Bruce Lee had a classic line in one of his movies: "the art of fighting without fighting" where he got the BG onto a small boat and just let out line.

But whatever you use, gun, knife, hand to hand, if you are going to start, you best be ready to finish.

Many years ago, there was a security guard in Waikiki who carried concealed. I do not think he was licensed to do so. When a bunch of young punks came by, he whipped it out. He was not prepared to use it. The took it away from him and beat the bejezuz out of him.

Sometimes having something can give you a false sense of security. I think he should have just called the police. I coined a phrase a number of years ago goes like this: "ego gets in the way of common sense." Sometimes having a weapon or training in the more aggressive martial arts can inflate the ego, thus reducing common sense.