Most of us who own and/or carry a firearm for self-defense will never have to pull the trigger to protect ourselves or others, much less more than once, but one Louisiana resident has reportedly been involved in two defensive gun uses in as many months.
On December 15, police in Alexandria, Louisiana were called out to the scene of a shooting, where they found 31-year-old Avery Lewis suffering from what officers described as “moderate” injuries. According to authorities, Lewis was shot after jumping into a parked delivery truck in a “threatening manner,” at which point he was shot by the driver in self-defense.
APD said they believe this is connected to a home invasion on Henry Street from Nov. 8, which was investigated by the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. The resident, [name redacted by Bearing Arms], shot and killed the intruder, Devante Thomas. Investigators learned that Lewis and Thomas knew each other.
APD believes what happened on Marthas Drive may have been motivated by retaliation related to that home invasion. Investigators also believe this is an isolated incident between the two individuals.
At least one local media outlet has identified the armed citizen, but since he’s considered a victim and not a suspect, I’m going to redact his name in this story.
In the home invasion that took place last month, police say 33-year-old Davante Deundra Thomas allegedly kicked in the front door of the armed citizen’s home while he himself was armed with a handgun. Thomas allegedly shot at the homeowner, who fired back in self-defense. When police arrived at the house they found Thomas’s body inside the residence, with the deceased home invader still clutching a pistol in his hand.
Police haven’t said publicly whether that home invasion was a targeted attack on the armed citizen or a random encounter, nor have they said whether Lewis knew the armed citizen before climbing into his delivery truck with the intent to assault him. Either way, the victim in these cases was well within his rights to defend himself against his assailants, and while the shooting in the delivery truck officially remains under investigation there’s nothing at this point that indicates the shooting was anything but a justified use of force.
Considering the fact that the armed citizen wasn’t taken into custody on any charges after the home invasion, it appears that he legally owned the gun he used to protect himself. Based on the information about the armed citizen that I’ve been able to glean from social media, he was violating company policy by carrying a gun while inside the delivery van, but doing so isn’t a violation of Louisiana state law.
I hope that this individual won’t be fired for defending himself on the clock, but we’ve seen that happen many times before and it’s entirely possible that he’ll soon be out of a job… if he hasn’t been terminated already. He can find another job, but he can’t get another life, so I have to say that I think he made the right call by exercising his right to carry even if the delivery company who employed him wants to see their drivers disarmed.
I also hope that this will be the last time this armed citizen needs to use his gun in self-defense. At this point you’d like to think that Thomas’s other friends have figured out nothing good can come from targeting this man, but I’ve learned to never underestimate the propensity for criminals to make stupid decisions.
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