Virginia 7-Eleven Customer Shoots 2 Suspects During Robbery-In-Progress

File photo showing a 7-Eleven store. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A customer with a concealed carry permit foiled a robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Virginia by shooting two armed suspects, leaving one gravely wounded and the other dead.

The incident took place at around 2:10 a.m. on July 25 at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Virginia Beach, according to police, reported to WTVR.

Officers responding to the scene said they found two suspects suffering from gunshot wounds. One suspect was pronounced dead on the scene, WTVR reported, while the other was said to have sustained life-threatening wounds.

“Another citizen, who was already in the store and in possession of a legal weapon, confronted and ultimately shot the suspects,” a Virginia Beach Police spokesperson said, via WTVR.

Police cited by Norfolk’s WTKR-TV said witnesses called the customer a “hero.”

A third person was taken into custody outside of the 7-Eleven, according to the report.

WTKR-TV posted the story on Facebook, where it sparked numerous reactions.

“Glad SOMEBODY was there to save the lives if those innocent bystanders and employees. This person is a hero in my opinion,” one person wrote.

“Concealed carry once again saved lives. I’m just glad the news is actually reporting on this. God bless the hero that saved the workers and customers’ lives,” someone else wrote.

“These sound like the same thugs that robbed the CVS and they attacked my son who was a customer at the time. Thanks to the brave customer who saved the day,” another commenter said.

According to WTKR, police said the same suspects may be linked to three other 7-Eleven robberies that took place overnight.

WTVR posted the story on its Facebook page, generating numerous reactions.

“So glad there was an armed person there, should be given an award! If more armed and ready to defend, not nearly as many robberies,” one person wrote.

“Avid 2A supporter and kudos to the guy who stopped the would-be robbers but for me personally, I don’t think I’d take a life for someone robbing a store... that money is insured and can be replaced but again kudos to the citizen with the legal gun.”

“Typical FUDD statement,” someone replied. “Robbers were pointing a gun at an unarmed person and you wouldn’t take them out? Are you a mind reader? Do you think these thugs have any regard for people’s lives?”

Homeowner Armed with AR-15 Kills 2 Home Invaders

The incident follows the case of a Florida homeowner who used an AR-15 to shoot and kill two alleged home intruders, one of whom was wearing a “Friday the 13th” horror movie mask.

The Ocala Star-Banner reported that a total of four suspects allegedly targeted the homeowner’s Marion County residence on Wednesday, July 10, initially seeking to gain entry by pretending to have car trouble and asking for help. The homeowner, identified by WCJB only as a war veteran, said he was unable to help and closed the door.

The suspects allegedly later broke into the home and immediately exchanged fire with the homeowner, who had armed himself with an AR-15 rifle. The gunfight left two suspects dead and the homeowner suffering from gunshot wounds.

Sheriff's deputies at the scene of a crime in Summerfield, Fla., on July 10, 2019. Marion County Sheriff’s Office

Deputies cited by Click Orlando said that when investigators arrived on the scene, one of the alleged intruders, identified as 21-year-old Keith Jackson Jr., was dead. He was reportedly wearing a Jason Voorhees mask from the movie “Friday the 13th” and had a semiautomatic pistol with the slide locked back, suggesting a fully spent magazine. The second deceased suspect was identified by WCJB as 22-year-old Nigel Doyle.

The homeowner is reportedly in stable condition in the intensive care unit.

The Ocala Star-Banner reported that investigators arrested the other two suspects, 19-year-old Robert John Hamilton and 22-year-old Seth Adam Rodriguez, near the scene. Rodriguez was arrested on charges of murder and home invasion robbery with a firearm, it was reported. Hamilton faces home invasion robbery with a firearm.

Top row L-R: Keith Jackson Jr. and Nigel Doyle, both killed in a gunfight with an armed Marion County homeowner on July 10, 2019. Bottom row L-R: Robert Hamilton and Seth Rodriguez, who were arrested. Marion County Sheriff's Office

Hamilton and Rodriguez informed detectives that all four suspects went to the victim’s home with the intention of robbing him of marijuana and guns, WCJB reported.

They were being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.

The investigation continues.

The Moral Right to Self-Defense

David Kopel, an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute and author of the book “The Morality of Self-Defense and Military Action: The Judeo-Christian Perspective,” recently wrote an op-ed for the Epoch Times on the moral right to self-defense.

In his article, Kopel argues that the right to bear arms should be protected. He cites Cicero, the great Roman lawyer and orator of the first century B.C., in support of the case that self-defense against criminals is an application of the natural “instinct of self-preservation.” So “if our life be in danger from plots, or from open violence, or from the weapons of robbers or enemies, every means of securing our safety is honorable,” Kopel writes, citing Cicero.

Kopel also cites a study of defensive arms use, authored by professors Jongyeon Tark and Gary Kleck, who found that “[a] variety of mostly forceful tactics, including resistance with a gun, appeared to have the strongest effects in reducing the risk of injury.” Thus, “the best available evidence indicates that victim resistance to crimes is generally wise.” Further, “armed and other forceful resistance does not appear to increase the victim’s risk of injury.”

While acknowledging different perspectives on gun control, he argues fundamentally that policies undercutting the right to bear arms are best construed as a human rights violation.

“The sanctity of the home against violent and unexpected invasion is a widely expressed fundamental human right all over the world,” Kopel writes. “Accordingly, the self-defense right and its auxiliary right to arms are at their apex in the home. Laws that impede home defense are especially egregious violations of human rights.”