Roy Exum
In a puzzling time when the big daily newspapers have veered strongly away from “all the news that is fit to print,” allow me to share a story that you very likely will not see on CNN, ABC News, or in the big media conglomerates that influence the way you think, the way you react and – as a result – easily warp our common senses.
This story is very true. Late last Sunday afternoon, Daniel Chavanne was walking out of the Wal-Mart in Augusta, Maine, with his wife, son, daughter and mother when he heard a loud argument taking place between two carloads of thugs in the parking lot. But seconds after he heard four pop! pop! pop! pop(s)!, the heavily-bearded Chavanne got out of his car, pulled his Glock 42 from his belt and loudly said as he approached the melee, “I am armed and I demand you all get down on the ground!”
Another bystander, also legally armed, walked up to where two of those arguing were then in a fist fight and soon the shooters were subdued. Chavanne kicked one of the guns lying near a man and then held it down with his foot.
Later he would tell television station WCSH-6, "If a situation is there, you have - not just a personal responsibility - but a civil responsibility to uphold the sanctity of the community," the heavy-set but totally calm Chavanne told the cameras. "That was the moment – the situation was there, and I reacted.”
As her husband faced down the thugs, Carrie Chavanne was desperately calling 911. It took three tries and as she would later say in an interview, “seven minutes with guns are really bad seven minutes.”
When police arrived, one of the thugs, Kwiesha McBride, alleged to be a successful heroin merchant until then from Harlem, N.Y., had been grazed by one shot but his wound was not serious so he and three others were taken to jail, booked, and are awaiting court appearances.
The reason you have not heard about this is because the liberal anti-gun activists and their news media friendlies are eager to hush it up. Many guffawed when Donald Trump suggested the recent night club attack in Orlando – the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history – may have been different for 50 victims if those with concealed weapons had been in the crowd.
Think about this: Augusta, Maine is about as Main Street USA as anywhere in America. Besides holding the distinction as the eastern-most state capital in America, the state’s First Lady, Anne LePage, is working tables at a McSeagulls, a seashore lobster house, this summer so she can buy a new Toyota. (Governor Paul LePage is the nation’s lowest-paid governor, making $70,000 a year.)
The state’s biggest claim to fame is that just 40 miles south of Augusta is Freeport, where outfitter L.L. Bean now sells a whopping 500,000 pairs of Maine Guide Boots at $129 – get this – every year. The fact L.L. Bean has never locked the doors of its flagship store since 1951 – heck, the doors don’t even have locks – tells you how serene the state truly is.
Across the country, more and more law enforcement officials are encouraging citizens to carry legal firearms, but Augusta Police Lt. Christopher Massey said earlier this week, “Going forward, we would not encourage anyone to intervene. From our standpoint, everybody has a constitutional right under the Second Amendment to have a gun. In an incident like this, we would certainly tell people that they should get themselves and their families to safety and to be a good witness.”
Last week Governor LePage told a town hall meeting he was not in favor of everyone running around with a gun but that he would protect his family with a gun if he had to, according to the TV station.
The television reporters also interviewed Pete Blair, an executive over Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training at Texas State, who said, “We are not advocates for civilians to find the bad guy and stop him. The big thing to understand is that it is bad situation. There are a lot of things to be aware of,” he added, saying that "when the police arrive it is hard to identify who is good and who is bad.”
Brad Tolhurst, president of the Gun Owners of Maine, disagreed. He said citizens know who the bad guy is – “He’s the one that attacked them.” Under Maine law, any citizen over 20 years of age can carry concealed weapons except where guns are restricted.
Police arrested Kwiesha “Reggie” McBride with reckless conduct with a firearm, which when added to aggravated heroin trafficking, does not bode well. Franke Dejesus, identified as a shooter, was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault, Diana Davis was charged with aggravated assault and Samantha Tupper was booked on heroin possession and violation of parole.
The belief is that today most large drug deals are conducted on parking lots of big-box stores. That way everybody sees what is going on but nobody sees what is really happening. In Augusta, Maine, last Sunday, the bad guys just happened not to see the concealed carry guys. And there you have it.
In April of 2015, an Uber driver had just dropped a passenger off at Logan Square in Chicago when 22-year-old Everardo Custodio began wildly shooting in a crowd. The unnamed Uber driver promptly fired six shots at the surprised Custodio, hitting him in the shin, thigh and lower back. Police are certain the unnamed driver stopped what would have been a mass shooting.
In Philadelphia last year, an argument in a barber shop escalated into a shooting. As employees, patrons and children dove for cover, a passer-by on the street stepped inside the door and shot the gunman in the chest. The thug died hours later. Police Captain Frank Llewellyn praised the unnamed 40-year-old for stopping what could have been another mass shooting.
There are more and more stories developing how good guns have defeated bad guns but, sadly, I fear you will not see them. In this day and time, good news is a hard sell when compared to panic, hysteria, and blood. So don’t believe all you are allowed to read.
royexum@aol.com