Trending in Jamaica News: FLA suspended a licensed firearm holder’s permit after he pointed a gun at a beggar.
The Firearms Licensing Authority, FLA, has confirmed that it did suspend the gun permit of a man seen in a viral video pulling his weapon on a woman in New Kingston.
Nationwide broke the story Monday, November 21, 2022. The man had been called into the FLA to surrender his weapon pending an investigation.
The video showed the man backing away from a woman who kept walking toward him with stretched hands as if she were begging for alms.
The apparent disgusted man appeared to be talking to the woman, perhaps, telling her to back up as she got close to him. Then he suddenly reached into his waistband, pulled out what seemed to be a gun, and aimed it at the desperate beggar, who immediately dropped both hands to her side and froze.
The poor woman, believed to be mentally ill, slowly walked away disappointedly.
The man returned the weapon to his waistband, walked to his vehicle, and hightailed out of the area.
Sometime after the incident, the FLA issued a statement imploring licensed firearms holders to exercise great caution and responsibility in the public sphere.
This was an unfortunate incident which I am sure the holder of the licensed firearm regretted. Unfortunately, he went viral in a video for the wrong reason. He could have avoided the embarrassment if he had shown mercy.
Clearly, the man lacks the spirit of a good Samaritan. However, I hope he will remember the poor and needy in our society as we move past this unfortunate incident.