A gun is a great equalizer that has long been giving woman the ability to fight back against larger men. And a recent incident in a place with limited concealed carry options might give the criminal element some pause. However, the officer in the video does need to work on her holster draw.

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The incident happened in Sao Paulo down in Brazil, according to reports. A man saw a woman walking down the street fairly late at night, around 11 p.m. The woman was even limping, so the bad guy, identified as Francisco Gonsalves dos Santos Junior, probably thought she was an easy target. And considering the difficulty of obtaining a carry permit, he would be right in most cases. However, this woman is an off duty military police officer. So, she is both legal to carry, and had a gun on the hip.

Santos got out of his car, stated he was armed and headed straight for the woman. She immediately began drawing her pistol, eventually firing at least one round, possibly two, that stopped the attack and killed the aggressor.

Holster Draw & Other Factors

The off-duty officer performed admirable, but this example contains numerous lessons to be learned. To start, the officer performed adequate situation awareness. She saw the man as he pulled up. However, social norm prevented her from using that awareness to her advantage. Considering the time of the situation, she should have stopped to learn his intentions or crossed the street perpendicular, which would have provided some cover in case of a attack.

She tried ignoring the situation, as if this was simply guys on the street catcalling. It wasn’t and she should have made adjustments to better protect herself.

However, she paid attention because when he got out and headed her way, she looked right at him. It was at this point that she realized she was a target, even if she didn’t know for what, and began preparing to defend herself. She immediately began backpedaling and reaching for her pistol. However, her holster draw was encumbered by her backpack. This slowed her down greatly, and actually allowed the attacker to get too close. This, of course, is something shooters need to consider. Does your backpack, purse, briefcase or whatever prevent quick access to your carry gun? If so, reconsider or realign to allow better access.

She does eventually get her gun in to play, allowing her to end the attack. She then proceeds to phone for help, but probably should have found a better location. Over beside one of the sitting cars suffices as the best choice, as it would provide cover, but anywhere further away would be good.