Arvada, CO — One armed Colorado resident has a heck of a story to tell after he faced down an attempted carjacker pointing a gun at his stomach with his own concealed weapon.
Paul Heagerty was putting groceries into his trunk in the parking lot of King Sooper’s Grocery story. It was just after noon on a week ago today, Friday, August 28th.
Heagerty reported seeing the man in his peripheral vision before the man came up behind him and said, “Give me your keys.’
“It’s not happening,” Heagerty told the man. But the carjacker escalated things and immediately drew out a handgun and pointed it at Heagerty around mid chest level.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to get shot. It was surreal. When he pulled that gun, I went into tunnel vision. I looked at him and said, ‘It ain’t happening,’” Heagerty said.
Not Today, Criminal
Next, Heagerty did the smart thing: he pulled out his keys and tossed them on the ground a few feet away. When the carjacker’s eyes flicked to the keys and he moved to get them, Heagerty pulled out his legally permitted concealed carry gun.
“I took a giant sidestep, drew my firearm, pointed it right at him and said, ‘Not happening. Not today.’ The look on his face was sheer shock when he looked up and he was looking down the barrel of my pistol,” Heagerty said.
The carjacker hadn’t counted on an armed victim. He immediately turned and ran — the tables turned in a second when the intended victim is armed!
“I was yelling at the top of my lungs that ‘This guy tried to rob me with a firearm. Call the police! Call the police!’” Haegerty said.
Not long after, Arvada police officers arrested Jonathan David Cho, 38. The police reported that Cho had just crashed a stolen truck outside of the McDonald’s next door and was looking for an escape vehicle. He’s been charged with aggravated robbery with a weapon, careless driving, second-degree trespassing, felony menacing with a weapon, leaving the scene of an accident and aggravated motor vehicle theft.
“He picked the wrong guy,” Heagerty said.
Watch this local news interview with Heagerty:
The Good Guy With A Gun Prevailed Again
Now if that’s not wholesome and heartwarming, we don’t know what is! Instead of ending up in the morgue, Paul Heagerty is alive and well and the thug who tried to attack him is behind bars.
Heagerty said, “It all comes down to training. At the end of the day, I don’t regret anything I did, and he’s now in jail.”
But without a gun, there is no doubt at all that this story would have a different ending. Would Cho have simply taken the keys and driven away? Maybe. But anybody desperate enough to steal a car at gunpoint isn’t somebody you want to trust not to harm you.
Heagerty did everything right! And in these crazy times, there’s no reason not to carry everywhere you can. More people are financially desperate, are under intense amounts of stress and pressure, or are not getting the mental health help that they need. After all, even for the average American, it feels like this country has gone off the rails!
Don’t take any chances. Carry every day.