As reported, Lucy’s Sweet Surrender is the last remaining Hungarian bakery on Buckeye Road in Cleveland, Ohio. It is well known for its delicious treats, and loved by neighborhood residents who lament the closing of the other Hungarian bakeries. Now the owner is considering closing shop due to brazen armed robbery that left his wife, Marika Feigenbaum, shot and pistol whipped. Marika was in the bakery when an armed robber entered and demanded that she open the safe and give him large amounts of money. Marika truthfully responded that there was no safe, and that only small amounts of cash were on hand. Enraged, the robber pistol whipped the woman and shot her in the shoulder, then fled.
As we’ve seen time and time again, criminals are often violent and irrational. They are willing to inflict harm upon individuals who have not tried to resist in any way. To recap, a few of the recent examples that I’ve mentioned: This deli owner cooperated with the armed robber’s demands, only to be shot because there wasn’t enough money in the cash register. This man (the fourth robbery on that page) handed over his valuables, but was then pistol whipped anyway. This other man was also pistol whipped after complying with a robber’s demands for his valuables. This man was shot because the home invading robbers weren’t satisfied with the value of his belongings.
Fighting back against robbers, on the other hand, can be quite effective as a means of reducing the risk of injury. This armed barber shot an armed criminal who threatened him and his son, saving their lives. This armed pet shop clerk shot an armed robber who threatened a fellow employee’s life, as well as his own life, preventing them both from being stabbed. This armed pizza delivery man defended himself against 3 armed robbers, and walked away unharmed. This armed citizen stopped a bank robber, while this armed Israeli citizen stopped a terrorist. This motel clerk was also able to stop an armed robber and ensure that neither her, a fellow employee, or a nearby mother and baby were harmed. Even outside the context of armed robbery, self defense has been shown to be the best course of action.