Dodged a big one last Thursday.

[BigLenny]

There is a local cafe near where I live named Frontier Diner. It is a favorite for awesome breakfast and plate lunches. I have been going there for breakfast or lunch at least once a week for 20 years. There was a span of about 10 years that I went there 3 mornings per week at 6:00AM to eat breakfast and shoot the bull with a bunch of other men that would gather there to get their days started. I've come to know the owners and wait staff as if they're family. Well, last Thursday I had a doctor visit that lasted til noon, and when i left the doctor I was starving. I had a buddy that called me and asked me to meet him at the Frontier Diner to grab lunch and discuss a business deal. I headed that way. I was about 5 minutes form the diner when that buddy called me to say he was running late, and asked me could I instead meet him at a pizza place close to where his business is. I agreed and turned around and went and met him. As we were eating and talking, my smart phone alerted a news story that said "Shooting at local restaurant, possible 1 dead". I quickly read the article, and it stated the restaurant as The Frontier Diner! I was shocked. I called a friend of mine who goes to the cafe as much as I do, and he stated he was in the restaurant when it happened, and he was just getting finished being interviewed by the police when I called.

 

What had happened was: At 12:27PM, with the restaurant full of people, 2 guys walked into the place with masks on to rob it, and as they walked in, they shot one of the customers, Mr. Harold Byrd, who I had spoke to on numerous occasions, in the head as he was waiting in line by the front door to pay. Then the robbers freaked out, never robbed the place, and ran to their get away car and sped off. My friend who was in the restaurant said he was eating and heard a loud pop at the door, and then the waitresses who were close by started screaming and the whole place turned into chaos. He said the scene with Mr. Harold laying in the doorway, and everybody going crazy was super chaotic and intense. I looked back at my phone call with my buddy who I was having lunch with, and I hung up with him at 12:20PM, and then turned around. At that point I was about 5 min. from The Frontier Diner. It is very conceivable I would've got there about 12:25, and by the time I parked and got out and walked to the front door, I most certainly would've been right in the middle of the action. Wow! Crazy crazy deal!

 

We never know when our last day on this beautiful earth is going to be. We must make it a point to enjoy each day to the fullest.

[BlueSky]

Incredible story and lucky you missed the incident. Some of life's turns or coincidences really make you think and wonder. Stories like this is why I decided to carry. I hope the animals are caught and incarcerated.

[venturesome]

Another example of why more law-abiding citizens need to carry. (and be willing to use them, and more important, know how to use them).

[Dragonslayer]

Did you mean incarcerated or incinerated?

[XV1100SE]

Did you mean incarcerated or incinerated?

 

I agree with this !

Hope they catch them.

[Yammer Dan]

Lock them up for Life with someone like me to tuck them in every night!!

[BigLenny]

Incredible story and lucky you missed the incident. Some of life's turns or coincidences really make you think and wonder. Stories like this is why I decided to carry. I hope the animals are caught and incarcerated.

 

BlueSky,

Before the night fell Thursday night they they found and arrested them. A restaurant patron that was in the parking lot got a partial reading of the license plate and a good description of the get away car. They have arrested 3 individuals. The two guys that entered the restaurant, and the driver of the car. They all three have admitted to being involved, and the shooter admitted he shot the gun. And they have the weapon. Sad situation. The restaurant has been there 30 years and never had an incident.

 

The thing that is crazy about it is; if Mr. Byrd wouldn't have been standing in line pretty much in the way of the front door cashier area, and if the robbers would've been able to walk un-obstructed up to the cashier and start robbing the place, they would've been shot right then and there. The owner keeps a loaded firearm on the shelf under the cash register, and this is a place that is filled with blue collar, redneck guys eating lunch, and a high number of them carry. My friend that was in the restaurant when it happened had a pistol in his pocket, as he always does, but the fact that after they shot Mr. Byrd, and changed their minds and ran to the car, they never entered the restaurant completely or long enough for any of the patrons inside to understand what had happened.

[venturesome]

Very sad.. Mr. Byrd will never have another meal and those B$#$@%ds will have 3 free meals a day for a minimum of 20 years!

[Larry1963]

Here is what is sad, now everyone life is changed. Of course Mr Byrd is dead, but his family has to deal with his death and loss, the dumbasses robbing the place will now spend 20 plus years behind bars, even the driver of the car, and for what, couple hundred dollars....

[WildBill1]

You said this incident occurred at Little Rock Ark. What kind of animal shoots someone point blank before a robery anyway? I'm certainly going too check this out thru their local news. Oh, Yammer Dan hope you told those SumBags some good nite stories before tucking them in for the night.....

[Sailor]

Mindless violence is always ugly and unnecessary. I was in England and used to go to the corner pub in the evenings. One evening I left and about an hour later the IRA blew the place up. For what? An already lost cause.

[Dragonslayer]

Living here in Atlanta, the news is full of these types of reports everyday. Every time I walk into a restaurant or fill up with gas or even driving my car minding my own business I'm wondering who is beside me.what is their state of mind. Am I in a crazy person's radar at the moment.

 

Part of my job is to be responsible for security in the six facilities I manage. But, I'm not allowed to carry a weapon. The general public coming into our buildings are. Two floors of the building my office is in are devoted to serving the citizens of the county with mental health issues. Our guards do not carry guns and are little more than warm bodies in uniform that report problems as they occur but are not equipped, trained or authorized to do anything to stop a problem in progress. I give training classes on active shooter and emergency response , the bottom line is situational awareness, run, hide or fight. And have your affairs in order just in case. None of us are truly safe.

 

I believe in open carry everywhere for.law abiding citizens. I also believe in more restrictive screening of lawful gun owners. Does that make me bad? I just don't see the point of open carry if we are lax about who we allow to carry.