Shopper cuts holdup short

In her purse, the woman hid a gun - just the
thing to stop a man threatening Wal-Mart
employees.

By JAMIE MALERNEE

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2000

SPRING HILL, Fla. -- Sandra Suter was standing in the check-out
line at Wal-Mart on Monday when she saw several store
employees wrestling with a man.

"Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" one of the employees yelled
at the man, who authorities say was trying to steal a VCR.
The man, identified as Willie J. Redding, dropped the
appliance, pulled a small blade and lunged, cutting two
employees, a Hernando County sheriff's report said.

Suter, a 53-year-old grandmother of two, reacted. Within
seconds, she rushed to the scuffle.

"I have a concealed weapons permit," she announced as she
whipped out the .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun she keeps
in her purse.

"Either drop the knife, or I'll shoot you," she said as she held
the weapon to the man's face.

After a few tense moments, during which Suter repeated her
threat, Redding dropped the knife and surrendered to store
security. Redding of 262 A St., Brooksville, now faces a
charge of armed robbery and two counts of battery.

Authorities say the 50-year-old Brooksville man walked into
the Spring Hill store with an empty VCR box, said he wanted
to make an exchange and then tried to leave with a new VCR.
Redding, who has previous convictions for selling drugs and
dealing in stolen property, was taken to the Hernando County
Jail. He was released Tuesday on $3,000 bond.

After the arrest, several employees, who did not need
treatment for minor cuts, and a Hernando County sheriff's
deputy thanked Suter for her decisive action.

Suter's husband and grown children are calling her a hero. But
the 5-foot-3 homemaker just laughs at the label.

"I just did what I thought was right," she said. "It was the first
time I've ever had to pull my gun other than at the firing range.
I don't know what made me do it."

Suter said she has carried the gun in a special pouch in her
purse since March. Her son urged her to get it, saying she
needed protection during long drives to visit out-of-state
relatives. Suter picked the chrome handgun because it was
"pretty."

She would have used it Monday if necessary. "I would have,
had I had a clear shot," she said.

Suter is not a member of the National Rifle Association and
said she does not get involved in "any of that politics." But she
strongly supports Americans' right to bear arms. She and her
family often gather at a Lakeland shooting range to practice.

"It's brought our family closer together," she said. She and her
husband keep child safety locks on their guns and have
instructed their grandchildren, ages 4 and 2, not to touch them,
she said.