This time out of Spartanburg, SC — A man shot and killed a another man in what police are calling self-defense. The incident took place in a Lowe’s parking lot after a confrontation in the store.
This past Sunday at approximately 2:45PM, Guy Holler was followed around the store after an argument that took place. Randall Belk, 54, challenged Holler several times after the verbal argument and continued to follow him around the store.
Holler responded each time by continuing down a different aisle.
At some point after all this took place, Belk went out to his vehicle and retrieved a piece of lumber that was 4 feet long and waited for Holler to come out of the store.
It is reported that he was approached from behind by the lumber-wielding Belk as he sat in his vehicle.
Witnesses say that Belk pointed the large piece of lumber at him. Holler reportedly told Belk to back away, but he continued to advance toward the vehicle and Holler until he was about 4 feet away.
It was sometime around this point when Holler felt his life was being threatened and he fired one shot, hitting the torso.
Randall Belk was transported by ambulance to Spartanburg Medical Center where he died.
Spartanburg Police have said that Holler will not be charged because they believe he acted out of self-defense. It is also said that the two men knew each other, previous to the argument.
Analysis:
Information is thin here, as it usually is, but we can still learn from this South Carolina Defensive Gun Use.
First, I want to commend the defender, named Holler. Based on the story, it does seem as though he tried to diffuse the situation to the best of his ability.
He tried to change aisles to avoid further confrontation, and I’m not sure how much more he could have done here. I suppose the argument could be made that he could have left the store, but there was no reason to believe this issue would have escalated further once Belk walked away. Not unless Belk said he was going to get a 2X4 and smack him with it.
There was a clear disparity of force. One man had a 4 foot piece of lumber. And, while it can be argued that the other man had a car, we aren’t really given a clear picture of the parking lot’s setup, like if there were other cars parked around, in front, or behind him.
The police said that it was self-defense and I’m pretty sure they would have investigated it to the fullest.
Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Also, check out my article on what to do if a killer has body armor on.
