Police said the cars were trying to stop the limo when several shots were fired from the Chrysler.

Two men in the limo, Malik Wilson, 21, and Kendrick Handy, 27, were hit.

The limo driver pulled out a handgun and fired at the Chrysler as the limo sped away. Police did not release the limo driver’s name but said he had a concealed weapons permit.

While trying to phone 911, the limo driver happened upon another crime scene near Queensboro Avenue S and 31st Street. There, about an hour earlier, investigators had found an empty, bullet-ridden Nissan Maxima with cocaine inside…

…Inside, police said, was Anzio Fabian Dale, 17, who had been shot. Police said they also found a gun in the vehicle. The rest of the people in the car had fled.

via Night on the town ends with four shot in St. Petersburg | Tampa Bay Times.

Several lesson to be learned here:

1) Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes.
If you read the whole article, you’ll find out that the patrons behave stupidly by flashing cash and calling attention upon themselves. That attracted the wrong kind of individuals and less than hilarity ensued.

2) You cannot predict how you will be attacked.
Let’s face it, two cars with multiple attackers trying to stop the limo is some crap out of Hollywood that we easily dismiss as bombastic storytelling. Reality bit hard but at least the driver of the limo reacted well. This also bring us to…

3) The need for lots of ammo in your gun.
I have no idea how many shots the driver needed, but there was a huge potential in this case for more than seven or ten shots for self-defense. Again, we have multiple attackers in moving vehicles already shooting at you, the potential for shots not hitting the A Zone of an attacker is high. Only Bruce Willis shoots a moving helicopter down with two rounds of .38 special out of a snubby revolver…or was it only one?

4) Sometimes, no matter how much you avoid it, feces happen and come to visit you.
The limo driver did not initiated the events or acted stupid, he was just doing his job. Still he got caught in the middle of the events created by others and that Ladies and Gents is one more reason why we carry. I am a great believer in Avoidance, Deterrence and De-Escalation as a way to live one’s life, but I am not deluded enough to think that is all it takes. We carry a handgun because it is the most efficient & allowed instrument of last resort when life is threatened.

So, congrats to the Limo Driver. He survived and go to go home unscathed. And we got to learn some important lessons.

Hat Tip to Gun Saves Lives.