Welcome to The Bank of Concealed Carry

Before even walking in the door of People’s Bank and Trust in Troy, Missouri, the criminal in the Chucky mask should have realized his dreams of a successful bank robbery would not pan out at that particular location

A bold insignia of a handgun welcomes those who carry concealed.

“Management recognizes the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as an unalienable right of all citizens.”

Not only does the management of the bank recognize this right, bank president David W. Thompson, participates enthusiastically.

Bank employees asked a man to remove his Halloween mask when he came up to the counter Tuesday afternoon. He ignored them and patted his pocket, indicating that he had a weapon, then said, according to employees, “No, you gotta give me all your money.”

Employees followed protocol, following the robber’s instructions by filling a bag with a total of $4779, and remaining calm.

Meanwhile, Thompson was meeting with a salesperson when the receptionist buzzed him, interrupting the meeting. He could tell by the look on the employees’ faces that something was wrong. Then he saw a man in a Halloween mask holding one of the bank’s red money bags.

Without hesitation, Thompson, who always carries his weapon, a Colt .380, followed the man out to his truck, which was parked in a handicapped space at the front of the bank. Another bank employee, who also carries concealed, had followed Thompson to provide back-up. Thompson pointed his gun at the man and ordered him to get out of the truck.

“Sir, get out of the truck,” Thompson, 58, recalled demanding. “You’re not going anywhere.”

And when the man put his hand in his jacket pocket, as if he had a weapon, Thompson scolded him again.

“You don’t want to go there,” Thompson said. “This will end badly.”

Fortunately the robber listened. It turned out the man had no weapon of his own. Thompson and another bank official who also carries his own weapon pulled the man from the truck and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

“I didn’t have time to get scared,” said Thompson, a life member of the National Rifle Association who supports concealed-carry laws. “I was excited. Your adrenaline pumps. He robbed a bank, he menaced my employees, and I don’t allow that.”

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Thompson and his fellow employee held the masked robber at gunpoint until the police arrived.

The suspect, Donald Ray Lee of Lincoln County, was actually a customer of the bank, carrying one of their debit cards in his wallet.  He told police he had only gone into the bank to trick or treat. Lee did not have a weapon.

“You can’t fix stupid, so it’s always good to have stupid off the streets,” said Thompson.