We love to see good buy versus bad guy stories because it paints a picture of the real America – the American that doesn’t kowtow to aggressors and doesn’t uphold the progressive ideals that would have us act as second-class citizens to those that want us dead and gone.
That’s why this story is such a breath of fresh air – a pharmacy owner in Pennsylvania was robbed by a tweaked-out gunman. Instead of risking his livelihood and dignity, the owner took out a piece of his own, got the jump on the creep, and took out the assailant.
According to Levittown Now,
Last Friday morning started as any other morning would for Kenneth Lee, the owner of Pennsbury Pharmacy on New Falls Road in Falls Township, but by 9:56 a.m., the day took a turn which would dramatically alter the lives of all involved.
Lee was manning the family-owned pharmacy on a slow Friday morning, taking care of his usual duties on the computer. From one screen behind the counter, Lee could see surveillance camera angles from the inside and outside of the store. A minivan pulled up and a masked man with what looked like a rifle or shotgun jumped out.
Lee knew that he was about to be robbed.
According to Lee, the next seconds were a flash. The masked man entered the store and started charging the counter. Lee made multiple verbal warnings to the intruder that he had a gun, but the intruder was seemingly set on coming over the counter.
“I just made the decision that if he comes over, it’s either me or him, but I wanted him to know I had a gun,” Lee said. “I prayed he would hear me and get scared and run.”
That ended up not happening. The intruder – later identified through fingerprints as Willie A. Bozarth, 33, of Sewell, New Jersey – came over the counter and Lee made the decision to pull the trigger on the handgun he carried to protect himself and his business.
“My intention was only to survive, to go home to my wife and daughter,” Lee said.
Since the incident, county officials and others have said that Lee did the right thing. Lee doesn’t consider himself a hero though.
“I appreciate what they say, but in my opinion, I’m not a hero. Heroes are the law enforcement and the troops who lay down their lives every day. I am not a hero.”
The whirlwind of what happened behind his counter didn’t stop when law enforcement arrived, but it certainly slowed down. Lee mentioned that he never felt safer then when Falls patrol officers arrived.
Lee said the Falls officers are the best officers that he has seen in terms of professionalism, demeanor and timeliness.
“We don’t usually show our appreciation for them, but when I saw them, I felt safe,” Lee said. “I never got to thank those officers. I don’t remember their names because I was was traumatized but thank you to them.”
Lee previously worked at a Walgreens in a “rough” location. Due to corporate policy, he wasn’t able to carry a firearm to protect the store, himself, or the customers. When he opened his own pharmacy, he made a different choice, the choice to carry at work.
“I don’t know what the situation could have been if I wasn’t carrying, but the person crossing the counter had only one intention in that situation,” Lee said. “That’s a question I’m going to be thinking about for the rest of my life.”
Lee said he was appreciative of the customers and area residents who have stopped in to show their support for him.
Something Lee has been asked multiple times since the incident is whether or not he will be closing up shop or moving locations. The answer is a definitive “no.”
“I’m still proud to have a business in Levittown, to live in Bucks County, and contribute something positive to the area,” Lee said. “This is where I’m from. I’ll stay here as long as the community allows me to stay in business.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr5T9HX9828
It’s just this simple: good guys with guns will stop bad guys with guns. At the very least it gives the good guys a fighting chance. That’s common sense, and we don’t need to reform any laws to exercise it.