Feel-Good Second Amendment Story of the Day

Let's hear it for concealed carry permits. A shame every state doesn't have them.

A bank robber in Palm Bay couldn't get away from a bank Thursday, because a customer of the Space Coast Credit Union on Malabar Road had a gun and a concealed weapon permit. The customer used his gun to stop the robber.

Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Floyd Francis. He's facing robbery charges.

The man who stopped him, Ruben Torres, actually had his gun in his car in the parking lot. He had enough time to go out to his car, get his gun and then go back in and hold Francis for police.

"Me, being from New York, I’m always on alert," Torres explained.

Of course had this robbery taken place in New York, Torres would have been at the mercy of the criminal.

Torres went to the Space Coast Credit Union to pick up some cash for a cruise this weekend and was on his way out when he noticed a man walk in, give him a weird look, pull out a Walmart bag and put it on his head. It was the first sign it wasn't going to be just any visit to the bank.

"It's not Halloween. You don't walk in and put a bag over your head unless you’re going to do something," Torres said.

Torres, a trained, professional security guard with a concealed weapons permit said he didn't even think twice about what he was about to do. He went to his car, grabbed his handgun and went back inside.

Francis was sitting, waiting for the cash he was trying to steal. Another teller confirmed for Torres that Francis was trying to rob the bank and, when Torres saw an opportunity, he drew his weapon.

"As he was walking out, I put him down with the gun in the back of his back," Torres said.

The Palm Bay man said Francis didn't fight back or try to run. Torres said he was never scared, just a little nervous, and was surprised to hear what Francis had to say.

"He apologized to me and I said, 'That doesn't matter now,'" Torres described.

Palm Bay police arrived moments later. Police said, while they don't encourage people to take matters into their own hands, they said what he did was appreciated and courageous.