Montgomery County police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue in Bethesda yesterday afternoon. The robbery took place at, or outside of, the Giant store at 5400 Westbard Avenue around 4:40 PM on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
@CordellTraffic reported on Twitter that multiple juvenile males, armed with at least one handgun, demanded the male victim's iPhone 8 Plus at gunpoint. They then fled in a white Audi.
Armed robberies are quite rare in the Westbard area, aside from bank robberies. The only two armed robberies I can recall there in the last decade were on Westbard Avenue near the Residences at the Capital Crescent Trail almost tens years ago, and - most recently - at the now-closed Rite Aid in the Westwood Shopping Center.
24 comments:
This is almost hard to believe. All good guys should be able to carry a firearm if they choose to do so. MD is among the very few in the entire nation that makes it almost impossible to carry. Not everyone wants to do that. But why should these creeps be able to carry (they don't care about any laws clearly) and decent, law-abiding citizens cannot? It's just crazy. Not a fan of guns? Fine. Pepper spray these total morons right in the face.
I hope someone got a plate number but likely that car was stolen. Unreal.
But I thought this was a "gun free zone"?
They should start their search for suspects by interviewing the ICU nurses at Suburban. I'm sure they'll get some quick leads.
I shudder to think what might have happened if bystanders started shooting, all for the sake of an iphone.
As a lawful concealed carry holder for several other states including DC/VA/UT, it's horrifying to read about something like this happening. The brazenness of it happening in broad daylight shows that these criminals know that virtually nobody is carrying in MD because of the strict rules on it and they know that given the latest war on the police and defunding movements, that they'll likely get away with their crime(s). I carry daily in other jurisdictions, and while I'll never draw on an already drawn weapon, I would have seen these criminals coming from a mile away and I would have defended myself and those I cared about with my firearm. I would then immediately call the police.
@7:39 AM: Pepper spray on a drawn firearm?.... excuse me, what? Nah man, you just give them what they want and go home. Don't be a hero if you aren't carrying a firearm and if you didn't draw first and get them in your sight picture before they get you in theirs.
8:07 AM - HUH??? Did I miss something?
@11:05 AM: Right after they finish looking at the ICU nurses as primary suspects, they should head over to CVS and interview all the pharmacists. After that, they should head over to Bloomingdale's and interview the employees working in the bed linens/towels department. We know that those folks have a history of illegally carrying and possessing a firearm in MD.
@9:41 AM: I think you meant to say "criminals" instead of bystanders. I have concealed carry permits for several states including DC/VA/UT. I fulfilled all the legal requirements to get my permits. I took private lessons with an NRA certified instructor. I go to the range and practice drawing from a concealed holster and getting multiple rounds accurately on target. As I said before, you never draw on a drawn weapon pointed at you when the aggressor already has you in their sight picture and you never draw your weapon when it's unsafe for you to do so based on your target background.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion and to say it's "all for the sake of an iPhone", but I'll bet you wish I was there with my weapon if your life was in danger and the police weren't there yet. Just because I'm there doesn't mean the weapon comes out and it doesn't mean that I'm endangering your life or the lives of others. I use my practiced judgment to determine if I draw a gun that I'm legally carrying. Don't lump me as a lawful carrying bystander (and others who legally carrying like me) with the lawless and illegally carrying criminals, who obviously don't give a damn about the laws or "gun free zones".
In Montgomery County we have de funding the police through attrition. 28 officers have left the force and they are not being replaced.
10:34 - Your comment is right on. You replied to mine about pepper spray. We're in agreement about the craziness of MD. I was just saying pepper spray better than nothing because you essentially can't carry in MD.
The police are professions with guns and yet can be surprised and shot nonetheless. Let’s stop this stupid dialogue about carrying a gun so you can be a hero.
The anti-gun people are missing the point. Criminals don't care about legislation but are all for it so they can commit crimes of opportunity like this because an unarmed populace makes easy prey.
If you think that a CCP holder is looking to be a hero, I'm glad you don't carry a firearm.
If there is no possibility of deterrence (citizen with a gun) then the criminality will increase. Getting away with it only encourages more robberies.
@5:56 PM: I don't want to be a hero. I do refuse to be a victim, and I'll take any legal measures that I can by concealed carrying to protect my family or those I care about. There's nothing stupid about this dialogue. It's just a conversation about reality that you don't seem to want to have.
Are those police officers getting shot by legal concealed carry holders who are following the law? I'll wait for your answer on that....
@4:06 PM: Cool cool. Pepper Spray definitely has its place, and I carry that as well.
MD's laws on Concealed Carry are ridiculous. It'll be interesting to see how this upcoming Supreme Court case could affect MD Laws: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-consider-right-carry-gun-outside-home-n1265357
@2:28 PM: It's just terrible to see this. In the absence of police, criminals commit more crime, and people are forced to take legal measures to protect themselves including lawfully concealed carrying if they are eligible under MD Laws. If they aren't eligible to carry under MD's atrocious restrictions on conceal carry, then they're just going to be victims because the police aren't there to protect them.
5:56 PM
Let's stop ridiculous and dangerous comments like yours that help nothing. We do have something called the Second Amendment. Many in MoCo and broader MD don't appreciate this fundamental right. You don't want to carry? Fine, no one is forcing you to do so. But many others would like to exercise that right in MD. MD is one of the very few in the entire country that has what's called a May Issue policy versus a Shall Issue. What this means is that MD basically does not approve carry permits for good and decent citizens. Crazy and dangerous. What does most of the rest of this country do? They issue the permit for decent and law abiding citizens determined by a standard background check. So, let me ask you this? What is wrong with being a hero? These total scumbags can shoot you anywhere you go and you can't similarly carry in order to save yourself or someone you don't even know? Where's the logic in that? It's not about being a hero. It's about fighting back against total lawlessness that clearly can occur even in a nice center like Westwood in broad daylight. MD will be changed to a Shall Issue state soon enough.
Yeah I am sure the best situation here would've been for the victim to pull a gun, thereby escalating a cell phone robbery to a kill or be killed situation. Not very smart.
Yeah I am sure the best outcome here would've been for the victim to pull a gun and escalate a cell phone robbery to a kill-or-be-killed situation.
6:22 - Exactly. I follow the great work of MSI very closely. Even Southern states finally had to get on board with laws regarding discrimination. MD won't have a choice. Can't wait. Something is wrong when DC can carry and MD can't. Boggles the mind.
@7:21 AM: Absolutely spot on. Hopefully the ridiculous "May Issue" gets changed to "Shall Issue". I guess we'll see, but this Supreme Court Case is a step in the right direction.
@5:56 PM: When I'm concealed carrying, you don't know it. That's the whole point. I don't carry or brandish my weapon to show off and I don't carry or brandish it to be a hero. As 4:48 AM said, you clearly have no knowledge about conceal carry or about people who do, but I'll add that you also have an unwillingness to learn, so I concur with him/her that I'm glad you don't conceal carry a firearm. Be sure to call a social worker when the police don't come.
Guns... more guns... "good guy" with gun sees man also with gun...shoots him and maybe misses but hits child bystander, then finds out the other man was a another "good guy" or the police come and see guys with guns and shoots both.
This is Westbard.... not the wild West... God forbid we have dumb people walking around with guns.
11:18 - Another clueless comment from the Left. You're missing the entire point. Your comment reveals that clearly. You'd say that about Beverly Hills, Brookhaven in Atlanta, Chevy Chase, Potomac, etc. The point is we can't protect ourselves in MD and crime doesn't have any boundaries. These morons picked the right state that's for sure. Does this happen in Texas? Of course but at least the vast majority there have a fighting chance because they are mostly carrying which also gives the crook some pause. They know that Marylanders aren't carrying. Yeah, that's fair. What would you like us to do, ask nicely not to shoot? Hell, we don't even have a Stand Your Ground law in MD. That's right, you're supposed to flee danger and in many cases (this could have been one clearly) flee for your life. Don't like 2A? Fine but don't tread on it. It isn't going anywhere much to Biden's chagrine.
@9:18 AM and @9:20 AM: Looks like you're the same person... so I'll respond to "both" of you. As I said before, and which you clearly didn't read or bother to understand, you NEVER draw a weapon from concealed carry when a gun is already drawn on you as a victim and you're in the aggressor's sight picture. Period. End of story. If you still don't understand that, read it again. If you still don't understand that after reading it again, I'm glad that you don't conceal carry and hopefully you won't ever do it until you understand that. Choosing to draw a weapon is a CHOICE made with trained judgment after evaluating the circumstances of the aggressor, the environment and the target background. Drawing a concealed weapon as a victim is optional. NOT drawing a concealed weapon means you're NOT escalating. Anything else you need me to explain to you about this?
11:18 AM: Have any issue with the criminals who walk around with guns? Westbard will turn into the wild west without adequate policing and the acceptance of reality. These criminals see Westbard as the wild west, even if you don't want to. As a conceal carry permit holder in multiple states, I agree, dumb people shouldn't walk around with guns. That's why you have training courses and that's why I've taken them. I'm not the problem. Don't lump me in with lawless criminals or untrained idiots who have no business carrying.
Well stated. The Left doesn't understand this.
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