In the wake of Hurricane Ian’s devastation, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently told reporters that several businesses had painted the infamous warning “you loot, we shoot” on their boarded up store fronts as they prepared for the inevitable criminal aftermath of the natural disaster. But DeSantis had his own warning for looters:
“I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home. I would not want to chance that if I were you, given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”
And DeSantis wasn’t alone. Florida’s Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd also made headlines for his warning to criminals looking to take advantage of the devastation wrought by Ian:
“I would highly suggest that if a looter breaks into your home, comes into your home while you’re there to steal stuff, that you take your gun and you shoot him. You shoot him so that he looks like grated cheese. Because you know what? That’s one looter that won’t break into anyone else’s home and take advantage of them when they’re the most vulnerable and the most weak.”
Sound bites aside, what actually happens in these communities as they’re rattled by looting and unrest? Just as we’ve seen peaceable individuals commonly use firearms in everyday self-defense and to stop would-be mass shooters, peaceable gun owners also regularly use firearms to defend their lives and livelihoods from destruction and looting after natural disasters and civil unrest.
Here are five such examples:
1) Orlando Jewelry Store Owner Stops Would-Be Looters in the Wake of Hurricane Ian
It takes a special kind of depravity to loot in the wake of a natural disaster. And yet, as Orlando recovers from the destruction of Hurricane Ian, four criminals took the opportunity to target a jewelry store in Orlando’s Magic Mall and attempted to ‘smash and grab’ the store.
The store owner, however, was armed. When the four entered, the owner opened fire, striking at least two. One was found dead at the store, the other three got into a car and fled. Police later found the car abandoned, and one more would-be looter dead.
Another store owner in the Magic Mall had this warning: “There’s a lot of concealed license carriers here. So if you come to the Magic Mall and you want to commit a crime, there’s a really good chance you’re gonna get shot.”
2) Scottsdale, Arizona, Jewelry Store Owners Stop Vandals in their Tracks
In May 2020, Scottsdale, Arizona, was one of the many cities across the United States to experience violent unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd. But some Arizonans wouldn’t allow their livelihoods to be destroyed.
After seeing criminals break in and loot the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall the evening prior, several members of the community armed themselves to protect a local jewelry store from suffering the same fate.
Sure enough, that evening, they watched protesters march down Scottsdale’s 5th Avenue, destroying stores and storefronts along the way.
When the vandals reached the well-protected jewelry store, they were stopped in their tracks. The protesters seemingly decided it wasn’t in their best interest to damage this particular store, and instead staged a performative protest in front of it. The store suffered no damage, and no one was harmed.
The store owner’s son spoke out: “We weren’t here to hurt anybody. We weren’t here to harm anybody. After seeing exactly what happened to the Apple store, this isn’t protesting, this isn’t rioting, this is crime.”
3) Philadelphia Gun Store Owner Shoots and Kills Would-Be Looter
Just days after the Scottsdale incident, one would-be Philadelphia looter didn’t walk away from his attempt to loot a local gun store. Gregory Isabella, the 67-year-old owner of a gun store in South Philadelphia, spent the night in his store because of multiple break-in attempts over the past few nights.
That evening, Gregory was monitoring security camera footage and saw a group of men use bolt cutters to cut a lock off the store’s gate. They smashed in the back door and went upstairs, where they encountered the armed owner.
One pointed a handgun at Gregory, and Gregory opened fire, striking and killing one criminal and sending the others running. Not only did Gregory protect his life and livelihood, but he also prevented the would-be looters from terrorizing his community with stolen firearms.
4) Texas Looters Choose the Wrong Neighborhood to Loot After Hurricane Harvey
In 2018, after Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc across Texas, a group of looters targeted the Little York Food Mart in Harris County, just north of Houston. While they were trying to take advantage of the unprotected store, Nash John came to its defense.
Bearing a shotgun slung over his shoulder, the looters quickly ran off as the ex-SWAT Deputy approached the store, preventing the looters from getting away with anything.
“As a former law enforcement officer, I understand it’s not right to steal. I let it be known that I was carrying a firearm. I’m not going to allow them to destroy my community, because this is where I live.”
Nash didn’t just defend the Little York Food Mart, he also helped people in his community escape flood waters and cleared debris so first-responders could reach other stranded residents. Nash shows exactly what a “good guy with a gun” can do for a community in need.
5) International — Armed South Africans Band Together to Protect Communities Against Looters
Peaceable individuals taking responsibility to protect their own lives and livelihoods during times of unrest isn’t limited to just the United States — it’s a fact of life in many countries (at least those that don’t prohibit people from possessing the tools necessary for self-defense).
While not the friendliest country towards individual gun ownership, just last year in South Africa, everyday South Africans banded together to defend themselves and their communities against widespread looting.
After former President Zuma was jailed for failing to respond to a legal summons, violent unrest broke out in South Africa. More than 70 people were killed, thousands were arrested, and the country experienced hundreds of incidents of looting and vandalism.
In response to the violence, South Africans armed themselves with guns and whatever weapons they could find to protect their lives and communities. In southern Johannesburg, taxi operators, who were nearly completely stopped from operating because of the turmoil, used firearms to protect against and scare off looters. Some individuals blocked off streets to prevent plundering in their neighborhoods. Others armed themselves to protect local malls from looting. Some store owners in the mall poured oil on the floors making them too slick for looters to run away.
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All in all, no matter the disaster or unrest, when peaceable individuals are empowered to own the tools necessary for self-defense, they can — and will — protect their lives, livelihoods, and communities from the violent crime that seemingly inevitably follows. From hurricanes to riots, from Florida to South Africa, firearms allow people to take their defense into their own hands and to level the playing field when faced with violent criminals.
Cody J. Wisniewski (@TheWizardofLawz) is a Senior Attorney for Constitutional Litigation with Firearms Policy Coalition. His work has appeared in The Washington Times, The Washington Examiner, National Review, The Daily Wire, and more. He primarily focuses on Second Amendment issues but is happy so long as he is reminding the government of its enumerated powers and constitutional limitations.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.