Some concealed carriers are often faced with a dilemma. The internal struggle sounds something like: “I’m just making a quick run to the pharmacy. Surely, I don’t need to take my gun with me just to do that.”
A recent case of armed self-defense in Florida proves the fallacy of such thinking. In fact, if 28-year-old Jamie Taylor had subscribed to that way of thinking, he’d likely be dead today. Which proves the point: If you’re going to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense, make sure you have it with you everywhere you go.
In Taylor’s situation, his shooting and killing another man at a Florida Walgreens is now being considered a case of armed self-defense.
The shooting occurred at a Walgreens in Miramar, Florida, on February 3, when Taylor shot and killed 27-year-old Anthony Souvenir inside the store. After carefully reviewing the case, the Broward State Attorney’s Office has now determined that Taylor acted in lawful self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
According to police reports, Taylor said he was just shopping when Souvenir, who was a stranger to him, got aggressive with him over what Taylor described as a perceived slight involving Souvenir’s girlfriend.
“He walked by me and said something, then came all the way back to the front of the store and told me, ‘I’m gonna show you,’” Taylor told investigators. “That’s when he pulled a gun, and I shot to protect myself.”
Security footage from inside the store reportedly corroborated Taylor’s account. Additionally, a store cashier confirmed that both men acknowledged being armed during the confrontation. Taylor fired two shots, while Souvenir fired one during the encounter.
Taylor has a valid concealed carry permit and has no criminal record. Souvenir, according to Taylor’s attorney, could not legally carry a firearm in the state because of his criminal past.
“This was a justifiable homicide,” the attorney, Andrew Rier, stated. “Jamie did not want this. But if he hadn’t defended himself, he wouldn’t be here.”
Taylor was originally charged with manslaughter. But after reviewing the case, prosecutors determined that those charges should be dropped.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law states: “A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
As for Taylor, he is now trying to put the entire ordeal behind him.
“I’m just thankful I get to be with my daughter,” he said during a press conference. “I’m sorry for the loss, and I pray for their family, but I had no choice. It was kill or be killed.”
