Now, put that same clerk on the overnight shift.
That was the situation that 20-year-old Peter Fang found himself in on Saturday at the Corner Market on Clarksville Pike in Nashville. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, it was 3:30 a.m.
That was when the store’s video surveillance showed that the suspect, 25-year-old DeCarlos Groves, brandished a firearm and then jumped over the counter. Fang certainly did not go to work that night expecting an attempted robbery, but at that lonely hour of the morning, he had to know that it was a possibility.
Happily, the young clerk had a pistol in his shirt pocket as a precaution. No doubt he’d already encountered some of Nashville’s worst previously on the graveyard shift and thought it would be wise to be prepared.
According to police, Fang’s weapon discharged when Groves landed on him. The suspect was struck by the bullet and a struggle ensued.
Groves was struck by more rounds from the clerk’s firearm and fell to the floor. The intended victim was then able to call the police, and the alleged assailant died on the scene.
Investigators are still looking into the incident and report that the District Attorney’s office will make a final determination on charges. That should be a moot point.
When an armed and violent criminal leaps over a store counter and attacks the employee, they should expect as much resistance as that worker can muster. Thankfully for this young man, that resistance included a loaded firearm that he was not afraid to utilize.
If the clerk had not been armed, the night would have ended dramatically differently. But he lived to see the sunrise and many more thanks to his wits and courage. It is yet another example of a good guy with a gun coming through in the face of unexpected violence.
