Preacherman
Member
I have confirmed the story below, which is circulating by e-mail. I received it via the API List.
Mr. Givens and Mr. Yeager are instructors at Rangemaster - if you want to read their bio's, see here.
Let this be a warning to all of us...
Mr. Givens and Mr. Yeager are instructors at Rangemaster - if you want to read their bio's, see here.
Let this be a warning to all of us...
Any of you who have trained with me know that I stress the
importance of being armed, at all times. Perhaps this tragic story
will help you understand why.
- Tom Givens
A Brother is Murdered
One of our brothers, a student, is dead. We will call him Rob. Rob
was murdered September 13th, 2003 about five miles from my home.
While some details are sketchy we do know a few things at this
point. One of the things I know for sure is that Rob, who was a
Carry Permit holder, was shot to death, while unarmed, with his four-
year-old daughter standing near him.
We have had many students including men, women, police, military,
civilian, American, foreign and every nationality you can imagine. I
have had a school since 1996 and quite a few folks have one of my
certificates hanging on a wall or lining their birdcage. My students
are my extended family, and I tell them that, and they stay in my
home quite often. I get a constant flow of e-mails and phone calls
from them with a myriad of questions and comments about every
imaginable topic. My students are my brothers.
Rob was a "gun guy". He owned many guns, was a reloader, and has
some suppressors for several of his guns. He apparently shot often
although I had never met him before his class with me and hadn't
seen him since. We corresponded a few times via e-mail as he was
applying for his Carry Permit but that was it.
This incident apparently happened because the murderer, a 70-year-
old male, thought Rob had shot one of his dogs. This is a big deal
in the southern United States. Many people let dogs run wild. Some
are vicious, some tear up trash bags and some just walk aimlessly
about. The fact is that many dogs run wild and many people don't
like it. Did Rob shoot one of his dogs? Who knows?
The incident essentially occurred like this: Rob went out on the
lake with his daughter and two other adults, launching his boat from
a public ramp. The murderer apparently waited all day at the ramp
for Rob to return. The murderer approached, there was an altercation
of sorts, and he fired two rounds from a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk
and then walked in and did a contact shot to Rob's head.
Rob, and a friend, took a Tactical Pistol course from us about two
years ago. He took the course with a Stainless Para-Ordinance P-14.
He was about to apply for his Carry Permit and wanted to get some
training. I asked why he was shooting the P-14 instead of his "carry
gun". He said he was going to carry the P-14. I expressed my
opinions to him that not only are Para pistols too big for daily
carry they are not rugged enough. He was content with his decision.
Like with all of our classes we talked about and did a lot of
shooting. But our Tactical Pistol class goes into great details
about Mindset and Tactics as well. If you Alumni will dig up your
handout from my class you will see gunfight rule number one as
being "Bring a gun." Owning a gun doesn't make you safe. Guns are
not Talisman that will ward off evil spirits. To go about daily you
must have a gun on your person and a serious attitude that you will
be aware of what is going on in your environment.
As an Instructor I must, like all Instructors, unlock my students'
potential and in some cases even change the way they think. Many
times the change is profound, even life altering, for some students.
I have had students tell me after courses they have made serious
life changes like making their personal connection with God, making
a Will, buying life insurance and so on. They do this because I tell
them you should not be encumbered by these thoughts while fighting
for their life.
Firearms Instructors are not unlike motivational speakers. We must
motivate and elevate our students to do things they may never do
otherwise. One of them is getting them to actually carry their gun
everyday. I know that sounds weird because these are students in
firearms classes after all. It is true though that many shooters do
not carry a gun everyday. There are certainly reasons not too, but I
cannot think of one reason that is worth dieing over. Rob would have
been carrying illegally. Was that why he wasn't armed?
I know what the Warrior Spirit is. I know what people who have it
look like. I cannot give it to you, you cannot buy it, and without
it you are very likely to fail. Without it you are very likely to
think carrying your gun is a burden, will get you in trouble, or
won't be needed.
What good is a fireman without water? All of that knowledge and
skill goes to waste as the building burns in front of him. Guns are
like fire extinguishers. You hope you never need one, but when you
do you want the biggest damn fire extinguisher you can pick up.
I have lost sleep over this. I have cried over this. I have gotten
angry over this. How do I reach people? How do I motivate them
enough to save their own life? What can I do to unlock the Warrior
that is locked deeply inside every man?
A good man is dead.
Be alert. Be armed.
James Yeager
