They charged the shooter with “reckless discharge of a firearm,” and it surprised me to learn that this is the same charge you would receive for firing into the air for New Year’s Eve.

“A person commits Reckless Discharge of a Firearm by discharging a firearm recklessly which endangers the bodily safety of an individual.”

I suppose, by definition, they are the same, but you would think firing a gun on a crowded subway platform would carry a more severe penalty. The Blue Line has brick walls with a long, narrow platform and tracks on both sides. At 6 in the evening, it would have been packed with people and only has a single escalator to access street level. What the shooter did seemed to be a more dangerous act than firing into the air like he was celebrating a holiday. Firing into the air was reckless, but was it on the same level as firing in a crowd with limited room to escape?

It’s amazing no one got shot, killed, or trampled to death running for safety! If any of these happened, he would be looking at a lot more jail time, and it all started with him firing his gun at some bricks.

By Brian Armstrong

CCL Firearms Instructor

Redline Concealed Carry

A retired Chicago firefighter was attacked in his garage. The assailant jumped out of his car and was shot by the concealed carry holder.

Over the weekend, a gunman attempted to rob a 77-year-old retired Chicago firefighter and quickly found he picked the wrong guy. In the middle of the day, Bernard Peterson came driving down the alley and stopped in front of the older man’s garage. Peterson was armed when he jumped out of his car and demanded the guy’s possessions, but the Concealed Carry Holder decided he would not be the victim. The man fired two shots, hitting Peterson in the head and chest, killing him on the spot.

Obviously, the man has practiced in the past, and this was not the first time he fired a gun. You can carry a 25-round magazine, but the additional rounds are worthless if you don’t hit your target. When trying to neutralize a threat, shot placement is critical, and it is not always about carrying the extra ammunition. The FBI says there are only three rounds fired over three seconds from three yards in the average gunfight. Three seconds is not much time to react and prevent yourself from a violent attack.

In Illinois, you do not need a Concealed Carry License to have a firearm on your property, but you need an FOID (Firearm Owners Identification Card) card from the state police. You must undergo a background check and be issued the FOID because under Illinois law, possessing a gun or ammunition is illegal without it. Even though he was protecting himself on property he owned, he could have had charges filed against him if he didn’t go through the required process. Then, if you want a CCL you must undergo a second background check and meet other requirements like a 16-hour class so it is no wonder people think it is hard to carry a gun in the state.

This incident is a perfect example of not letting your guard down, even around your house. Chicago is constantly talking about gun control, but maybe they are targeting the wrong people to prevent crime. The incident is under investigation, but I bet it will not take them long to find it was justifiable self-defense.

Your first line of staying safe is watching for dangers around you before it is too late. At first glance, this article might look as though it applies to Concealed Carry Holders, but the tips are the ways to prevent ever needing a firearm.

A Concealed Carry holder “CCL” carries a handgun to protect themselves and those around them, but it does not have to be your first line of defense. Violence is everywhere, and you are kidding yourself if you think it’s not. Violence is not limited to major cities like Chicago, where they already had over 4200 shootings this year.

There is a little town called Ware Place in SC with a population of 110 people. Recently, they had a fatal shooting in the parking lot of their local Dollar General Store, so never say “that won’t happen to me” because life has a funny way of proving us wrong.

A “fight” can be a confrontation, situation, incident, encounter, conflict, whatever you want to call it, you want to avoid it. Many people let their guard down, and I cannot stress the following tips enough. Be aware of your surroundings and try to prevent being the victim. It is situational awareness.

I reviewed footage from many incidents that happened over the past few months. I would estimate most people were distracted and were not paying attention. That means many victims would not have made the nightly news had they just followed some of these tips. Sure, there are plenty of other tips out there, but this article would go on forever if I included them all.

Most criminals are looking for a soft target or target of opportunity. You have heard the saying “taking the path of least resistance,” do not be that path, and the criminals will hopefully move on to the next person who looks more vulnerable.

Keep your vehicle windows rolled up, not only when you are parked, but when you are driving. As soon as you stop at a light or get stuck in traffic, that unlocked door gives the criminal an easy way in. Criminals can walk right up and stick their arm in to unlock the door, or worse yet, stick a gun to your head.

Late evening, a car in the left turn lane put the vehicle in reverse at a stoplight. You could tell because the backup lights came on. RED FLAG! (Light was green, but I stopped back aways and went nowhere until they did even though the light was green)

Later at night, about a block behind me, a car had no headlights on. The person was probably drunk or just an idiot who forgot. RED FLAG!

Lock your door every time you close it. I had a girl in a Concealed Carry Class who had put her child in a car seat on the passenger side. She walked around the car to the driver’s door, and that’s when someone attempted to get her child out of the car seat. Fortunately, she had buckled her child in, and like any parent would have done, she freaked out. That is terrifying, and thank God the guy took off. Put your kid in the seat, lock the door, walk around, unlock the door, get in and immediately lock the doors. Now, you might understand how important it is to use your locks. This incident happened this year in a far western suburb of Chicago.

Do not be looking in your purse and stay off your darn cell phone. For example, find your keys before you walk out of some place, not looking as you walk through a parking lot. Oh, and sorry, don’t get upset with me, but the car is not the place to put your makeup on.

We have all heard this one. Leave room between your car and the one in front of you. Did you ever think about staying in the lane closest to the center of the street? Even if you have to drive the wrong way down a road, an out is an out. You hear the “give yourself space” statement all the time, but do you do it?

Last year during the “peaceful protest,” I was driving down La Salle, headed for the interstate. Right around the 500 block, there was a group of people arguing right in the street, so I literally drove the wrong side street. Fortunately, it was late, so there was no traffic, and I would rather explain to the police why I was going the wrong way and avoid the mess.

There have been over well over 200 shootings on the Chicago expressways this year, so don’t think driving at higher speeds on a busy interstate will make things safer. Driving in the right-hand lane can give extra room to maneuver, and you can quickly get off at an exit if needed. As time goes on, it seems like drivers are becoming more and more aggressive. Avoid anything that might cause road rage, like cutting other people off. A great example of this is the on-ramps at Austin and Harlem as you head into the city on 290. The ramps are on the left, and everyone wants to force their way as far as they can before they merge and act like billy the badass.

I was walking down State Street in River North a while back and thanks to the parking app totally screwing up, I was way off my destination. A group was standing around, and it seemed better to avoid them. I walked (I guess it was more like jaywalking) to the other side of the street and used that sidewalk. Give yourself extra time to react, just like driving and leaving as much distance as you can to maneuver around a potential threat. Another tactic criminals like to use is to let you walk by and then strike from behind. Keep an eye over your should as you pass.

In June, I was in the Gold Coast having dinner at Truluck’s, and my car was in a very secure parking garage on State St. I returned to get my car, and as I walked out of the stairway, three people just seemed out of place about 100′ away. I looked right at them and stopped so they knew I was watching. If possible, I was not letting them close the gap. Oddly enough, they turned around, walked about 20′ back, and proceeded down the ramp. Did it prevent a confrontation? I don’t know, but I was not going to find out, and once again, I wanted to leave as much space as possible. It applies to the burbs as well. If someone is sitting in their car or standing around, avoid them if they seem out of place. By the way, I found out the next day there was an attempted carjacking right there on Oak.

I took some pictures of the parking garage, and that’s when I noticed the broken window in the circle below.

How many of you walk into a gas station and leave your car running? That’s an excellent way to see your car drive off without you, and you can watch videos all over YouTube. Keep an eye out for people sitting in their vehicle or standing around that seems out of place. If someone takes your vehicle, you might as well wave goodbye. It’s interesting that unless there was a use of force, it would probably be theft instead of carjacking. The police departments do not include theft in the published carjacking numbers. In September, a concealed carry holder shot at two guys attempting to steal his car from a Hoffman Estates gas station. The yellow circle is where his car was, and the other view is looking at the building back at his car. Don’t think a quick dash inside makes it any safer than parking a few hundred feet away.

The image below is of an ATM at Elm and North Clark, and you need a credit card to get through the door. Believe it or not, that lobby is basically the home of the man in the picture. There have been attempts made to keep him out, but it continues to go on. I took this picture last week, and I don’t think he appreciated being the star (I ended up leaving pretty fast).

I asked a Chicago criminal defense attorney. “The man is loitering, basically “hanging out.” The state and city have laws against people acting this way, but the police don’t usually enforce it because there are so many homeless people in the downtown area. These people will return to the locations day after day, making it a waste of time when there are so many other crimes being committed.”

Listen to that little voice because you can prevent many things from happening if you watch what is going on around you. Walk with confidence and try not to appear like an easy target.

A good, concealed carry instructor will go over situational awareness. It may only be the basics, but it gives you an excellent foundation to build on. The more you can learn about watching for threats, the less likely you will need to use your gun. Avoiding the conflict and avoiding the dangers is part of being a responsible gun owner.

Many people will disagree with me on this, but keep in mind that this article was written for concealed carry holders. I want to make something completely clear. If you have no other choice and have to engage a threat, whoever threatens your life is not your friend! They are not looking to have a conversation, not looking for a therapist, and they will not play fair. Be mentally prepared and remember it may come down to your loved one’s life and saving your own. If attacked, you are there to stop the aggression and live to see your family. Carrying a firearm is all about surviving a potentially lethal encounter and protecting your loved ones.

By Brian Armstrong

CCL Firearms Instructor

Redline Concealed Carry

Early in the morning of July the 19th, San Antonio Police said 39 yr old Cynthia Jane Persson was on her bike and ignored a red light when she was crossing an intersection with her boyfriend. Persson rode into the intersection as a motorist was taking his two kids to school. Persson did not have the right of way because the light was red, and unfortunately, the unidentified motorist struck and killed her.

So, down the rabbit hole, I went.

Some of the overall stats for the Chicago area are fairly easy to come up with, but keep in mind these stats are only incidents that were reported. If there was a shootout in an alley, for example, but the police did not respond, those shootings may NOT be in the total numbers. Then again, we know the bad guys always call the police.

2021 YTD – Shot & Killed: 357, Shot & Wounded: 1743 = Total shot 2100 / Carjackings 632 BTW ALL were up over last year’s numbers.

Oops, take that back. Human trafficking was down 40%. We only had 3 this year.

The numbers that are not at all easy to find are the officer-involved shootings. Since, as usual, no one seems to agree, or they are missing complete data on the total, I tried to use the average. (COPA, gunviolencearchive.org, City of Chicago, chicago.gov, MSM blah blah blah)

There have been 36 police officers shot or shot at this year plus I found a report where there were 3 additional officers hurt in a hit-and-run.

Although it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, this is as close as I could get with the data that could be found. There have been 13 tactical response reports filed this year where a subject was injured or killed by the use of a firearm from January to the beginning of April. (The city data only goes through April 1). HeyJackass.com lists 9 as of today, so I must be close. It looks like 1 reason for the difference is they list killed or wounded and I am going off reports where the officer may have missed.

So, let’s recap the numbers 2021 YTD:

-Shot & Killed: 357, Shot & Wounded: 1743 = Total shot 2100
-Carjackings 632 / No wonder we can’t get an Uber that’s 3.5 per day
-Officer TRR’s (tactical response reports) filed = 13 (January – April 1). If we extrapolate it out that’s 26 YTD
-Heyjackass.com lists police-involved shootings for 2021 as 3 killed and 6 wounded. Again, I estimated off actual reports, which makes it look worse for police than it actually is since they missed some shots on target.
– 36 Chicago area law enforcement officers have been shot or shot at this year as of this morning
-Police have shot at or hit “alleged” criminals approx. 26 times

Police have shot “alleged” criminals approx. 26 vs. “alleged” criminals have shot at police approx. 36 times.

Hmm, Police 26 bad guys 36!

Criminals have actually shot at police more than the police have shot at criminals

By Brian Armstrong

CCL Firearms Instructor

Redline Concealed Carry

By Brian Armstrong

CCL Firearms Instructor

Redline Concealed Carry

In Omaha, Nebraska, a father had to pull his lawfully owned firearm, and having been a concealed carry permit holder for about four years, he commented, “I never, never ever expected to ever touch my gun. But I’m exceptionally thankful that I had it.”

Scott Tafoya’s wife and 2 daughters were there to get a special outfit for one of his daughters’ baptism. “Every indication said our lives were in danger and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure we got out of there OK.”

“I knew that if I ever pulled that out it would truly be a life and death situation and I would deal with the consequences later,” he said.

Although he’s a legal concealed carry permit holder, Westroads Mall is a weapon-free zone. Weapons free zones are areas prohibited to carry a legally owned firearm but also commonplace for shootings to take place. There is a lot of controversy over gun-free zones and many people consider they make the zones less safe not safer.

As soon as the police arrived, he unloaded it and put it back in the holster, where it was very visible that the slide was locked open. I put my permit in my hands and my hands above my head,” he said. Scott said police allowed him to leave without facing any charges. Scott said, “I don’t condone anyone breaking the law. I made the decision that was right for my family, and I stand behind it. I may still get in trouble for it, if I do, it was worth it,” he said. Tafoya said gun-free zones put people at risk. “I do not want to be carrying a weapon ever. It’s not comfortable, I don’t like it, I wish there was not a need for it,”

Get trained and be prepared to protect the ones around you.

By Brian Armstrong

CCL Firearms Instructor

Redline Concealed Carry