut down the market. Messaf described how he had been helping out at the store June 12 when two robbers came inside. One man opened fire, reaching over the counter and shooting as Messaf cowered behind it, he said. Messaf was shot six times in his legs. He said he suffered nerve damage in his left leg and has trouble sleeping. Trammell said residents and business owners were scared by the recent violence but have faith that police are doing their best to stop it. "I'm still shook up," Trammell said. "I'm not afraid, but we've worked so hard on Jefferson Davis -- so hard in that area to bring crime down." -- http://tinyurl.com/nvo7rp Police charge South Richmond man in convenience store shooting By Staff Reports Published: July 13, 2009 Richmond police have charged a 30-year-old South Richmond man in the aborted robbery of a convenience store that left him and the store owner wounded. James Grooms of the 2200 block of Chalfont Drive remains hospitalized after being shot by a friend of the owner of Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond. Grooms shot the store owner and fired at several customers, missing them, in the attempted robbery on Saturday just after 1 p.m. Police charged Grooms with attempted robbery, use of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in the custody of the Richmond Sheriff's Office while being treated for a gunshot wound to the torso at VCU Medical Center. No information was available on his condition. The attempted robbery was the second time in a month that a shopkeeper at Golden Market was shot. Said "Saim" Messaf was shot on June 12. The store's owner, who police did not identify, suffered non-life threatening wounds in Saturday's shooting. No information was available today on his condition. ***************************************************************************** 2. Supreme Court candidate Sotomayor won't say she believes that the Second Amendment is Incorporated ***************************************************************************** Story here: http://tinyurl.com/mmv4m4 VCDL mentioned in this piece on opposition to Sotomayor: http://tinyurl.com/mvtuq7 ***************************************************************************** 3. Two more states have now repealed their restaurant bans ***************************************************************************** Tennessee and Arizona have now both repealed their restaurant bans, leaving just a handful of states with such a ban. Of the states touching Virginia , only North Carolina has a restaurant ban. And, no, Governor Kaine, unlike what you said on television some months ago, Delaware is NOT a state that touches Virginia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV-mB3Wjuqs In Tennessee it was a major battle, even going to court with an injunction filed by the anti-gunners. All to no avail - gun owners won each challenge. Congratulations to gun owners in both states - great job! Let's be resolved that Virginia's restaurant ban will be gone by this time next year. ***************************************************************************** 4. VCDL to be on Danish television ***************************************************************************** I was interviewed at length by two members of the Danish press on Saturday who are working on a pro-gun piece, in English, about gun ownership in America. We started by going to Dominion Shooting Range (www.dominionshootingrange.com ) in Richmond. The reporters got some footage of me shooting and the reporters, both ladies, got to shoot their first gun (a 9 MM Springfield XD-9 subcompact that I own). They were absolutely beaming, loving the adrenaline rush. For their first time shooting a gun, and a centerfire gun at that, they did an excellent job. Next we went to Bob Moates Sports Shop, on Hull Street in Midlothian, to look at a variety of guns - from M1 Garands, to AK-47s, to AR-15s, to Glocks and Kahrs. Finally, we went to the Richmond gun show at the Showplace, where they simply went in and walked around with me (no filming was allowed inside). They were quite impressed with the show and the number of everyday Americans in attendance. The story won't be aired for a month or so. We will probably put a link on our web site since the show will be in English. Some may ask why I bother doing interviews with foreign press. The reason is that it is important for the rest of the world to understand the importance of gun ownership. If gun groups don't show gun ownership as it really is to the foreign press, who will? The Bradys? We don't want to be the only country in the world that has civilian owned guns. We must break through the lies and deceptions that are designed to turn other countries against gun ownership. Thanks, again, to Dominion and Bob Moates for their hospitality. This coming Saturday I will be interviewed by the Japanese. More on how that goes next week. ------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************************