Store Clerk To Would Be Robbers: “My Gun Is Bigger”

Two robbers got more than they bargained for when they walked into a West Seattle convenience store:

Robert Moore was ringing-up a customer around 10 p.m. at the Morning Star Mini Mart, located in the 8800 block of 9th Ave SW, when two men entered the store wearing ski masks. One of the men stayed near the entrance of the store while the other attempted robber approached the counter and pointed a gun at Moore.

“This is a robbery,” Moore said the man told him.

Moore said the attempted robber’s gun didn’t look real.

“I looked at his gun and said ‘I have a bigger one than you do,’ ” he said.

Moore then turned to reach for his own gun and that’s when the attempted robbers took off in a white SUV with dark markings toward the rear of the driver’s side and a sun roof.

This story, of course, makes this movie clip obligatory:

FILED UNDER: Crime, Guns and Gun Control
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. al-Ameda says:

    Reading this story, I thought of Clint Eastwood in any of the Dirty Harry movies, and not of the Aussie.

  2. C. Clavin says:

    This idealization of the Wild West in today’s Convenience Stores is cute…and I’m sure somewhere JKB is touching himself inappropriately.
    I personally wouldn’t want to be within range of either of these two idiots.

  3. Mu says:

    Assuming it’s not -30 F, does a clerk have a valid case of “I felt threatened and shot first” when someone enters a store wearing a ski mask?

  4. john personna says:

    I think this is the key line:

    Moore said the attempted robber’s gun didn’t look real.

    Every now and then someone tries a stick-up with a starter’s pistol, or a bb gun.

    If the clerk’s “blink” assessment was good, it’s all good.

  5. pylon says:

    Of course, the story ends badly if she guessed wrong.

  6. walt moffett says:

    @al-Ameda:

    I thought of the scene from Justified where Dewey Crowe learns not to blaspheme during the armed robbery of a convenience store.

  7. C. Clavin says:

    @walt moffett:
    I’m a big fan of Justified.

  8. ptfe says:

    @pylon: And the prospect of 3D printed guns seems to promise a revolution in clerks getting it wrong.

    Regardless, that Crocodile Dundee clip requires this response:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgUF_J20Bpk