NEWS
Man fights off armed attacker
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by Cara Harshman
Friday, March 14, 2008
A Madison man was attacked at gunpoint early Thursday morning near the Capitol.
A 30-year-old man contacted the Madison Police Department Thursday, reporting he was attacked around 2:15 a.m. at 10 N. Henry St. by a black male armed with a gun.
The assailant is described as a black male, between 20 and 25 years old, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds. According to a police report, he was wearing a black knit cap, and his face was covered with a black bandana. He also wore a black, shiny, puffy waist-length jacket and dark colored pants.
“This is a random assault of a guy who just happened to be walking along on Henry Street,” said Joel DeSpain, public information officer for MPD.
According to the report, the perpetrator grabbed the victim from behind, pointed a gun at him and ordered him to the ground.
“It’s obviously a very unfortunate incident and quite a scary one,” said City Council President, Mike Verveer, District 4 — the district where the incident occurred.
The victim did not get down on the ground but instead engaged in a “tussle” with the gunman, the report said. The fight ended when the perpetrator struck the victim across the face with his gun.
DeSpain said the victim suffered a cut on his cheek.
“Luckily the victim was not seriously injured,” Verveer said. “Absolutely it is not recommended to fight someone armed with a dangerous weapon, as was the case here.”
The victim told police the gunman then walked westbound onto West Washington Avenue.
“We’d like to catch the guy, but we have not caught him yet,” DeSpain said.
According to Verveer, armed muggings like the one early Thursday morning are rare in the downtown area.
“Luckily it’s not these sorts of muggings, particularly those with the use of a gun, that are very common downtown,” Verveer said.
Anonymous (March 14, 2008 @ 9:29am):
"Luckily itâs not these sorts of muggings, particularly those with the use of a gun, that are very common downtown," Verveer said.
Yes, luckily in Madison only the "good" kind of muggings take place.
Hey, wasn't anyone as shocked as me? The mugger was carrying a gun, doesn't he know that is illegal!?
Oh, you mean laws against concealed carry only make innocent victims defenseless?
Anonymous (March 14, 2008 @ 9:56pm):
"Oh, you mean laws against concealed carry only make innocent victims defenseless?"
Oh, please! If you had a gun and got mugged, you'd probably shoot a dozen different people, and not one of them would be the mugger!
Anonymous (March 15, 2008 @ 7:16am):
He wasn't defenseless... He was able to "tussle" with the gunman.
Though that only got him bopped across the nose. I'm with you. It's obvious the suspect wasn't ready to shoot anyone, otherwise, he'd have popped the victim for "tussling" with him. Had the victim been "armed" then the police wouldn't need to look for the suspect, he'd be in custody or in intensive care.
And maybe the next "armed" assailant would think twice?
Anonymous (March 15, 2008 @ 10:41am):
"Oh, please! If you had a gun and got mugged, you'd probably shoot a dozen different people, and not one of them would be the mugger!"
Do you have any real experience on this subject or are you responding with your emotions?
First off, I'm not a gun nut nor am I a criminal. In fact, I'm a police officer who happens to have studied this subject at length.
I'm not one of these people that automatically thinks the 2nd amendment grants us the right to walk around carrying uzis or grenade launchers. That's plain silly.
However, there's a legitimate argument for allowing certain citizens (background checked, no criminal/mental health record, etc..) to carry concealed handguns. I don't think this idea should be discounted so quickly based on people's emotional responses.
I won't go into all the arguments, but here's a few:
Allowing certain people to get permits to carry won't increase the number of guns out there. People already own guns... it just allows the honest citizens to carry them legally. Newsflash, the not-so-honest ones already own AND carry them.
I've also heard rumblings about how police officers won't like CCW. True, most police chiefs are against concealed carry. But most line officers are ok with it. FACT: Not ONE police officer in the country has EVER been shot by a CCW permit holder in the line of duty. However, there are dozens and dozens of documented cases of permit holders coming to the aid of police officers in trouble.
FACT: Most every community that has enacted CCW laws have seen declines in violent crime. Those that have BANNED gun ownership have seen increases (as the criminals seem free to rape/pillage at will).
If we lived in a utopian society and could eliminate ALL crime, then sure, lets get rid of CCW laws. Another fact is that less guns on the street do = less gun crime. However, the reality is you will never get rid of crime, and CCW laws don't increase the number of guns...
Again, there are many arguments on this issue. I think they need to be looked at logically, without emotion (which I know is hard in this town).
Anonymous (March 17, 2008 @ 9:47am):
GUNS FOR ALL
candy for some
Anonymous (March 17, 2008 @ 10:08pm):
Ya, I hate people who have arms concealed. I love the sleeveless wife-beater shirts. That way no people can conceal their arms. ;)
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