An armed robbery was reported yesterday afternoon at the same Bethesda shopping mall where a homicide occurred Monday. A man armed with a gun entered Posh Nails in the Shops of Wisconsin at 5:25 PM, robbed victims of iPhones and purses, and then fled the scene. The robbery was first reported by MoCoPGNews on Twitter.
About two hours earlier, another armed robbery was reported at the Walgreens store in the Bradley Shopping Center a few blocks away. No further information about either incident has been released by Montgomery County police at this time.
23 comments:
People clamored to change Bethesda from a mundane, utilitarian suburban commercial area to a dynamic, "vibrant, walkable" urban enclave, a mini-Manhattan. Crime, (among other things,) is what goes along with that. In addition to 80 bars & restaurants per block, hi-rise skylines, and outposts of New York shops --hello, $4 Levain cookies-- settle in for more frequent and more violent crime. IF you reallywant to pretend you're a New Yorker, shrug it off and go about your day.
Tis the season.
The Walgreens also had an armed robbery previously about a month or two ago. That’s 2 armed incidents for both the shopping center and the walgreen's. Although it was revealed the shooting was drug related and not a random act of violence. I certainly hope they are beefing up surveillance cameras and alarm systems at the least in both of these locations This is very worriesome that thugs seem to be targeting Bethesda at a time when not that many people are outside due to the holidays and covid.
All part of the Bolshevik plan. Destroy society by fomenting political and racial divisions. It's working as intended. A few Bolsheviks may actually fall victim to the results of their endeavors. That's collateral damage that cannot be avoided, nor is it to be lamented. The end result is the only thing that matters.
@5:50, do you actually believe what you wrote, or is that just performance art?
Oh, the bolsheviks, ok.
I'm sure these criminals went through the rigorous background check that's required under MD law. I'm also sure that they were carrying MD-compliant handguns with the maximum capacity of 10 rounds. There's no doubt in my mind that these were legal gun owners who were conceal carrying with an approved permit and that they were following the state gun laws that are designed to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
In case anyone still doesn't get it, gun laws aren't for criminals like this. They don't care about them. Gun laws are for people who actually follow the law, and since MD doesn't currently allow conceal carry without showing a "good and substantial reason" to a State bureaucrat, the State has the ability to (and does) deny most if nearly all applications. The Supreme Court recently heard a Conceal Carry case out of NY about the constitutionality/legality of this kind of law. A decision is expected by June, and MD may be forced to change its Carry Law to be "Shall Issue" just like DC.
What this means for now is that the criminals know that virtually no-one in MD is carrying, and that makes people easy targets.
5:50 PM makes an excellent point.
There is no consequence to breaking the law anymore, and the bad guys know it… As a result, we will keep seeing more and increasingly violent crime come to Bethesda. Georgetown is a total mess, and Bethesda will be in the same place soon.
Pssst, hey, @11:11, I'll let you in on the Maryland SocialistCommunistBolshevikDemocRat Top Secret Plan to Take Away Your Guns(TM): By having the regulations you described, the state wants to make it harder for criminals to get guns, not easier, especially since neighboring Virginia seems to give away handguns with every fill-up. Yes, it is an inconvenience for law-abiding citizens to go through the process to prove they need a concealed carry permit, and many, if not most, fail to provide sufficient proof they need to carry a weapon on them at all times. It isn't a blanket proscription on their owning firearms, it only means they can't walk around the streets, "strapped." If you think it's appalling that thugs are able to get their thieving hands on guns now, just wait until SCOTUS overturns NY State Rifle and announces everyone, everywhere, may walk the streets, armed. You think criminals will turn scared if they aren't sure their next victim is armed? Those little thugs at the Target sliced a guy's throat for two ounces of weed. Do you think that mindset is going to be sobered/chastened if guns are made easier to acquire? Sure, another potential victim might be armed and may return fire, perhaps wounding or killing the robber. But I envision a scene where the guy already willing to use a knife to kill is going to find looser gun laws have made his criminal activity that much easier. He already knows he's going to rob and possibly kill his victim, and has "the drop," (isn't that what the Mike Hammer lingo is?) on his victim.
The Supremes have no trouble prescribing time, place, manner restrictions for the rest of the Bill of Rights --what constitutes free speech, where you may assemble, whether or not you must obtain permits to march, no-knock warrants, etc, etc, etc-- and people aren't apoplectic with rage that the government has curtailed those liberties. Only the 2-A seems to be inviolate in the minds of the citizenry. I don't understand that.
I certainly think that the Walgreens and the Nail Salon should both be installing “Panic Buttons” below the counters in easy reach in case of robbery, at the very least………….This is a simple thing to do that can help……….This isn’t rocket science people !!!
Agree.
Agree!
8:39 PM has been captivated by Joe's creepy whispering.
Fact:Failure to enforce laws already on the books makes new liberal "feel good" gun laws a joke except those who actually obey the law. Democrats love to put pass new laws but fail miserably when it comes to accountability.
Fact: Anti police rhetoric along with prosecutors who release the same criminals multiple times is why we're at the point we are today.
Maryland and specifically Bethesda is a fertile area with generally unarmed citizenry. Weathly parts of LA are experiencing rampant "follow home crimes". Democrats own this.
@8:39 PM: Ok, so then explain this to me: People get guns legally in Virginia because you say it's so easy to get them in Virginia vs other states. The people then take these legally acquired guns and they make a conscious choice to not commit these crimes in Virginia, but to commit them in Maryland instead. Let this sink in for a bit... and you'll eventually realize that it's not the guns that are the problem. It's the people. The guns have never been the problem. I understand if this is a big step for you to accept, but it's the truth.
I fully support background checks. They make it harder for criminals to get guns. Every other regulation besides that that isn't actual law enforcement or crime prevention is a vanity project. 10 Round Magazine Limit? That's pure vanity. Some criminal isn't going to abide by that because it's the law, but a law abiding person will follow it. So what's the point of that if a criminal won't abide by it, but a law abiding person will?
"Proving that you need a concealed carry permit". It's more than an "inconvenience" if MD isn't interested in accepting proof. The whole point of "May Issue" is that they can deny them as much as they want to. "Good and substantial reason" doesn't stop a criminal from getting or carrying a gun illegally. Even you have to admit that by now. These regulations are pure vanity and they attempt to "prevent" crimes that don't happen by people who don't commit them. But it makes you feel like you're doing something doesn't it?
I won't speak for every situation. When I conceal carry, I'm 100% focused on the potential threats around me. I assess each person in all four directions around me at all times. That's the responsibility you need to have when you do conceal carry. I do think some criminals will turn scared if they aren't sure their next victim is armed. That's the whole point. This will definitely stop a large percentage of crimes. The people who are already carrying illegally aren't affected by conceal carry laws, because they never cared what the laws were in the first place. The only people affected by conceal carry laws are the victims and potential victims of crimes.... because they didn't have to be victims. They could have been armed with sufficient practice and training to protect themselves. You know this. You may not want to admit it, but you know it.
As for those "little thugs" at the Target: I personally can't control what they do to other people, but I would like to be able to control what they would do to me... and I refuse to be a victim to people like this. My radar would have already been up. As a conceal carrier, that's how you have to be. I don't ever let myself be caught off-guard. I give suspicious people plenty of room and space. I will never draw on a drawn gun. However, I will draw on a drawn knife in my threat space (21 Feet per the Tueller Drill) and I will put two rounds center mass to neutralize the threat because I've trained to do it over and over.
I'm fine with time, place and manner restrictions on speech which comport with the constitution and which are viewpoint neutral. What's happened with "May Issue" states is that they've effectively become "No Issue" states in practice, and that's blatantly unconstitutional. Hopefully the Supreme Court comes back with a holding that will prevent these kinds of unconstitutional policies and practices.
@5:25 AM is spot on here. Well said.
3:41 PM is right....
@8:39 PM: I support "stop and frisk", which is an effective gun control measure. Do you?
8:52, I would argue Virginia gun purchases do not correlate to a higher percentage of Virginia gun crimes because criminals carry out their evil deeds on turf familiar to them, not at the point of purchase. Thus, non-Virginians probably wait until they get home before unleashing mayhem with their new, shiny toys. Further, my understanding is many ultimately illegally used guns bought in VA were acquired either by theft from altogether innocent citizens whose firearms were stolen in residential burglaries, or by cut-outs/middlemen who bought the guns legally and then ferried the weapons for re-sale to crooks/thieves/worse.
I'm delighted and relieved to hear that you, as a concealed carrier and I assume a non-law enforcement professional, (forgive me if you are LEO, I make this assumption b/c you made no mention of it,) are hyper-vigilant at every encounter with humans proximal to you; that your radar is up, assessing, evaluating, calculating potential and probability for bad situations, and that you have it all worked out how you will respond in the heat of an encounter with a crook, putting "two rounds center mass to neutralize the threat." It sounds exhausting, but it also sounds like the degree of vigilance/diligence needed for such an awesome responsibility: carrying a deadly weapon. Would that fulltime, [presumably] extensively trained, professional law enforcement officers were able to rise to the same level of cool proficiency about which you speak with such assurance. Did you happen to read about the Los Angeles Police Department shooting the other day, just before Christmas, where officers who [presumably] had even more training in the use of deadly force than you killed a teenage bystander and wounded another innocent woman as the LAPD opened fire on an assault suspect, (armed with a cable lock or some such, not a firearm.)
If fulltime cops can get things wrong and can wound and kill people they [the cops] weren't trying to hit, what can you say to reassure readers the average suburban Bethesda homeowner is going to perform any better if concealed carry laws are loosened? You may well spend 40 hours a week training for such possible encounters, and more power to you if you do take such preparatory efforts, should you ever find yourself needing to use your weapon. My worry is with all the legions of people who won't invest adequately in training and re-training; the hotheads --and there are plenty of them around the DC area-- who, when SCOTUS overturns NY Gun will go out and buy a gun (or two! or more!!) They'll be armed as they go to the supermarket, to the kid's soccer games, or crawl in Beltway traffic, and when these non- or minimally-trained suburban Washingtonians find themselves in frustrating situations, I'm willing to bet the same neurological response that makes people more aggressive behind the wheel and at the computer keyboard than they would be in a face-to-face encounter, the bravado of anonymity and isolation/distance, will whisper to at least a few of these neophyte gun slingers to reach for their weapon to resolve matters, with "two rounds center mass to neutralize the threat." Not most, but a few will. . .
@1:26 The problem with your argument is one of consequences whereas criminals feel none because of the lack of enforcement and liberal prosecutors that won't keep them incarcerated. Most law abiding CCP holders understand the huge responsibility they undertake when they do carry. By saying citizens shouldn't be able to defend themselves out of what could happen sounds like someone who lives by the actuarial tables so as much as you would like a guarantee there is no such thing in real life.
When seconds matter, the police will be there in minutes so better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
@1:26 PM:
- MD Handgun Purchase: As of 10/1/2013, the buyer must possess a valid Handgun Qualification License (HQL). To apply for an HQL, the law requires a fingerprint-based background check by MD State Police. There's also a seven day waiting period prior to taking possession. MD has a 10 round capacity limit on magazines. Open carry is not allowed. MD is a "May Issue" state for conceal carry, which requires that the applicant demonstrate a "good and substantial reason". These applications are routinely denied. There's a Course/Range requirement.
- VA Handgun Purchase: Must present a valid photo-ID form issued by a governmental agency. VA State Police handle all firearms background checks. VA doesn't have a round capacity limit on handgun magazines. Open carry does not require a permit. Conceal carry requires a permit. VA is a "Shall Issue" state for conceal carry. VA has a Course requirement.
- DC Handgun Purchase: There are no gun stores in DC. A DC-compliant gun is usually purchased in either MD or VA, and the gun is transferred directly to one of the two DC FFL's. They run an instant NICS check, and the DC Police Department conducts fingerprinting/background checks to confirm the applicant meets DC law requirements before possession is taken. DC has a 10 round capacity limit on magazines and it also has a "one-reload or 20 total rounds total limit" for conceal carry. DC is a "Shall Issue" state for conceal carry with a Course/Range requirement. Open carry is not allowed.
Your point "that criminals carry out their evil deeds on turf familiar to them, not at the point of purchase" further confirms it's the people, not the guns that are the cause of the crime. Almost no one goes through all of this legal process and then commits a violent crime against people or property with a legal gun that they purchased. If you took all the crimes committed with legal guns and eliminated illegal gun crimes, we wouldn't have a crime problem. Your point further demonstrates that the enacted gun laws don't actually prevent crimes by criminals. You said so yourself: "many ultimately illegally used guns bought in VA were acquired either by theft from altogether innocent citizens whose firearms were stolen in residential burglaries, or by cut-outs/middlemen who bought the guns legally and then ferried the weapons for re-sale to crooks/thieves/worse." None of the gun laws in the three jurisdictions I referenced above actually stopped that from happening. You said so! It's a sad truth that many gun laws are targeted at people that don't commit crimes. "Stop and Frisk" would do more to prevent actual gun crimes as it's effective gun control against illegally owned/carried guns.
--> "I'm delighted and relieved to hear that you, as a concealed carrier…”
I'm glad to hear that. Thanks. That's what you need to do if you carry. I am not an LEO.
--> "Did you happen to read about ..."
Yes I did. It's sad of course. They were told by a 911 caller that there were shots fired by a gun. The police had no knowledge that anyone was hiding behind a wall in their targeted field of fire. You shouldn't isolate this anecdotal incident to reflect on other circumstances.
--> "If fulltime cops can get things wrong.... but a few will. . ."
In addition to being anecdotal, this is a slippery slope argument and I don't share your concern. There won't be a run on guns for conceal carry that will create a crime wave. These folks don't commit crimes with legal guns and the whole point of conceal carry is that you don't know who's carrying. People who illegally own and carry will still do so since they're ignoring the law anyway. (That's what "Stop and Frisk" would catch of course.) However, the potential targeted victims of criminals may be able to better defend themselves in certain situations.
5:04 AM makes an excellent point here. The crime problem isn't due to responsible law-abiding CCP holders. The crime problem results from crime prevention measures and law enforcement policies which have failed the community well before the criminals even encounter a law-abiding CCP holder. Criminals feel an entitled impunity to commit crimes because of these failed policies. You want to put a stop to gun crimes by committed by criminals with illegal guns? Enact and enforce Stop and Frisk.
My 13 year old daughter was the one to call the police and stop the robbery. The salon never checked on her. Such a sad state of affairs.
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