Ballsiest Robbers Ever Are Mugging Armed Citizens at Gun Ranges
In another bizarre blow to the NRA's "good guy with a gun" crime-fighting cliché, Philadelphia police say a daring duo has pulled off two armed robberies at area gun ranges, outshooting one victim and intimidating others to make off with cash—as well as a cache of firearms.
In the first incident, police allege, [27-year-old Jeffrey] Chandler and 21-year-old Samiyyah Poteat held up a 68-year-old man who was getting into his car outside the gun range.
Chandler pointed a handgun in the man's face and took the victim's backpack, which contained two .22-caliber handguns, police said.
That was June 11; on June 12th, they were at it again:
[T]he two approached a 68-year-old man outside the Delaware Valley Sports Center as he placed a duffel bag that contained seven handguns in the bed of his pickup truck. The woman pointed a handgun at the victim's face and demanded money and his cell phone.
The robbers took the bag of guns, and a 67-year-old man, who was standing on the other side of the vehicle, was shot during the incident. The gunshot hit the man's femoral artery and he is now hospitalized in critical but stable condition, police said.
That both sets of victims were armed, at places where more armed citizens convened, was not so much a deterrent to the robbers as an incentive. Why rob gun ranges? Because that's where the guns are.
Chandler, who is pictured above, is also known as "Stretch" and is still on the loose, and police are asking for tips to help find him: Tipsters can call 215-686-8477 (TIPS)or text 773847 (PPDTIP). Needless to say, you shouldn't approach Chandler if you see him, not even if you're a good guy with a gun. Especially if you're a good guy with a gun.
Update: Chandler's been captured. In all, he and his accomplice managed to steal nine guns in the two robberies. Police haven't said yet whether the weapons were recovered.
