Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA: A man stopped an attempted robbery at a gas station by pointing his gun at the suspect and holding him at gunpoint till law authorities arrived. It was supposed to be just another Friday for Nick Moore, who was standing in line at a Holiday Gas Station for his breakfast and energy drink when he saw a teenager walking in with a knife in hand. And from there, it was almost as if he took matters into his own hands.
Who is Nick Moore?
Nick Moore became a hero as a 17-year-old allegedly walked into the store with a knife and told employees that he was robbing the store. “I kind of backed up a little bit to see what he was going to do, but I kind of already had [an] inkling in my head of what he was going to do,” he said.
"I put my stuff on the counter, snuck out the door, ran to my car, grabbed my pistol and came back up to the door — and as I came up the door, he just turned to look at me. I racked my slide on my pistol and pointed it at him and he put his hands up," Moore said. After coming back inside the store, he told the teenager to put down his knife and lay face-down on the floor while waiting for law enforcement to arrive.
Once the authorities arrived, the teenager was placed under arrest and charged with attempted robbery in the first degree, and third degree assault.
Would he have used the gun?
Moore sure drew the gun out in order to prevent a robbery from happening, and possibly to avoid things from escalating. The question then stands that would Moore have used the gun? The answer is no.
Moore said that while he wasn’t planning on using his gun, he sure is glad that he had it on him for such a situation. Moore admits that he feels having a gun deters crime, "They’re a shield against thieves, a deterrent against most crimes if people if people know that your establishment could be armed or people in that establishment could be armed."
At the same time, Alaska State Troopers have advised people not to get involved in such incidents and to phone call 911 if possible. Moore said that after the arrest, the employees bought him his breakfast. And has said that he hopes the suspect gets his life turned around and that this was a wakeup call for him.