va beach 711 robbery
Courtesy 13newsnow.com

“One person is dead and another injured after a robbery turned shooting early Thursday morning at a Virginia Beach 7-Eleven. The two men shot were the suspected robbers.” That’s the report from 13newsnow.com about an early morning defensive gun use.

Three armed men were out for a night of serial Stop-N-Rob hold-ups in area. They’d already hit as many as three other stores when two of the suspects walked into a 7-Eleven and told the clerks to stick ’em up.

But . . .

Another citizen, who was already in the store and in possession of a legal weapon, confronted and shot the suspects, police said.

An officer located a third person a short distance away from the 7-11 and took him into custody.

One of the two died there. His partner was leaking badly, suffering what are reported as serious injuries. As they say in the movies (NSFW) . . .

A thankful clerk told a reporter in the interview below . . .

It was a man who obviously has his rights to bear arms, and he was and he saved our life. He’s a hero, that’s what that man is. Thank God he was here.

Police identified the man killed as 18-year-old Michael Moore. The other suspect, Ronald Lee Brookins Jr., 18, of Suffolk, is charged with two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, abduction and wearing a mask in public.

Deric Breon Simmons, 19, of Chesapeake, is also charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

As a customer who was in the store at the time of the shooting said . . .

“Thank God for that guy because who knows what could have happened,” she said. “I want to thank that guy personally. I want to buy him a steak dinner.”

Neither Shannon Watts, Ladd Everitt, Kris Brown, David Hogg, or any other member of the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex could be reached for comment.

 

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80 COMMENTS

  1. It appears that Virginia does not charge the deceased robber’s accomplices with homicide for his death. Virginia needs to correct that defect in their laws.

    • Virginia has the felony murder rule, § 18.2-33. They may seat a grand jury for the indictment.

    • Not likely. His friend is dead and he is facing charges so he has suffered enough. Courts would be remiss if they acted that heavy handed. There is a difference between punishment, upholding the law and just being cruel. What you suggest is cruel and would fail a psyche test for law enforcement.

      Simply put some people tried to rob someone and got shot. This is not a big deal but to try to blow it out of proportion is to abuse the legal system and people’s time. Some say the guy was wrong for prepping for a conflict and was too eager to use deadly force, had he let police handle the situtation nobody would have had to die over a simple robbery. Robbing a 711 is pretty petty and not a life or death situtation so it shows that the person is less a hero and more someone who was looking for violence against people that the public would be unsympathetic to.

      Personally I would not have intervened as I am biased against 711 and do not feel that they are worthy of me coming to their aid. They rob people a lot and are shady. Then they get mad when someone robs them. I do not care about anyone in this story but I am not without compassion.

      • That is simply false. Many states (if not all) would allow a charge of felony murder in a case like this. Furthermore, people are regularly charged with felony murder in similar cases. It is entirely up to the DA and the Grand Jury.

        • Reffering to the defect in law statement. The only way a murder charge is justifiable is if the dead person is a victim and not a perp. There is no logic in charging a perp with murder for someone shot by a cop.

        • Perfect logic in it. If as a group it is decided to initiate a life/death situation then all in on that decision certainly deserve the full weight of their choices. It’s not like the cop is killing one of them for fun despite all the BLM nonsense you hear. The accomplices didn’t have the good sense to maybe check their “friends” bad ideas and went along with it, they’re just as guilty as whoever is working gunman. In other words, sometimes it just makes sense to chicken out.

        • @Joseph Malone
          That is the definition of felony murder. It happens all the time and people have been executed for it. Even if the person who “actually” pulled the trigger is not charged (a cop, legal self defender) or is charged but given a lesser sentence, people have been executed for felony murder here and in the UK (btw, it seems the Commonwealth countries are doing away with it), likely elsewhere too. Sucks that your murderous accomplice cops a plea and you, just the getaway driver with no murderous intention and out of the loop get to swing for it. Be cautious of the company you keep.

      • Wait, are you arguing that armed robbery is not a serious offense?
        I can think of only a few crimes that I’d hesitate less to intervene in.
        That’s the definition of “deserves lethal force to resolve,” though that isn’t the best answer, in my opinion, it is totally justified, and if they have a problem with it, they shouldn’t be pointing weapons at people, while demanding their resources.

      • “Robbing a 711 is pretty petty and not a life or death situtation”
        Armed robbery is not serious and not life and death situation? What kind of person says that the clerk doesn’t deserve to be defended with deadly force when threatened at gun point?

  2. “Police identified the man killed as 18-year-old Michael Moore.”

    What a shame it wasn’t 58 (or 68?) year-old Micheal Moore…

  3. Wearing a MASK in public?!? Isn’t that what the Antifa brownshirts DO???😏

    • It’s an add-on charge for crimes, but, yeah, it’s a crime by itself. Silly isn’t it?

  4. Impossible, we can’t do that. The antis tell us that our guns will be stolen and used against us. Good for the defender, sucks he’ll have to live with that forever. Don’t play stupid games(armed robbery) and you’ll be less likely to win stupid prizes (hot lead).

  6. That’s the reason the bad guys fear an armed citizen more than law enforcement. The citizen has no obligation to arrest the offender before he shoots him.

    • Gadsden Flag,

      If a police officer happens to be in a store when two men walk in, point firearms at the cashier, and demand money, does the police officer actually have a legal obligation to somehow try and arrest those armed robbers without shooting first? Or does the police officer have a moral and ethical obligation to immediately shoot the armed robbers?

      Seems to me that shouting anything at the armed robbers could cause them to shoot the cashier or someone else for that matter. I am thinking that the lowest risk to bystanders is if the police officer immediately begins shooting the armed robbers.

      Caveat: I am strictly referring to armed robbers who are pointing firearms at one or more cashiers. I am not referring to armed robbers who have a firearm in hand and whose actions only constitute brandishing. I can see how police could be obligated to try and arrest an armed robber who was brandishing and not yet pointing his/her firearm at anyone.

      • No. An imminent threat of serious injury or death may be met by immediate deadly force. There is generally no difference between the law governing use of deadly force by police and that by civilians ever since Tennessee v. Garner.

      • Uncommon, I wish I could give you a hard and fast answer to your question. That was one of the hard things about being an L.E.O. You make split second decisions, no microsecond decisions, that others get to pick apart at their leisure from the safety of their office. Gun pointed at clerk. You shoot without challenge. Your shot does not sever the brain stem. Instead, it strikes to suspect’s torso triggering a spastic response from his central nervous system. His weapon discharges the projectile striking the clerk. You challenge the suspect. His attention turns to you. A gunfight begins. You’re hit. The suspect the executes all witnesses. You challenge. Gunfight. You’re not hit, but bystanders are. That’s bad. Suspect gets away. That’s worse. You stand back and keep your presence unknown (assuming the moron didn’t see your marked patrol car in the parking lot. Don’t laugh. I was an eye witnesses to a homicide in a convenience store parking lot. There were four marked units 10-12 at the time.) Anyway, you stand back. No one is hurt and suspect escapes. You’re a coward. I could go on. Murphy loves a gunfight. The point of my post is that criminals fear an armed citizen more than a L.E.O. Everything worked out for this guy and I’ll buy him a steak and a lobster. If you’re in a similar situation and you screw up? God help you. About the only place you’re guaranteed to be gold is in your domicile.

        • Gadsden Flag,

          Thank you for your response. Everything that you said makes sense to me.

          As we have stated on this forum before, firearms are not magic talismans and there are no guarantees in life. We decide what we think is best at the time, go with it, and hope and pray for the best.

    • Depends on the situtation. Criminals are more likely to shoot civilians than police because they fear police more. If a cop was pointing a gun at teenagers they would surrender without incident. If a civilian was pointing a gun at teenagers the teenagers would tell the civi to put it down, make threats, then maybe a warning shot. They would not instantly shoot a civilian because he has no powers of arrest. They think they can talk him down or reason with him. If the gun was fake they would get scared and drop it knowing they had no skin in the game.

      • Joseph, I hate to tell you, but almost nothing you said is true. In fact, most of it directly contrary to what I experienced in 24 1/2 year career on the street. You should read Prof. Gary Kleck’s research/study.

  7. Just wondering, did they shoot anybody at the previous robberies? Just playing devils advocate.

    • Probably would have been mentioned if they had but it doesn’t really matter. They had the means to and obviously wanted people to believe they would.

    • Would have been nice if all three of them got shot during their first robbery that day, but hey, no ones complaining. They got what they deserved in the end.

    • What position are you advocating? Were they wearing signs that said “don’t worry, we haven’t shot anyone and don’t plan to”? If so, maybe they shouldn’t have bothered bringing guns?

      Because I imagine that the people in that store had no idea if they have shot anyone yet but likely were convinced that they were willing to. It’s sort of the point of an armed robbery.

  8. Mom said “Nothing good ever happens after midnight”. Glad a good guy was there to stop the ‘nothing-good’ stuff.

  9. Interesting. I like a happy ending.
    I got flagged on another site for a comment I made. (surprise!)
    The article was in ref. to a white man being beaten by some inner city “teens”.
    One commentator said we have to fix the symptoms to cure the disease.
    I replied ” shoot the symptoms and the disease will wither and die”.
    Got flagged. Oh well….

  10. Local guy here. Another network (WAVY 10) said the suspects had air guns, another customer went to make one of the guns safe after the incident and was surprised to see a CO2 cartridge instead of bullets. Not sure if one had that and the other had a real firearm. Possibly considering the charges rendered by the police. Maybe they’ll update. I’m keeping my eye on it as a wrote about it for my site.
    By the way, one witness said the hero said “no one points a gun at me and gets away with it” before taking them down. Lol, nerves of steel, that guy.

    • I hope he didn’t say that. There’s a long history of cases where pithy little statements like that have caused no end of legal trouble for defensive shooters.

      Remember Bernie?

      • What Bernie famously said was disproven in court and by simple logic: four perps shot with a five shot revolver, once each and one miss. So where’s the bullet for the “You don’t look so bad, have another.” Witnesses will lie for various reasons, yet another reason to avoid in and around leftist crap holes.

    • What’s your site URL, Chris? I would like to check it out.

      BTW, you can always put the URL in the “Website” field when you leave a comment here. That way, people can click on your name to go to your site.

    • WAVY also reporting that Brookins (18yo) is active duty Navy, but mug shot does not look very active duty. Guessing he does not have enough leave on the books to burn while a guest of VB Sheriff’s Extended Stay Inn. Big Chicken Dinner candidate.

  11. If they were armed with air guns that just adds extra stupidity onto them being criminals.

    Doesn’t matter if it is not a real firearm. If it looks real then people have every right, and just plain good sense, to react to it as real.

    18 years old is awfully young to die stupid.

    • I know and agree completely. I should have clarified as much in my post. That’s one of the points I went into depth on in my write up on my site, but left out here. Thanks.

    • If it was just airguns it shows they had no intent to cause fatal harm, if caught they might recieve less time. Also using an airgun prevents some degree of a shooting from occurring. If given a chance they should have thrown down their guns when confronted by a real one. Did the shooter just shoot or did he give warning first? At the moment of being targeted they should have tried to find a way to throw down their fake guns and state that the guns were fake.

      • Conceal carriers don’t give warnings. If it’s a deadly threat, you put it down. Their warning was back when someone told them not to do stupid stuff. They must not have listened.

        • How did he shoot them without them seeing him come up? If I was in a store robbing you have one at the register and another as a lookout, so even if there was no warning there was presence of a shooter and at that point you would have a chance to avoid being shot by running , taking cover, or some other tactic. It seems weird that they were in a store and someone just came in and was able to shoot them. Like suspending disbelief. Criminals in the act of a crime just do not let themselves get shoot voluntarily.

          If someone is pointing a gun at you them you can shoot them but playing vigilante is less about saving someone from harm and more about bragging rights or notoriety. I would give warning for the simple fact I have the advantage of surprise. If you come up from behind someone you say “freeze! Drop the gun!”, if the do not respond or make sedden movements then shoot them. You seem too trigger happy. I do not think someone robbing a store that carries less than $50 after dark is seriously intent on shooting anybody and to take there life over petty theft that does not even amount to larceny is cruel and unusual.

        • Joseph, there is a huge difference between petty theft and armed robbery in progress. Fake gun that look real will get you killed if you aim it at someone. Ask any cop.

          You sound like you sympathize with the perpetrators much more than with the victims. Do you rob convenience stores too?

      • That is quite possibly one of the more foolish things I’ve seen today Malone. It really is this simple, present (or fake) a lethal force scenario and it forces the victim to believe they are on borrowed time. Thankfully there’s people out there that choose to use that time to take out the threat. Nice after the fact tactics there but such a miss for real world application.

        • Foolish is playing the role of a police officer and thinking castle doctrine extends over the entire city. You are like one of those nuisance dogs without a fence that terrorises the entire neighborhood. If a robbery is in progress and a police officer sees it he will phone it in for backup, then let the robbers leave and arrest them a block down the road. After that he will return the $50 back to the owner. Interferring with a robbery will lead to people getting shot or a hostage situation. If you are doing more shooting than the trained professionals than there is something wrong.

          Please stop using double speak as is evidence you are a pathological liar and have no interest in the truth.

        • Joseph, how can I, or the LEO, know that the robbers are not going to shoot people at which they are aiming? Who can guarantee that they leave with the money (no matter how much or little) and leave the victims become witnesses?

          Perps got plenty of warnings throughout their whole lives, like “Don’t rob people at gun point, you will get shot!” They didn’t heed the warnings and got what they deserved.

      • Gun need not be real for a reasonable person to perceive a threat of death or serious bodily injury. The legal standard is the if a reasonable person would perceive it as such, it is legally such. Firearms sentencing enhancements are not unheard of even if the “firearm” was not a real firearm. So lesson to be learned is don’t rob a7-11 with a toy gun, a real gun or no gun at all.

  13. “Nothing good ever happens after midnight”

    I don’t know, I’ve had some things that felt pretty good happen to me after midnight…

    • Because news media are stupid leftist F’cks and by their stupid guidelines John Wilkes Booth is a suspect.

  15. What do you want to bet that each of these 3 fine, upstanding citizens has a rap sheet a mile long?

      • The differenece it would make is that if they did have a long rap history the more importat angle of this story is why do criminals with a history of crime not sitting in jail and why the media doesn’t pursue that story?

  16. The really sad part is only one of the savages assumed room temperature right away. Hopefully the second one will succumb to his perforations and the third will never see the light of day again. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Hats off to the citizen who intervened. Hopefully he will remain uncharged and not be targeted by friends/family of the targets. Nothing like a concealed carrier to turn the tables on the bad guys. Bravo!

  17. Col. Jeff Cooper would chock this up to something he used to call “The Good Riddance Factor”. ‘Nuff said.

  18. They robbed 3 other stores and nothing fatal happened. You see there’s no need for violence, just give them the money and complimentary bag of chips. “Tank yoo ,coom agaan” and all ends well.

  20. Why didn’t the police put an alert out after the second robbery maybe hang out at the 7-Elevens to make sure it didn’t go down again this is what happens when children are raised without a father no one to teach him right from wrong when this got bad in Orange County Florida the sheriff sent out notices to everyone that if you robbed the convenience store you weren’t going to jail you were going to the morgue he then put deputies in the cooler with shotguns and bulletproof vest this stopped the robberies immediately can you imagine what the crime would be like if you didn’t have armed citizens out there seems to me police only want to fill out reports I don’t show up until the shooting stop maybe not all of them you used to get life in prison for armed robbery now they’re out in 3 years

    • If you are looking for the period, it’s usually on right hand side of the bottom row of keys.

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