Musician Jay Allen, winner of the 2022 Country Now Awards as Favorite Competition Contestant, featured on NBC’s “The Voice” and recognized as one of Music Mayhem Magazine’s 2023 Artists to Watch, took to social media to share his recent experience in Tennessee, being robbed at a grocery store.
The incident occurred in East Nashville, with the singer sharing his experience in an Instagram post, telling people what happened and reflecting on his state of mind.
“I’m ok, (besides being out a few bucks) but it was the feeling that I couldn’t get over… Even with having a muscular stature and being covered in tattoos, it didn’t matter… he had a gun, and I didn’t,” posted Allen.
Allen, who was obviously shaken but not stirred by the incident, went on to talk about how the feeling of helplessness inspired him to take his safety into his own hands and become a gun owner, even after having been unsure about guns for years prior.
“I felt helpless, taken advantage of and mad at myself more than anything… I’ve always been on the fence about guns, but today I’m a proud new gun owner. It’s strictly for self-defense, and I will NEVER feel that way again,” Allen added to the post.
In his post, Allen shared an image of his new gun, what looks to be a SIG P365-XMACRO TACOPS, and some footage of himself shooting at the range. Followers and fans responded thoughtfully, sad about what had happened, but grateful that Allen escaped the incident unharmed, with many encouraging his commitment to defend himself.
Aside from his music career, Allen, whose mother passed from Alzheimer’s in 2019, has also become a philanthropist, having raised an impressive $160 million plus to fight the disease.
Like most, I’m sure, I celebrate his safety coming out of an incident unharmed that many people have unfortunately not survived. Even more so, I applaud his rational response to the ugly reality and his willingness to see the importance of being able to defend his life and those whom he cares for. Too often we see people succumb to fear drawing irrational conclusions from that emotion. Violent crime predates the invention of firearms by a long shot, and the right to defend ourselves is enshrined in our Constitution. Welcome to the club, Jay Allen. Stay safe and train hard.
