[panther76]

I've had one similar experience, which I want to point out happened in Pittsburgh not Philly.

There was a panhandler, one that I'd seen before on and off in the same area for at least a year. He kept following me, along Forbes Avenue in Oakland for several blocks. It was around five or six a.m., so the street was pretty deserted and I was walking alone. Amazingly for my college days, I was straight sober, and not as amazing, I was lawfully carrying a new Glock in an IWB holster.

The guy accosted me again near the doors of a fast food place that was closed but getting ready to open. I told him to get lost or I’d call the police and he pulled a homemade knife or shank. He didn’t step towards me or verbally threaten me. He was about five to ten feet away. I ordered him (yelled) to “drop it” and “step back” and put my hand on my holstered gun.

If I’d been closer to him, or he had come towards me, I probably would have actually drawn on him or maybe fired. Luckily, I didn’t have to. He saw the gun, dropped the shank in the gutter, and begged me not to call the police. Since I didn’t have a cell phone, I banged on the window of the fast food place to get someone’s attention.

While I was asking them to call the police the vagrant ran off and I had little choice but to let him go. I reported things to the cops and gave them the guy’s description. I recall getting a business card from one of the LEOs and either got a phone call or called him later. I was told the guy was picked up on different charges and that he already had warrants that would put him away for quite a decent stretch.

So I never had to testify and never saw the guy again. I don't know for certain that the guy went to jail, just the LEO's word on it, but I have no reason to believe otherwise. I never volunteered to the police that I had a LTCF or that I was carrying a firearm during the incident, but I didn't lie either. And the LEO never asked. All they seemed to care about was the guy's description, whether I'd seen him hanging around the campus area before, and recovering the shank he dropped.

That was a long time ago, but I don't think my response would be all that different today, even though I'm bit older and more mature. I would also say that my other experiences with LE in Allegheny County, and every local instance of self-defense shooting that I've read about in the newspapers, leave me pretty confident about things, in the Pittsburgh area at least.

I have read of about seven or eight incidents in Pittsburgh in the last ten years, involving private citizens who fired a lawfully carried firearm in self-defense. Regardless of whether they were at home, in their business, or on a public street, I can't recall a single case that ended with the law abiding citizen being arrested, charged, having their gun confiscated, or their permit revoked. I would note that in all cases the bad guy was a stranger, who was armed or claimed to be, had made a verbal threat or brandished a weapon, and Joe Public was lawfully carrying under a PA LTCF.