The story of a store clerk at a grocery store in Philadelphia emphasizes why it is important for Americans to not only own guns, but also to train with them. In this situation, an employee of the Happy Day Food Market protected his life and that of his colleagues by using his firearm to stop an armed robber from potentially harming those he was trying to rob.

The incident happened last week when the would-be assailant entered the store while brandishing a firearm.

Police say the 28-year-old robber immediately went behind the counter when he walked into the Happy Day Food Market on South 58th Street.

He was partially masked, and holding a gun while wearing gloves.

When he started to put money in his pockets, police say an employee pulled his gun and fired several shots at the suspect.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small indicated the preliminary information suggested that the shooting was a matter of self-defense. No other employees or customers were injured during the altercation.

The employee who fired on the robber had reportedly received his gun license and gone through training to learn how to use it, after having been robbed at the store on a prior occasion. Unfortunately, there are a disturbing number of gun owners who have not sought out formal training on how to use their weapons effectively and safely.

According to a 2017 study, the percentage of people undergoing formal training has remained relatively stagnant.

More Americans than ever before own firearms for protection, but the percentage of people who undergo formal training on how to use their weapons has flatlined, a new paper published in the journal Injury Prevention shows.

The research, conducted by Ali Rowhani-Rahbar and Vivian Lyons, epidemiologists at the University of Washington, along with public health experts at Northeastern and Harvard, finds that 61 percent of all gun owners reported receiving formal firearms training. The researchers say this a statistically insignificant increase over the 56 to 58 percent of gun owners who reported receiving training in 1994, the last time a comparable survey was conducted.

Of gun owners who said they own a handgun for the sole purpose of protection, 57 percent said they had received formal training. Only 14 percent of those who live with a gun owner, but who do not own guns themselves, have received safety training, which the authors say is a troubling finding considering how often accidental shootings or suicides involve guns that belong to a parent, spouse, or roommate.

While it is encouraging that most gun owners do receive some training, the fact that so many do not is concerning for those who value responsible gun ownership. Some seem to believe that simply buying a firearm is enough. It seems to grant them a sense of security just by having the weapon. But what many don’t seem to realize is that without proper training, having a firearm can be more of a liability than a benefit.

Without training, gun owners could be more likely to harm themselves or an innocent person than a potential assailant. In the case of the store clerk, the fact that he had received training likely played into the outcome of that harrowing encounter.

Exercising one’s right to keep and bear arms comes with a responsibility to make sure that we are safe with our weapons. Not only could it save our lives, but it could also prevent tragic accidents that need not happen.