KC homicide victim was trying to rob store, police say - KansasCity.com

What struck me about this article is that, at the very end, it states that no gun was found.  I train my students to be “Thinking Shooters”.  What that means is that they are in control of each and every decision they make and will be held accountable for those decisions in court in the event they do harm to another person.  Obviously, the video tape is not presented here for our review.  And certainly, for the robber to state clearly that he had a gun certainly crosses a huge line.  Yet, I wonder if it will be enough to protect the shooter.  He was behind a counter.  I would assume it provided some level of cover.  The robber did not brandish a weapon, even though he clearly stated he had one.  The clerk chose to engage the robber, without seeing a weapon, rather than seeking cover and refusing the money.   If the clerk can convince a jury that he felt in “mortal danger” – things should go fairly smoothly for him. 

However, if he simply acted on the verbal threat with no physical evidence to confirm the danger, and he felt anything other than a “mortal danger”, I suspect the court will not be very forgiving. 

KC homicide victim was trying to rob store, police say - KansasCity.com

Kansas City police today identified a man killed in a botched robbery attempt Friday at a convenience store as William Rees, 33.

Police did not have an address for Rees, but online court records listed an address from Ozark, Mo. Rees was paroled from a Missouri prison on Aug. 16 after serving sentences for stealing, drug trafficking and second-degree assault.
Investigators said Rees entered the store about 3 p.m. Friday, announced a robbery and indicated he had a gun, according to clerks at the store at 5712 Independence Ave. As Rees reached over the counter for the money, a clerk shot him, police said. The store’s video surveillance system recorded the incident, police said. Police did not find a gun with Rees.