Your Money or Your Life: Big Risks in Resisting Robbery

The last two weeks have seen Hyattsville city police respond to two attempted armed robberies in which the victims fought back against their attackers. 

The first, from July 8, saw a man wrestle a gun away from his attacker, gain control of the gun and shoot at his attackers. Police, with the gun and the wallet of the suspected robbers left behind at the scene, were able to quickly arrest two suspects in that incident.

Then, over the weekend, a man was shot twice in the stomach as he resisted an attempted armed robbery in his car. The investigation into that incident is ongoing.

But is it wise to resist an armed robber? These two recent armed robberies highlight the danger involved in fighting back against a criminal armed with a gun.

"We never recommend that people challenge or fight back when faced with the threat of being a victim of a robbery," said Hyattsville City Chief of Police Doug Holland in an interview after the July 8 armed robbery. "Property can be recovered, lives cannot be recovered, but it's an individual choice."

Holland said that every crime is different, and that anyone who is faced with a lethal threat needs to seriously consider the possible consequences of resisting someone armed with a deadly weapon.

"While we can make general recommendations of what to do and what not to do, no two robberies are identical in circumstances," said Holland. "It's up to individuals to determine what the circumstances are, the level of the threat, and your own capabilities to defend yourself."

According to researchers, resisting armed robbery is extremely risky.

A widely cited 1984 study by the University of Chicago found that while only seven percent of armed robbery victims resisted against their attackers, those seven percent accounted for 51 percent of all deaths resulting from armed robberies according to The New York Times. 

Expanding on that, a 1986 study by Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository lays out the risks in plain terms. 

"One thing is clear: if life is dear, resistance to robbery with lethal weapons rarely makes sense. Unlike rape, the cost to the victim of compliance with the criminal demand is usually not momentous. In all but the most extraordinary circumstances, resistance to robbery demands under the threat of deadly weapons is unwise," reads the Berkeley study.