The 28-year-old garbage truck driver turned the tables on two armed robbers by using his legally carried firearm. The driver was ambushed in an alley by two assailants, who intended to rob him.

The driver, who had a valid concealed carry license (CCL), responded to the threat by drawing his gun and engaging in a shootout. One of the robbers, aged 42, was fatally shot in the head, while his 20-year-old accomplice was in critical condition after being hit in the neck. The driver himself escaped the gunfire unharmed, but they treated him for chest pains at St. Anthony Hospital, where he was reported to be in good condition.

These events consistently raise the topic of gun ownership, self-defense, and concealed carry in Chicago, a city known for its strict gun laws. This is a clear example of why individuals should have the right to protect themselves, including while at work.

There have been more criminals shot by people defending themselves than officer-involved shootings in Chicago in the past year.

In Illinois, you have to have a FOID card just to possess ammunition and a CCL license to carry a gun, which the driver had, but I’m sure the criminals didn’t care about following the law. Illinois law allows for the use of deadly force in self-defense when one reasonably believes they are in immediate danger of death or severe harm.

BREAKING: Chicago garbage truck driver exchanges gunfire with 2 armed robbers: shooting one dead and the other in the neck.

Garbage man is a concealed carry license holder. #2A saved his life this Friday morning. pic.twitter.com/DMo0DxdBJr

— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) January 31, 2025

This story has quickly spread across social media platforms like X, with many expressing support for the driver’s quick thinking and bravery.

This is the Anchor Drill, and although it is a high-speed drill, many things are happening inside it that occur simultaneously. If you cannot explain all that to someone, you should not be teaching it.

The drill in the video is a single-threat drill, but you can also adapt it to a maximum of three threats, with the drill modified accordingly so that you keep the “anchor” sustained. In the video, the anchor is the target.

• There is a reason WHY the forearm comes up to the threat’s neck or throat.
• There is a reason WHY the three initial movements are done simultaneously. If they are not, the drill fails.
• There is a reason WHY the shooting stance has to be different from your normal shooting stance.
• There is a reason WHY your stance is non-aggressive before you engage the threat.
• There is a reason WHY  you don’t take a sidestep.
• There is a reason WHY you lower your gravity base.
• There is a reason WHY your head is below your forearm.
• There is a reason WHY you use a chainsaw draw.
• There is a reason WHY the pistol points at a 45-degree angle.
• There is a reason WHY you shield the pistol so high on the side of the chest.
• There is a reason WHY the pistol does not present or protrude past the front of the body.
• There is a reason WHY the thumb knuckle of the firing hand is so important.
• There is a reason WHY you execute the drill from a concealed carry platform.
• There is a reason WHY the firing hand wrist does not “cock” and point straight at the threat immediately before firing.
• There is a reason WHY the drill is based on the “minimal movement” of the firer.
• There is a reason WHY the firing arm does not chicken wing.

If you do not know the WHY – you shouldn’t be teaching it.

Not only is this drill fast and aggressive, but there MUST be an understanding of WHEN you can use it, along with the impact and consequences of using it for the shooter.

Please check your instructor’s credentials and experience before allowing yourself to be taught this kind of training.

For Christmas, I’d really like it if people stopped teaching stuff from YouTube videos that does not work in real life.

Thank you, Santa!

The latest incident was in the 1600 block of North Hamlin Avenue on the city’s northwest side. According to the Chicago Police, a vehicle with two men inside approached a 31-year-old man. The two men began to shoot at the victim, who had an Illinois concealed carry license (CCL). He pulled out his gun and returned fire, striking the attackers.

One offender was a 44-year-old who got shot in the chest and didn’t survive. He hit the second offender, a 37-year-old, in the shoulder, and authorities took him to the hospital in fair condition.

The list of individuals fighting back in Chicago this year is growing, and it extends beyond concealed carry holders.

In one incident, a group of men ambushed an off-duty police officer while he was returning home. He shot back and successfully defended himself.

A mob attacked a couple in a Tesla during a street takeover, and they hit multiple vehicles trying to escape.

In October, a man approached a couple with what looked like a knife as they were walking out of a hotel. Someone recorded the entire incident as the unarmed male victim fought the guy off.

There are three weeks left to go, and this is most likely not the last self-defense case the Chicago area will see this year.

A huge part of self-defense is avoiding conflict. Contrary to the media hype over mass shootings, most defensive gun use is due to more personal conflicts such as assaults and robberies. There are no exact figures on this, just statistical analysis. I’ve saved the most important part for last.

Jim Mattis is a retired Marine Corps general and former Secretary of Defense who once said, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” Although originally intended for Marines interacting with civilians in a war zone, we can still draw valuable lessons from it and apply them to our daily lives. Remember, our goal in defending ourselves is not to “kill” someone but to “stop the threat,” but his guidance still applies.

Situational Awareness Prevents You from Being an Easy Target

The first point is easy. People who look like they are aware of their surroundings are less likely to become victims. If you’re walking through an urban area or even a shopping mall with your earbuds in and your head down, you’re not making yourself invisible; you’re making yourself an easy target. Keep your head up. Look around. Make brief, but definite, eye contact. Walk with purpose. Do not look like a victim. Predators prey on the weak, so don’t look weak.

Avoid Walking Through Unknown Groups

Avoid walking directly past or through groups of young men. I don’t care where you are in the world or what color someone’s skin is. Groups of idle young men have a lot of potential to be a threat. The more economically depressed the area is, the more likely that is to be true. Avoid such groups, but never make it obvious you’re doing so. If you can’t avoid it, follow the advice from the previous paragraph about not looking like an easy target.

Sitting Down in Public

Sitting down in a public place requires some careful consideration. Whenever possible, sit so you can see the door or the most open parts of the location you are in. If you sit in a booth, sit on the outside, not the inside. When you enjoy a good meal with good company, it’s easy to get lost in conversation, but being aware of your surroundings doesn’t require much effort.

Groups of Unknown People

Look at the people in groups, see who is coming and going, and be sure to notice if someone is approaching you well before they get there. If you’re in a coffee shop working on your laptop and otherwise have your head buried in something, just look up once in a while. Some of us do this naturally, and for some, it takes extra effort, but you can train yourself to do it with a little practice. Eventually, you won’t even notice you’re doing it. Oh, and don’t wear earbuds there either. In fact, never wear earbuds or headphones in public, ever.

Road Rage and Carjackings

You need to be more aware of what’s going on when you’re driving. Road rage and carjackings are always on the menu these days. When I strap on a seatbelt, I’ve gotten into the habit of lightly tucking my shirt in between my sidearm and my hip so that it’s accessible.

If someone jams on their brakes in front of you and gets out of their car to come toward you, they may or may not be a physical threat. It takes some training to know when and when not to pull your firearm, but the key to that decision-making process is, you guessed it, situational awareness. Don’t forget, your first option should always be to drive out of the attack.

There are plenty of videos that show angry people assaulting people in their cars. There are even more videos that show angry people just being angry without being an actual threat.

Stay Calm

The greatest lesson of all, when it comes to situational awareness, is to STAY CALM. If things get tense, if a potential threat starts to present itself, or even if an actual threat quickly emerges, you must remain calm. If you don’t, you’ll get tunnel vision and miss everything else going on around you. Freaking out has never solved anything. If you’re carrying a firearm and you panic, innocent people, including yourself, could get hurt.

In many states, you will have to go through a process to carry a firearm and then get your license permit, etc., depending on what your state calls it, to legally have a gun on you and exercise your Second Amendment right.

In Arizona, it’s a CWP, in Texas it’s an LTC, and in California, it’s a CCW.

List of Constitutional Carry States

Some states allow constitutional carry, and as long as you can legally own a gun, you can carry. As of 2023, the following states allow constitutional carry: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida (concealed carry only), Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota (concealed carry only), Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee (handguns only), Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

In a few states, you have to have permission just to have a gun or ammunition at home, like Illinois, with their Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card requirements. After that, you can apply for a concealed carry license. Places like Hawaii, California, and New York make it extremely difficult to get a permit. As you can see, it gets confusing.

What Do Concealed Carry License Abbreviations Stand For

As you can see, the name of the piece of paper permitting you to carry a gun isn’t short, and the concealed carry license terminology is confusing.

• CCL – Concealed Carry License
• CCW — Concealed Carry Weapon
• LTC — License to Carry
• CHP — Concealed Handgun Permit
• CCP — Concealed Carry Pistol
• CCP — Concealed Carry Permit
• LTCF — License to Carry Firearm
• CWP — Concealed Weapons Permit
• CHL — Concealed Handgun License
• CPL — Concealed Pistol License

You May Need a License to Carry Weapons Besides Guns

Not only does this term include handguns, but it may also include other types of weapons, like knives or non-lethal weapons like pepper spray. Applicants need to know precisely what the term means in their own jurisdiction, and if traveling to different states, make sure you understand how the laws work. When another state recognizes your permit, they call it reciprocity.

Understanding concealed carry license abbreviations like CCL, CHL, CWP, CCW, and LTC is important because whenever you read articles, they refer to them differently and sometimes incorrectly. Knowing what they refer to will help you carry legally and clarify concealed carry laws and the requirements tied to the license.

Tactical Firearms Training

If you’re a “tactical” shooter and you train in a tactical way, then the drills you go through on the range need some realistic tactical context incorporated into them.

If you’re a “competition shooter,” then you don’t. Unfortunately, instructors regularly teach competition shooting techniques as tactically sound, which they are not.

I sometimes wonder if the reason for that is because too many firearms instructors are competition shooters. Maybe not enough firearms instructors are instructing from an experienced-based background, i.e., they don’t know how to add that tactical context because they’ve never experienced it in real life. They are not always teaching others to do the right thing in real life, which should worry everyone.

Adding tactical context to your firearms training changes everything about that training. You quickly realize there are things you cannot do and some that don’t work.

Moving backward or up range with a firearm pointing downrange is not an operationally sound drill in a million years. It is a safety drill designed for the range ONLY. It provides no operational training value because you would never do it in real life.

You can be super-fast on the draw and run up and down a range all damn day. Still, unless you’re adding the appropriate tactical context that compliments the specific purpose or situation that you’re training for (armed robbery, carjacking, close-range engagements, close protection contact drills), then your training will never be realistic for the purpose you’re training for in the first place.

Mag dump pouches and Oakley gloves, hanging from a belt kit, flapping around like two squirrels fighting in a hessian sack, does not a gunfighter make.

In a twist of events, the man who defended himself as he was entering his home in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago has had his concealed carry license “revoked.” Fox News reports that the sheriff’s department contacted him yesterday and said it was because he yelled at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers when they were investigating the incident three days later.

Two men had jumped a fence and pointed a gun at Vince Ricci when he was entering his house, and a gunfight broke out. Ricci fired eight shots at the man who attacked him, and now that they synced both video views up, it appears his attacker was firing at him as he was running away. His five-month-old daughter and nanny were inside the home during the event.

In the video, Ricci says, “My situation is unique because it happened at my front door, all on camera. But this happens time and time again all over the country … People sweep it under the rug because it doesn’t behoove their political agenda. The fact is, evil will always exist,”

Some additional facts have come out since the shooting:

• Someone had broken into his home in June.
• A few months before that, someone broke his car into
• Criminals driving a Dodge Charger have been targeting other homes in the area.
• Someone broke into his neighbor’s house the night before his attack.

That would seem to be more than enough reason to justify carrying a gun for protection. Getting a CCW license in Los Angeles takes months and isn’t a simple process. It is called a Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) in California, and you even have to prove you have “good moral character.”

‘After successfully defending my home and my family and my five-month-old child, California has now decided to suspend my Second Amendment [rights].’

The NRA said, “His decisive actions to protect his wife and daughter embody the core principles that NRA members fight for every day,” said NRA spokesperson Billy McLaughlin. “It’s reprehensible that California is shredding his Second Amendment rights after he defended his family. Gov. [Gavin] Newsom and [Los Angeles County District Attorney George] Gascon’s pro-criminal policies have transformed Los Angeles and the wider state into what resembles a war zone. The NRA stands with Vince and every responsible gun owner in California, firmly committed to defending their rights to protect their families and communities.”

They took his right to carry away, but the criminals who attacked him are still roaming the streets. Thankfully, he has video evidence to show he acted in self-defense.

Police in Shelby, North Carolina, said on November 6th that 33-year-old Unterio M. Jolly got into an argument with another man on the street.

The two guys eventually went in different directions, but according to Capt. Seth Treadway, Jolly found the other man and confronted him with a handgun about half an hour later.

Jolly allegedly then shot the man he had been arguing with in the face. A woman with a concealed carry permit stepped in to help him and shot his attacker five times.

“Then they kind of go their separate ways, and about half an hour after, Unterio shows up with a gun and shoots (the man) in the face and the shoulder,” Capt. Seth Treadway said. “Right after he does that… a concerned citizen shoots back, trying to protect (the man) and hits Jolly about five times. She shoots him five times.”

The attacker suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and Jolly’s gunshot wound left him in critical condition.

Jolly is being charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, possession of a firearm by a felon, and assault.

The Shelby police said, “We will consult with the District Attorney’s Office later in the day to see if those charges need to stay the same,” and continued, “I do not expect any charges on the person that returned fire.”

Tactics are subjective, and tactics depend upon blah de blah blah. I’ve heard it all, and I’m sure some of you guys have too.

Basic Defensive Tactic Fundamentals

But, as much as I agree with the statement that “Tactics depend upon blah de blah,” some basic fundamentals of tactics should never be screwed with in any way, shape, or form.

Get Away From the Line of Fire (move). Get off the X!

These are probably the two most disregarded or poorly applied aspects of tactical firearms training, and ironically, they are probably the two things that will help you survive a gunfight or armed criminal encounter.

And yet, within the firearms training industry, speed and accuracy seem to get everyone’s attention and get the most “likes” on TikTok. It’s that Tacticool mindset.

Speed And Accuracy Are Important, But

Before there is a collective explosion of heads, let me clarify: I agree that speed and accuracy are important. It’s just that I don’t think they are the two MOST important skills to have in a contact or gunfight.

Neither should cancel out the simple fact that getting out of the line of fire and taking cover behind something will ultimately save you quicker than standing still and giving your potential killer a higher percentage of success.

However, I acknowledge that standing your ground and engaging from where you already might be is the best choice in a confined space or zero-distance engagement. Particularly with multiple threats, because as you try to move or create distance, it might cause more problems than it solves.

Competition Shooting vs. Tactical Shooting

In addition, if you’re a competition shooter, where tactics play no part in the competition, then yeah, speed and accuracy are all that matter. Still, competition shooting styles, applied in a tactical environment where people shoot back, don’t work.

Applying tactics is HARD, but they’re supposed to be hard. They are hard for a reason.

The chances are that everyone who has gone through basic training in the military will have had tactics constantly drummed into them, particularly in using cover.

Using Cover Correctly Isn’t Easy – It’s a Ball-Breaker

From personal experience, using cover correctly is a ball-breaker. It is an ass-kicker. It is not a place to sit back and rest, nor is it a place from which to rest your weapon system. Using cover “correctly” (regardless of what kind of cover it is) requires constant movement from behind that cover; it’s the ball-breaker.

Bullets generally go in straight lines, yes? So why do so many people stand still? Why do so many people walk forward in a straight line? Or worse still, walk backward in a straight line? Either option keeps you in that line of fire.

Static Firearms Training

Personally, I do very little static training or static shooting because I don’t feel that it helps me achieve what I want, which is to stay alive.

Don’t get me wrong, I still group, and I still practice my draw, but I do it from a platform that more realistically reflects

• the situations I’ve been in and
• what I’m likely to be facing in the future.

Some people seem to have stuffed tactical firearms training in the closet under the stairs. I wonder if the reason is that it’s just easier to “train” without adherence to any tactical procedures to create a false positive of achievement.

Sound harsh? Yeah, I know it does, but when you apply realism to firearms training, the tactics required to survive whatever it is you’re training for start to become pretty clear.

Tactical Firearms Training Will Show Your Weaknesses

Injecting tactics into firearms training is a leveler. It humbles the person and acts as a magnifying glass into the soul of what you’re actually training for, and, more depressingly, it highlights the flaws in our firearms training, which results in the horrendous realization that we’re not as good as we thought we were.

When called upon to use that training, I cannot think of anything worse than finding out that we’re not as “trained” as we thought.

Applying a tactical framework to your training forces you out of your comfort zone. It forces you to confront that crappy realization that what and how you’re training might not work when faced with a real-life encounter.

Too many people claim to understand the importance of tactics without applying them.

Gunfights and armed criminal encounters are messy, and, at some point, your training has to reflect that messiness. Applying tactics that reflect WHAT you’re training for helps identify WHY you’re doing what you’re doing.

Response options have GOT to work for you. Applying tactics when you train will show if it does or doesn’t. Training with no adherence to tactics sets you up for failure, and we should never train to achieve failure.

Have you thought about how you train? Do you train with a purpose?

Now, for me, as a certified firearms and CCW instructor in California, I am all for people using their Second Amendment right to bear arms and protect themselves. However, this is a prime example of what NOT to do as a concealed carry permit holder.

While this video appears to be of a man protecting his family from armed robbers, let’s pick it apart from a California legal perspective.

• As a CCW permit holder, your goal is to stop the threat. It is NOT to chase it down and keep shooting at what WAS the threat. The way it appears in this video, he stopped the threat when he threw a cup of hot tea at the robbers, and they ran off.
• To avoid any serious legal, financial, emotional, familial, or societal ramifications, good CCW training includes knowing how to make a decision other than shooting.

The way I see it in this video, the robbers were running away. The homeowner could’ve run into his house, locked the door, and instructed his wife or nanny to call 911 while remaining vigilant in the house until the police arrived.

A prosecutor could potentially see the shots fired not as a self-defense move, but rather as four negligent discharges. Once the threat ended and the robbers ran away, the homeowner could’ve made a different decision other than chasing after them and shooting.

What if he had hit a neighbor or car driving by?

On the flip side, the homeowner’s response could meet the requirements of a reasonable and rational fear of great bodily harm or death to him and his immediate family (per CA PC 198). Also, AOJ (ability, opportunity, and jeopardy) appears to have been satisfied.

In a confrontation that happened last year in Antioch, California, the district attorney Diana Becton said: “In the eyes of the law, Mr. Williams’ actions ceased to be self-defense when Mr. Williams pursued Mr. Jackson and the other suspect with a firearm — and continued to pursue Mr. Jackson after he shot him.”

“The legal distinction is clear: when your property and life are being threatened, an individual is legally justified in using deadly force in self-defense,” Becton said. “However, once the threat of harm has dissipated, the victim of a property crime cannot then use deadly force to reclaim stolen property.”

California Castle Doctrine

You can legally use force to protect your home. However, in this case, where the attacker targeted him outside of his home, I lean toward the threat ending when he threw the tea at his assailant.

There are many complexities of the California Castle Doctrine. PC 198.5 says, “Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily injury within his or her residence shall be presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to self, family, or a member of the household when that force is used against another person, not a member of the family or household, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence and the person using the force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred.”

The robbers never entered the house, so the Castle Doctrine technically does not apply if the intruder is not inside or trying to enter the residence.

The homeowner’s attorney could argue the latter part of “trying to enter the residence” in his defense if he needs one.

California Stand Your Ground Law

The stand-your-ground law is a defense he might use for someone who uses force inside or outside the home. However, this law has its own nuances and specific parameters.

CAL CRIM 505, “A defendant is not required to retreat. He or she is entitled to stand his or her ground and defend himself or herself and, if reasonably necessary, to pursue an assailant until the danger of (death/great bodily injury) has passed. This is so even if safety could have been achieved by retreating.”

The danger of death or great bodily injury probably passed when the attackers ran off.

As a firearms instructor, I understand his reaction to protect his family. Still, I also see the homeowner’s negligence and lack of trigger control. Shooting all over the place runs the risk of hitting an innocent bystander.

I am certainly not giving the intruders a break here. They still approached the homeowner at gunpoint. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court, especially considering that this occurred in the very gun-unfriendly State of California and the more liberal County of Los Angeles.