Remember that time you got pulled over for going 55 in a 30 with an expired registration? And remember how the cop wrote you two tickets? Do you remember thinking, “well, I shouldn’t have been speeding and I should have renewed my registration? But if I am being honest, I am really in the situation because that cop had the nerve to pull me over and hold me responsible for my choices.”

Pretty sound logic, huh?

But that is the logic being used by the family of a 23-year old Ohio man, who was shot and killed while trying to rob a Dollar General store at gun point.

Roosevelt Rappley entered the Dayton-area store, produced a firearm and starting demanding money. One of the store clerks was a concealed carry permit holder and was legally armed. Once the suspect pointed his weapon at this clerk, he drew his own weapon and fired, striking the subject in the chest.

Rappley returned fire, hitting no one, before stumbling outside and collapsing. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The clerk placed a 9-1-1 call.

“He pointed a gun at me,” the caller said. “I had a firearm on me. I pulled my firearm and I shot him in self-defense.”

According to police, witnesses confirmed that the assailant pointed his weapon at the clerk, prompting him to draw and fire, fearing for his life.

Shortly after the failed robbery attempt, two members of Rappley’s family spoke with reporters outside the store where he was shot and killed. Their thoughts: it is the fault of the clerk for being legally armed and acting in self-defense.

Rappley’s sister went on record as saying that even though her brother was wrong…it was all the clerk’s fault. Here is what she said:

“He’s got some responsibility, but not all. [Right is] right and wrong is wrong. That was wrong for that clerk to shoot my brother in the chest. Yes, he’s robbing them. OH, WELL (emphasis by the speaker)! Call the police, that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re not supposed to take matters into your own hands.”

Actually, that is the very definition of self-defense. You do take matters into your own hands. This scenario is one of the many reasons why law-abiding Americans do carry a weapon. The woman went on to say that there is no reason to have a gun for protection at work. It stands to reason that her brother just provided at least one reason.

Imagine how exceptionally ignorant you have to be, to be upset that your brother who was committing ARMED ROBBERY got shot by the clerk defending themself. pic.twitter.com/QfkufojOFV — Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) October 11, 2019

According to the siblings, this is the second of ten siblings killed by gunfire. We don’t know under what circumstances the other died, but Roosevelt Rappley is responsible in this case.

According to Dollar General officials, they have a number of measures to protect the safety of employees and customers. They didn’t say if employees are allowed to carry firearms, according to a statement.

“At Dollar General the safety of our customers and employees is a priority,” a public relations spokesperson said. “In line with that commitment, we employ a number of safety and security procedures to prevent, deter, and if necessary, respond to criminal activity in our stores.”

They didn’t elaborate on this case.

“To protect the integrity of these measures, we do not comment on them specifically,” the spokesperson said.

Police, however, did expand on this situation.

“As far as the individual (employee), he was legally possessing a weapon and he was on private property at his place of employment,” Hall said..

He added that a conceal carry permit isn’t required on private property.

Rappley does have prior history with police.

Dayton Police Lt. Jason Hall said that history involves pending weapons charges and possible involvement in other commercial robberies in the area, including the recent robbery of a Dollar General on Main Street.

Marc Clauson is a professor of history and law at Cedarville University.

“It is up to the company to decide whether employees can carry a weapon in their work environment,” he said. “Laws of self defense are the same as normal, though the employee could be fired even if he is legally in the right if it is determined that he violated company policy.”

A section in the Ohio Revised Code is very clear that unless the private employer acted with malicious purpose, the private employer is immune from liability in a civil action for any injury related to the private employer’s decision to permit a licensee to bring, or prohibit a licensee from bringing, a handgun onto the premises.

“If a person pulls a gun on you and puts you in immediate fear of deadly physical force (DPF) being used against you (jeopardy), and there is no possible way of retreating, then you can use deadly physical force in self defense,” said Clauson. “A good rule to follow is – does the perpetrator have intent, opportunity, ability, and are you in jeopardy of having DPF used against you?”

This is not the only time we have seen this recently.

An attempted robbery in Philadelphia left the would-be robber dead back in August.

Police say it happened around 4 p.m. at a MetroPCS store located on the 7000 block of Elmwood Avenue.

According to reports, an armed man in his 30s tried to rob the store.

That’s when the MetroPCS employee, who has a permit to carry, shot the suspect. Police say the suspect died in the store.

“A male entered the store with a firearm and attempted to rob the store to which (the employee) discharged his firearm at the robbery suspect several times, striking him,” said Philadelphia Police Captain Scott Drissel.

Even local activist Joar Dahn said that while it’s sad someone died, he says people need to learn to defend themselves… and that he’s grown accustomed to shootings here in the neighborhood.

“He’s doing his job and standing his ground and whatever he had to do. But this is the normal in Southwest. It’s an everyday thing, nothing new for us,” said Dahn.

According to police, it was the third time recently that someone had come into the MetroPCS store with the intent to rob it.

Back in July, we reported a similar case that happened in a Virginia Beach 7-11 store.

Two masked men brandishing guns burst into the convenience store demanding to be obeyed, the Virginian-Pilot’s Robyn Sidersky reports.

Barrie Engel, who owns a nearby cafe happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She recalled to the Virginia-Pilot that:

“Two gentlemen — armed, masked, robbers — came in the store with their guns up and told us to stay where we were, nobody move… I did exactly that, I pretty much froze and looked at my friend and he looked at me, wondering, ‘Is this really happening? Is this real?’ ”

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Engel and a friend watched helplessly as one of the thieves filled his pockets with cash from the register.

In a dramatic recollection, Engel said:

“I was looking right at him and then I looked at the clerk, and the clerk raised his hands and said ‘Come on man, don’t do this.’ And not sooner than he said that, I heard a gunshot and as soon as I heard the gunshot, I dropped down to the ground and put my hands over my head and started praying because I thought the guy shot the clerk.”

Engel remembers her paralyzing fear in the moment, certain that the robbers would take the lives of everyone in the small convenience store. The Virginian-Pilot reports she said:

“I just started to pray and I feared for my life,” she said. “After that shot it was like three shots, bam, then bam bam. It could have been two, two or three.”

However, much to the Virginian’s surprise, when she looked up, it was one of the robbers who lay dead and not the cashier after all.

The gunshots had been fired by another shopper who had been towards the rear of the store when the thieves burst in. Barrie stated that the man stepped forward and declared:“Nobody’s gonna point a gun at me and get away with it.”

Police arrived at the scene to find one suspect dead and the other cringing behind the counter suffering from a gunshot wound. Sidersky reports that police further believe that the pair, along with a third suspect, had robbed 4 additional 7-Eleven stores in a similar manner that very same night.

Had it not been for the armed man, the crew may have continued on their crime spree. Police have disclosed that the man was legally licensed to carry a firearm but his name has not been released. There is no information if any charges will be filed against the shooter.

The surviving robber along with the third suspect face charges.

Sidersky further reports that Barrie Engel had previously considered getting a concealed carry permit but had not done so as of the date of the robbery. However, she is grateful for the armed civilian saying:

“Thank God for that guy because who knows what could have happened. I want to thank that guy personally. I want to buy him a steak dinner.”

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