Such was the case during a late-night altercation at a smoke shop in Springfield, Missouri.
Earlier this month, an argument broke out in the interestingly named Wicked Superstore in the early morning hours. According to investigators, 23-year-old Airreonte Turner for reasons unknown got into a verbal altercation with another customer.
The incident escalated rapidly.
Turner allegedly produced a firearm and held it to the head of the man he was arguing with. Thankfully he did not pull the trigger then, but he apparently changed his mind as the two exited the business.
The suspect is accused of opening fire then, but his intended victim had the good fortune to also be armed. The result was that Turner was struck twice by bullets and taken to Cox North Hospital.
Police quickly determined the injured man was also the aggressor in the violent incident. He admitted to law enforcement that he pointed the gun at the other man in the smoke shop and later confessed to discharging rounds in the parking lot.
According to court documents, surveillance video showed Turner aiming his gun at the head of the victim in the store and pressing the weapon against his skull.
To make matters worse for the suspect, he is just two years removed from being convicted of second-degree assault and second-degree burglary. Obviously, he spent little if any time incarcerated for those convictions, though that could soon change.
A smoke shop in the early hours of the morning may not be the safest place for a person to be. That being said, it’s not illegal. The intended victim was armed and able to protect himself, and that’s exactly what the Second Amendment exists for.
