Days after the residential neighbourhood shootout, a homeowner in Los Angeles reported that his concealed carry permit had been revoked. The man had used a pistol to repel alleged would-be burglars at his home.
“After successfully defending my home and my family and my 5-month-old child, California has now decided to suspend my Second Amendment [rights],” L.A. resident and married father of one Vince Ricci said in a video for the NRA that was exclusively shared with Fox News Digital.
Ricci told Fox News Digital that he was contacted by the sheriff’s office on Thursday morning and told that his concealed carry permit had been “revoked.” He attributed this to the fact that three days after the killing, he had “yelled” at Los Angeles police investigators who had come to his house to look into the shooting. Previously, Ricci berated the LAPD, the investigating agency, for allegedly doing “sloppy police” work, which included failing to collect the casings that were strewn around his residence as evidence.
It’s unclear if other circumstances contributed to the homeowner losing his concealed carry permit because the sheriff’s office did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the situation.
On Nov. 4, right after Ricci left the gym and came back to his guarded Los Angeles home, a shootout broke out at his front door. Ricci was about to unlock his front door when two armed men leaped his fence and attempted to break in. The family nanny, Ricci’s wife, and their 5-month-old daughter were inside.
Historically, obtaining a concealed carry permit in California has proven to be more challenging than in other states. Ricci previously told Fox News Digital that the application process took months.
Still, Ricci discharged his gun on his own land. Legal U.S. residents above the age of 18 are permitted by California law to carry weapons on private property and in their homes without a licence or permit.
In the NRA film, Ricci stated that the shooting was clearly a case of self-defence, citing that he was approached by two guys who were “pointing guns at my chest” while attempting to enter the house.
“My situation is unique because it happened at my front door, all on camera. But this happens time and time again all over the country … People sweep it under the rug because it doesn’t behove their political agenda. The fact is, evil will always exist,” he said.
Ricci said last week in an interview with Fox News Digital that he has been targeted by criminals before. Only a few months prior, his car had been broken into, and his home had been broken into in June. He claimed that several crooks were breaking into his neighbor’s house the night before the shoot-out, that they were driving a Dodge Charger without a licence plate, and that they were targeting other houses in his neighbourhood.
The LAPD earlier sent Fox News Digital a news release on the attempted robbery, in which the department stated that detectives are looking into the incident and urged members to come forward with any information.
The NRA told Fox News Digital the organization is “proud to have Vince as a fellow NRA member” and called the revocation of his CCW “reprehensible.”
“His decisive actions to protect his wife and daughter embody the core principles that NRA members fight for every day,” NRA spokesperson Billy McLaughlin said in a statement. “It’s reprehensible that California is shredding his Second Amendment rights after he defended his family. Governor [Gavin] Newsom and [Los Angeles County District Attorney George] Gascon’s pro-criminal policies have transformed Los Angeles and the wider state into what resembles a war zone. The NRA stands with Vince and every responsible gun owner in California, firmly committed to defending their rights to protect their families and communities.”
In remarks to the NRA, Ricci likened Los Angeles to a “war zone” and laid the responsibility at the feet of left-wing municipal authorities who, in his opinion, have not enforced the full force of the law against violent offenders.
“I used to walk into this house and see this beautiful house that I built for my family, and now I walk into a war zone … Right here in L.A., an innocent L.A. father was killed because District Attorney Gascon released a violent criminal back into the streets. And this is just one of the dozens of cases right here in this city,” he said.
The proprietor of the upscale Los Angeles County city’s Beverly Hills Guns told Fox News Digital that Ricci’s case is an obvious illustration of a lawfully armed man using his Second Amendment right to defend himself and his young family on his own property.
“The bottom line is that this is a man who defended himself on his own property with a gun that was legally owned by himself,” Russell Stuart told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Wednesday.
According to Stuart, incidents from twenty-five years ago, in which a criminal would try to frighten homeowners by targeting their house with an unloaded gun, are now in the rearview mirror. He maintained that in order to obtain what they want, Los Angeles’ criminals of 2023 won’t hesitate to use loaded firearms on law-abiding residents.
“Now, these people are coming heavily armed with fully loaded weapons. And as the evidence shows, they are prepared and will, and did, use them. So, this man had to defend his family, had to defend himself. He was on his own property against armed assailants,” he said.
Stuart reported that a significant number of Angelenos and other clients had applied for CCW permits recently, citing the conflict in Israel and the need for the Jewish community to defend itself against antisemitism. According to him, clients begin waiting in queue at his store’s doors at 7 a.m. in an attempt to secure a three-hour appointment window prior to its official opening.
He questioned the message that the denial of a concealed carry permit to a guy who was defending himself and his family on private property was sending to law-abiding, armed city dwellers in California.
“The fact that anyone, our politicians, our law enforcement officers, our district attorney could see this man as anything but a hero defending his family is absolutely disgusting,” Stuart said.
“It also sets a precedent and will send a ripple through the community, especially the Jewish community right now. … What message is this sending them that while you’re on your own property, facing armed assailants with loaded weapons, that if you defend yourself, you might face prosecution? What message is that going to send?”
Ricci added that because of left-wing California legislators, his Second Amendment rights are now “in jeopardy”.
“When the incident happened, there were only two things I could rely on: myself and the Second Amendment; and now that’s in jeopardy. The leftist gun grabbers do not care about your safety. The NRA does,” he said.
