Father defends son. (Exercising the Right).

A Blockbuster video rental store in Orange City, Florida, was robbed in January by two thugs who, among other things, dragged one of the employees around by his ponytail. When another store employee, 20-year-old Gabe Shockey, insisted on keeping his job following the crime, his father, Robert P. Shockey, began keeping watch on nights when his son closed the store. Armed with a .45-caliber handgun, for which he has a conceal-carry permit, the elder Shockey would drive to the store's parking lot and sit in his car, hoping that the vehicle's presence might deter other would-be robbers. Occasionally, when business was quiet, he would enter the store to chat with his son.

At around 11:45 p.m. on March 18th, there were no customers, so Gabe Shockey went to the back office to tally the day's receipts while his father talked to another employee, identified only as Brian. It was Brian's first day on the job. Suddenly, two men wearing ski masks burst into the store, one of whom was armed with a Winchester 30/30 rifle later determined to be unloaded. They shouted violent, obscenitylaced threats as the gun-wielding miscreant first pointed the rifle at Robert Shockey, then turned it on the new employee. That allowed Mr. Shockey to reach for the handgun tucked in his belt behind his back.

When Shockey shouted "Freeze!" the armed man, rather than dropping the rifle, started to point it at him again. Shockey fired at least twice, striking the gunman in the throat and chest. When the accomplice reached for the rifle, Mr. Shockey fired again, wounding him in the chest.

Having witnessed the robbery on monitors in the back office, Gabe Shockey called 911 moments before shots rang Out. When police arrived, they found 19-year-old James Franklin Wince IV (the armed robber) dead. Detectives believe that Wince, an off-duty employee of the same video store, may have been involved in the January robbery. He had a criminal record including a half dozen arrests and several convictions on charges ranging from burglary to vehicle theft.

Wince's accomplice, 18-year-old Darius Bennett, also has an extensive rap sheet, including several felony convictions. On March 19th, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office charged Bennett with felony murder, a second-degree offense under a state law that allows persons involved in felonies to be charged with murder even when they do not personally do the killing. He was also charged as a principal to attempted armed robbery.

Robert Shockey was praised by sheriff's officials and received a phone call of support from Sheriff Ben Johnson. Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson told reporters that he "is going to get the good-citizenship award."