By Sam Hoober, Alien Gear Holsters
The recent “peach cobbler shooting” incident in Red Banks, Miss., is a masterclass in what never to do if you conceal and carry. It contains so many lessons, that additional examples are not really needed to reinforce the point.
The incident, according to articles on WREG and WHNT, occurred on Weds, May 9, in Red Banks, an unincorporated community about 200 miles north of Jackson. One Stanley Woodson stopped at Joe Joe’s Travel Center to fill up on gas and grab some refreshment, including a drink and some peach cobbler.
He asked the lady serving it for a few more peaches, which the server did not respond to in the most positive fashion. He began arguing about it, at which point another customer – one Logan Novascone – objected to his behavior. Woodson left the store, and Novascone followed him outside.
Woodson popped the trunk and retrieved his fiance’s pistol, and began firing at Novascone. Woodson contends Novascone had a “Dutch knife” – ostensibly a Mora or some other outdoor knife of Scandinavian origins – and thus feared for his safety. Novascone ran for cover, but was wounded in the back.
Woodson contends he fired only warning shots into the ground. No knife was recovered and Novascone denies being armed. In any event, Woodson is facing attempted murder charges after surrendering himself to authorities.
Let us begin.
If someone has a knife, you don’t fire warning shots; you shoot until they drop. The knife will be right there were police officers can pick it up. Whether Novascone had a knife or not is between the two men concerned and whatever deity they conceive there to be, because it doesn’t appear to have existed.
What did Woodson get into an argument over? Gas station peach cobbler. There are some great cobblers out there, to be sure, but is ANY food made in a gas station really worth getting into an argument over? Probably not, and the lesson here is the following:
Don’t get into stupid arguments over things that don’t matter. This applies to everyone about pretty much everything, but doubly so if you’re carrying.
If you have a gun, you are accountable for what you do with it. Every single bullet that leaves it must be justified.
Novascone also made the incident worse by following Woodson outside. Don’t do that. If you have a disagreement with someone, don’t pursue; just let them leave. It isn’t worth it as a general rule, and certainly not any argument stemming from gas station peach cobbler.
This is also, of course, a prime example of the dangers of excessive carbohydrate consumption in the American diet. Woodson probably would have just gone home like normal if he’d grabbed some almonds.
So, what we can learn is that you don’t shoot unless there is a real threat and furthermore, never any warning shots. You don’t know where they will end up and if you are carrying, you are responsible for everything you do with the gun.
Don’t get into spats over ephemera. Doing so is an act of stupidity, and never leads anywhere good. Don’t make a dumb situation worse.
And maybe try to lay off the carbs.
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Sam Hoober is Contributing Editor for AlienGearHolsters.com, a subsidiary of Hayden, ID, based Tedder Industries, where he writes about gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. Click here to visit aliengearholsters.com.