Open Carry Gun Owner Robbed Of Brand New Gun — How Else? At Gunpoint

Open carry gun laws have a downside that was learned the hard way by a 22-year-old Gresham, Oregon man in the early hours of Saturday morning. You know how police always advise you to keep your smartphones and other valuables out of sight?

Maybe they should say the same thing about guns.

While in many states, including Oregon, gun owners have a right to carry their guns openly, the problem is that means everyone knows you have a gun — and guns, like iPhones, are pretty valuable. If there’s one thing a bad guy likes more than shooting a gun, it’s selling a gun. Especially a gun he didn’t pay for himself.

William Coleman III was pretty proud of his new gun, a semi-automatic Walther P22 that he had purchased earlier in the day on Friday. And why not? A new handgun of that make — a model pictured above — may sell from anywhere between $350 and $450.

Coleman was so excited about the new gun that he was exercising his open carry rights as he and a cousin walked down NE Glisan Street in Grehsam at about 2 am Saturday, with the gun displayed for all to see.

That’s when a friendly-looking young man wearing sweat pants and flip-flops stopped Coleman to bum a cigarette. As Coleman and the stranger chatted, the man noticed his openly carried gun — and was impressed.

“I like your gun,” said the young man. And then he said, “Give it to me.”

The young man then made his point by pulling his own up until then concealed gun out of his waistband and pointing it at Coleman. The new gun owner then felt he was left with no choice but to hand over his brand new gun.

Was Coleman the first open carry gun owner to be robbed of a gun at gunpoint? Statistics are not readily available. But the bizarre incident does appear to show that merely carrying a gun openly doesn’t always deter crime, especially if the other guy has a gun that he is not carrying openly — giving him the element of surprise.

Coleman was apparently so surprised he allowed the flip-flop wearing bandit to get away on foot. Then again, he was also carrying two guns at that point, so Coleman apparently made the wise decision not to pursue the gun-toting gun robber.

The suspect was described as a 6’1? light-skinned, “clean cut” black man between 19 and 23 years of age with a black gun.