The parents of a dead armed robber are very angry over his death, and are demanding to know why his innocent victim was allowed to be armed.

It’s been a difficult week for parents Temia Hairston and Michael Grace Sr. Their son, Michael Grace Jr., was shot and killed during an attempted robbery early Sunday morning. Police said Grace Jr. and two other people tried to rob a Pizza Hut in the 3200 block of Freedom Drive. During the incident, an employee fired his own handgun and killed Grace Jr. Hairston said she learned of her son’s death on social media, and only got confirmation from police after contacting them first. The grieving mother said she has been left with dozens of questions about the situation that have thus far gone unanswered. “If there was to be a death, it was not the place of the employee at Pizza Hut. That is the place of law enforcement,” said Hairston …. The parents are angry that their son was shot and killed by an employee. They don’t believe the full story has been released to the public. “Why in the hell did this guy have a gun?” questioned Hairston about the employee who shot her son. She said her son was shot in the head, and she thinks the shooting may have even been personal, citing past conflicts Grace Jr. had had with other employees at the restaurant. “This wasn’t a body shot. This was a head shot. My son was shot in the left side of his head just behind his ear. A head shot is personal,” said Hairston. Even though their son was in the process of committing a crime, the family thinks his death was undeserved and unjustified. … Hairston said she thinks the employee who shot her son needs to be in jail, and wants all parties involved in the situation to be honest about what happened.

You want honesty, Temia Hairston? I’ll give you honesty.

The honest truth, Temia Hairston, is that every human being is born with the natural human right to arm themselves for the defense of their lives from both rogue governments and violent criminals. Your dead thug of a son was one of three vile human predators who obtained deadly weapons and put the lives of innocent people at risk—and likely would have ended their lives without a second thought—over the petty contents of a restaurant cash drawer.

It is not the role of law enforcement to protect individual lives. This is immutable truth that which is also both a practical fact and a legal reality. One person and one person alone is responsible for defending your life against violent predators, and that person is the individual.

This Pizza Hut employee respected his own life enough to arm himself, and it proved to be a wise decision. Your son Michael Grace Jr. and his accomplices were committing a violent armed felony when the employee drew his (lawfully) concealed weapon and opened fire to defend not only his life, but the lives of other employees in the store.

Ms. Hairston, you then complained that the bullet that struck your son behind the ear during the ensuing firefight was “personal.”

Ma’am, preying on your fellow human beings is incredibly personal, even if armed robbery seemed to be your son’s idea of business. Would you have been mollified if the Pizza hut employee had put a controlled pair through his heart instead? I think not. At the core of it, your complaint is that your son was killed committing a crime, and you don’t seem to think that he deserved it, even as he callously and intentionally put numerous other lives at risk.

This Pizza Hut employee had the right to defend his life and the lives of others against the violent actions of your predator son.

Your son chose to be a violent criminal, and earned the bullet that ended his life.