That's what happened with the second guy who robbed me. He was some local dufus who lived, I shit you not, right across the street from the store where he robbed me, up a dead-end street with only a handful of houses. He was wearing a full face mask, but I recognized him from his voice and his lanky posture. Fleeing up the dead-end street only confirmed who I thought it was.
One Monday night, he dive-bombed over the counter at me with a pocket knife and threatened to kill me if I didn't empty the drawer out for him. He managed to miss like half the available cash, $100+ in small bills in a side drawer. (Idiot.) I spoke to the cops, but as far as I know, they didn't quite have enough to go on (it's not like I knew his name or his address), and they never contacted me later. I spent the whole night in a rage, playing back every moment of the robbery in my head, wishing I'd had the foresight to make a move during the couple windows he left for me to act (diving over the counter and turning his back to me to flee). If I had that moment again I'd end his fucking life. Not sure how many of you have had someone credibly threaten to kill you while pointing a weapon at you, but it left me in quite a state. I wanted him dead, simple as that.
Two days later, a customer caught the same prick lurking in a hidden spot in the side of the building, apparently waiting for the place to clear out so he could rob me again—wearing the same mask, bunched up on his forehead like he was waiting to pull it down. He fumbled some obvious bullshit story about waiting for a ride (in a place where no one could see him from the street).
I immediately hit all the switches to close the security gates, but the guy came inside before I could get the main one, feigning innocence. "What's everyone so nervous about?" he asked. You could tell he knew. I could sense he was about as nervous as I was. I explained to him about the robbery and everything, with a bit of embellishment about how much trouble the robber would be in if he got caught. Told him I had to close for the night. He left pretty quickly. I don't think he ever came back to that store again.
He's lucky he didn't try to rob me again. I would have dealt as much damage as possible as soon as he showed me the smallest opportunity. I don't think I've ever felt rage like that toward another human being. I randomly saw him again years later, in a movie theater, and my then-girlfriend had to make me leave because I was just staring at him and talking out loud about how much I wanted to kill him.
This is all to say, I wish more people would fight back against robbers. Every time they get away with it, they take it as a lesson that it's a reliable way to make money. Every time, they become bolder and more experienced. This conventional oversimplification that your money isn't worth your life is what lets them walk away even in cases where the victim could have safely landed a shot or dealt a crippling blow to the cerebellum. Every time you let one walk away, it's not just your life you're gambling; it's the lives of all the other people they'll try to rob and attack in the future. It does make sense to play it safe in many circumstances, but to completely write off self-defense out of fear is a mistake.
