[Pebcac]

No, it's no joke. I was on my way to work, and this guy blew out my back window. Road rage sucks. I was unarmed. I moved into a new state almost two years ago, and just never got around to getting the new permit. I sure felt naked without it today. I'm just glad the guy decided to get the hell out of Dodge instead of following me, and that my kids weren't in the two car seats in the back seat that is now covered with glass.

The worst part is, since the cop didn't see a big Hollywood hole in the side of my car, he doesn't think it was a gun. He thinks the guy threw something at me. If that guy's arm can knock out the back window of a car from his own driver's seat, all while traveling at almost 70 mph, he needs to sign with somebody. Besides, rocks and bricks don't leave quarter-inch holes in glass with circular shatter patterns, and I don't think most Cadillac-driving thugs carry around a bag of rocks to throw at people. The metro police department around here can't be bothered with the problems of us regular Joes. If it ain't on the news, they don't care.

I am losing what little faith in my fellow man I had left. And wishing I'd kept out some of my tax return for that carry permit.

[rock jock]

And wishing I'd kept out some of my tax return for that carry permit.
Tax return be da****. You need to get that permit regardless.

[VeT|Us]

Sell a gun if you have to, get that permit.
Having guns at home wont help when you're beeing shot at somewhere else.. ;)

[Dave P]

Hate to say it, but a ccw prolly would not have changed anything in this situation. .

So where was this?

[tiberius]

That sucks! Have you recovered the bullet? It seems like it should be in your cab somewhere. Perhaps that would convince the POPO that you were shot at.

[Carlos Cabeza]

Glad you're OK. There was a similar incident here a few days ago where a man was shot and killed in the intersection of a major roadway. The insect err I mean suspect was captured later that evening.

[keano44]

Seems like you should be able to find evidence to prove that your story is true. Unless the bullet exited through another window, or through the vehicle some other place, it should be recoverable when you clean out the glass. What brought this on?

[gggman]

I'm glad you are OK, and the only damage was to your vehicle.
If you had your CCP, and was armed, what would you have done? Would you have fired back at him? You might have hit an innocent bystander, and wound up going to prison for a very long time.
Best thing to do is try and get his license #. In that instance, I don't think a CCP would have helped you.
That said, you should still get your CCP.:(

[Pebcac]

Dave, I agree. CCW would not have changed this situation as it happened, no. Even if I'd had it, I wouldn't have thrown shots across four lanes of traffic while he dove for the off-ramp. But it would've been nice to know that if he'd followed me I could've defended myself with something other than the battering ram commonly referred to as my front bumper.

tiberius - Unfortunately, I could find no bullet. I looked through the glass a bit, but soon tired of the slices I was getting on my fingers. The impact hole in the glass is adjacent to a sheet metal brace, which had a mark on it but no significant deformity. I'm thinking most of the energy was deposited in the glass, and the little metal brace deflected the bullet back out of the window. I think it was a .22 or, most likely, a .25, given the size of the hole in the glass and the lack of further damage.

The car is now at the glass shop for a replacement window. The police department won't be getting any evidence from it, not that they would be, anyway. After all, the patrolman told me to just call my insurance company, as if someone had bumped my door in a parking lot.

[chaim]

Hate to say it, but a ccw prolly would not have changed anything in this situation. In this situation I'd say you are right, but as Pebcac says, he is glad the guy didn't decide to follow him. If this guy had been really mad and followed Pebcac to his destination then the CCW would really have come in handy.


edit: Opps, that is what happens when you "multi-task" online and keep multiple windows open. While I was writing this short post, Pebcac responded similarly.:o

[CW-op]

You need to have a heart to heart with the top cop in that dept. SOON!! I hope you have the officer's name and badge number. It looks like a dereliction of duty to me.

[LASur5r]

Howdy pebcac,
Glad you survived the incident all in one piece and little to no injury to you. I know it sucks and it gets you ticked. You get to run the sequence of events over and over for a while....but think about it....in your opinion, would your CCW have prevented the shot through your rear windshield?
Regardless whether you had your piece or not...think on it...traveling at 70mph with the road rage nut behind you....
What's the odds of hitting that nut?
I'm glad your kids were not in the car either....a showerful of car glass is not the best thing in the world for them.
I'm not saying having a CCW wouldn't help you...but speaking from one who is prevented by our wonderful county from having one...you did fine. Now a long gun and if you had exited your vehicle in time.....hmmm, what does your state law say....I don't think too many places let us fire on a fleeing felon. Nice thought though.
Of course, brandishing your weapon might have "prevented" the rrnut from trying to take you on...but then your state might have nailed you for brandishing....
There's a lot of issues that we have to be responsible.
Just food for thought....but you did fine.

[Standing Wolf]

...wishing I'd kept out some of my tax return for that carry permit.

I'd get a cash advance on a Visa card P.D.Q.

[larry_minn]

Can you give us which state/city this happened in? I understand there have been a number of shots fired at cars in Minneapolis/St Paul lately. Thinking I should bring the AR on my next trip down there. I have had people throw stuff off bridge on my truck but never shot at..........

[starfuryzeta]

Could it have been a high-powered air rifle? Those things are gaining popularity quicklike, and there have already been reported shootings with them across the country.

[Waitone]

Save the window.

Get to the ossifer's watch commander and explain to him you suscribe to the duck theory of investigations. "If it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, chances are it is a duck." So don't let your ossifers shovel road apples. It was a bullet and you expect a report to be made.

They do that crap because they keep getting away with it.

[Josey]

I wonder? Are there any overpasses where you had your backglass explode? Are you certain that someone was even in a roadrage? The alternative theory is that you were hit by a thrown object from a overpass. The other driver sees your backglass explode, thinks it is a bad place to be and boogies for an exit. It could be.

[DJJ]

That same cop must have worked for the San Jose, CA police department. Someone shot through a window beside the front door of my office building over a weekend once. There was a sticker on the window, so the shattered glass stayed together, and in the center was a perfect .45 caliber hole. About 10 feet in was a convex corner in the wall; the bullet hit the sheet metal strip they put on corners to reinforce the sheetrock, and left a perfect 45 FMJ shaped dent. SJPD's theory? A .45 caliber rock. :rolleyes: What would we civilians know about guns anyway? :rolleyes:

[Pebcac]

To answer a few questions:

Rush-hour traffic in Memphis.

Not likely an air rifle given the circumstances. That'd be one hell of a coincidence. :D

I realize I didn't mention this before, but I'd say the psychopath running within inches of my car, sides and back, and screaming to the point of veins standing out on his forehead, are all pretty good indicators of road rage. And I'm sure it wasn't somebody dropping rocks from an overpass - I wasn't under an overpass.

The patrolman did take down the info that I gave him, and his "expert" opinion notwithstanding, I will be following up to see that the report is filed based on the information that I provided.

And, clearly, we civilians know nothing of firearms compared to the godlike members of the Memphis Police Department, some of whom I've personally witnessed nearly shooting themselves or one another at a particular local firing range. It's a sad situation indeed when a range officer has to correct a police officer regarding The Rules.

Note to any MPD officers who might be browsing this forum or are members: Many of your fellow officers are dragging you down. The paycheck ain't worth it. Get a job with a better department, one where professionalism is a good thing, and academy seats aren't filled with anybody who can fog a mirror held under their noses just so the city can say "We have X number of new officers in training."

I apologize if I'm coming off as bitter, but cops are supposed to be professionals, and part of that is knowing how to deal with people who have been through stressful situations. If you don't believe a word of what the victim of a crime is saying, fine, but you don't have to be an ??? about it. Do your job, write down the info, and say "Have a nice day and be safe. We'll take care of it." What was already a terrible experience was made worse by one of Memphis's "finest" making a mockery of the situation by his attitude. What little shred of faith I might have had in the MPD is gone.

As far as the permit situation goes, I'll be down getting fingerprinted and filling out the paperwork at the next opportunity, cash advance in hand. I hope to Christ nothing like this ever happens again. I'm driving in the slow lane with the little old ladies from now on, and if that don't work, I'll take the bus.

Edited to add: I do not intend for this to become a law enforcement bash session. I am a supporter of law enforcement, and have the utmost respect for good people trying to do good work in a bad environment. But this is not the first negative experience I've had with this particular department, and I'm not whining about tickets. They just don't give a crap when someone is trying to tell them that something bad is happening or just happened because they're too busy looking down their noses at the lowly civilians. I fear it's just the institutional mindset. It's a shame, too, because I've known a few really good guys who deserve to work in a better department for a better city government.

[4v50 Gary]

Whew! Glad it's the car & not you. One of these days we're going to have to have on-board cameras to record the other guy. Aim & shoot (the camera that is). It won't prevent something, but at least the surviving spouse will have the satisfaction of the killer being brought to justice and a lawsuit against the miscreant.

[Josey]

OK. I have the picture now. I hope you get your CCW. I had a friend involved in a SD shooting recently there. He was arrested and charged with some asinine law about discharging a firearm. The only reason he was not prosecuted for a felony was that another legal CCW holder ALSO shot the same BG. The prosecutor couldn't get around two people shooting the same attacker. It just wouldn't look good to a jury. The Memphis PD does have problems. I will not argue over that.

[JohnKSa]

What got the guy so worked up that he would to try to kill you?

[Blue Jays]

Good Evening All-

Posted by JohnKSa: What got the guy so worked up that he would to try to kill you?

John, did you mean to include </sarcasm> tags on your post or do you really believe kooks need a "reason" to go ballistic? We've got insane homeless people who wouldn't hesitate for a split-second to push you in front of an oncoming subway train in parts of the country.

Pebcac, glad to hear everything turned out OK. You might want to secure the CCW first before potentially ruffling any feathers at MPD HQ. My father has a coworker who lives in a neighboring town where the gun-grabbing chief has "lost" her handgun paperwork on two occasions...effectively leaving her unarmed. Just something to consider.

~ Blue Jays ~

[Pebcac]

JohnKSa - I didn't get out of his way in a satisfactory time frame. I guess he wanted me to run people over like he was doing, or run underneath the 18-wheeler next to me. My car's not short enough for that, unfortunately for me.

Blue Jays - I don't live in Memphis, I just work there. So they can lose all the paperwork they want. :D

Folks, I really appreciate the positive thoughts, and I won't be putting off any permits any longer. Look for me in the slow lane from now on to be sure, but if some whacko decides to follow me to work next time, things will not go to his benefit.

[ENC]

You had the solution in your first post.

You said that if it is not in the news the cops don't care.

Well news agencies are always looking for a story that creates drama. Contact them acting like a good sheep would and say that you were shot at on the road and the police wouldn't do anything to protect you.

My bet is at least one station will pick up and run your story.

[cratz2]

Well, first of all, I am glad to hear you made it home in one pieces and with no additional holes. ;)

While road rage can be a very scary thing, an armed CCW holder in a moving car firing at another moving car is a VERY good way for said CCW holder to become a former CCW holder.

Again, glad to hear you weren't hurt... at least not physically hurt. :uhoh:

[TamThompson]

Pebcac,
Is it legal in Tennessee to carry a rifle or shotgun in your car? In many places it is--you just need the concealed carry license for a handgun. If it's legal in TN, you may want to carry a shotgun in the car, just for your own peace of mind until your permit arrives to carry a handgun. Not that a shotgun will help you when you're driving, but if you're forced off the road you'll have *something*. And something's better than nothing.

[SteelyDan]

Spooky stuff, glad you're okay. About six years my car got shot as I drove home from work. I saw and heard some kids in a parking lot playing with "firecrackers," then I heard one whiz by my window, then I heard and felt a "thunk" in the side of the door. Drove a couple miles down the road, got out and checked. Sure enough, bullet hole in driver's side rear door. It didn't pass through. I never fixed it because it was kind of an interesting conversation piece.

[JohnKSa]

Blue Jays,

Seemed like a fair question.

I go out of my way to avoid being in dangerous situations--that sounded like one and I thought I'd like to know how to avoid it if possible.

Is this a better way to ask the question?

Would you have done anything differently if you had known ahead of time that the person was armed and unstable?

Or maybe:

Do you feel like there was any way you could have avoided this situation?