Open Carrier Robbed at Gunpoint

[smince]

Did I miss it, but did the crook get the gun? The picture shows a gun in a holster, so, if it's the victim, then the crook didn't take his gun?

The video link says the gun was taken.

 

[smince]

He's not the only one, evidently:

http://www.gunatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1198

Fairfax County Police Department

Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030

703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253

[email protected]

www.fairfaxcounty.gov

News Release: 06/211/0388/RJP/(1)

July 31, 2006

Man robbed in the Centreville area.

About 4:10 a.m. Sunday, July 30, officers were called to the area of Newton Patent Drive and Newton Tavern Drive. A 21-year-old Centreville-area man was robbed while walking on Newton Patent Drive. Two suspects approached the victim from behind, and placed a metal object up to the victim’s head. The suspects took the victim’s hand gun which he was openly carrying. The suspect’s then fled the area. The victim was not injured.

The suspects were described as black males wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information about this incident or these suspects is asked to call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or the police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.

I know this is an older incident, but most OC'ers act like this never happens. To quote someone else:

A lamb with an open carry handgun does not become a wolf. He is still a lamb. A bandit can see right through that thin veneer.

 

[jonmerritt]

Wow, I have a don't mess with me attitude too. Does that make me a target?

 

[Wishoot]

Quote:
Not sure why anyone in that part of town would want to advertise the fact that they're carrying.
Because it's illegal to conceal in Wisconsin?

Trust me, I know this sad fact all too well. My point it that OC just make you that much more of a target.

 

[leadcounsel]

He believes, in his case, open carry made him a target and he will no longer do it.

Yep, I bet he feels like a fool. I applaud people who have the cojones to OC, but I question their judgement. You open yourself to harassment and targeting from all sides.

 

[KBintheSLC]

No gun is a viable replacement for spacial awareness.

Wow, I have a don't mess with me attitude too. Does that make me a target?

I guess that neighbor doesn't like people who don't have a "kick me" sign on their back.


...

 

[Old Shooter]

Ya don't suppose the BG didn't see the gun because of the six pack abs covering it pretty much? Mayby that's why he didn't take the gun?

Disregarding Wisconsin issues, CC probably wouldn't have helped this guy at all. If he couldn't use his OC weapon to defend himself why would anyone think a CC weapon would have been any better?

Wrong place, wrong time, lucky he came out of it OK.

Situational awarness should be at the top of the rule list.

 

[Blackbeard]

Disregarding Wisconsin issues, CC probably wouldn't have helped this guy at all. If he couldn't use his OC weapon to defend himself why would anyone think a CC weapon would have been any better?

Would he have gotten robbed without a visible $500 object hanging on his belt?

 

[SaxonPig]

I still think concealed is preferable to open carry for serious SD. I don't go around with a sign around my neck saying "Black Belt" either. Rather let it be a surprise.

Not that I am opposed to OC, I just think CC has advantages I prefer.

 

[killchain]

He broke rule number 1, don't live in a crappy area.

Did Otis McDonald break rule number one too?

Just food for thought.

 

[wishin]

The thing we should all agree on is that there are homicidal fools such as this one out there who wouldn't care if you are talking to the police on the phone, never mind a firearm on your hip.

 

[zxcvbob]

I thought rule #1 was "Bring a gun."

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I know two cops/co-workers that were disarmed (open carry, fully uniformed) after a BG got the drop on them. He took their radios, guns, badges, and left them handcuffed together on the east side of Cleveland. Lucky to be left alive, they both remained on the suburban department they were on for many years after. I won't say it could happen to anyone, but I decided I didn't trust working with them again. My sergeant and I (both avid shooters and ex-vets) decided that had we been the ones, that another outcome would have occurred, even if it meant one or both of us getting hurt or killed. I just couldn't have lived it down, having been a hardcore shooter at the time, and still.

 

[NavyLCDR]

He's not the only one, evidently:

http://www.gunatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1198

Feel free to contact the Fairfax County Police Department and they will be happy to inform you, as they have other gun enthusiasts that the stolen gun story was a fabrication made up by the "victim" to hide an illegal gun transaction that he did.

Here's the real scoop on the real gun grab in Wisconsin:

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum57/45743.html

 

[JellyJar]

The most important self defense tool anyone has is the pink stuff between their ears. In both situations here the victims did not use this tool properly.

 

[Bubba613]

So people who insist on carrying extra magazines even though there is no evidence they are useful at all will insist on OC even though there is ample evidence it invites trouble.
OK.
And we accuse the anti-gunners of being irrational??

 

[General Geoff]

So people who insist on carrying extra magazines even though there is no evidence they are useful at all will insist on OC even though there is ample evidence it invites trouble.

You consider one incident to be ample evidence that it invites trouble? By that logic, sleeping invites trouble because you could die in your sleep. And way more people die in their sleep than while open carrying.


Furthermore, even if there were ample evidence that it invites trouble, open carriers such as myself acknowledge that OC isn't the only way to fly. It is a political statement as much as it is a defensive tool. A concealed sidearm is out of sight, out of mind. An openly carried one stirs the minds of those who've never seen a gun carried by a private citizen, for better or worse.

 

[mnrivrat]

A pebble does not a rocky beach make . Drawing conclusions of any nature regarding something being a good or bad idea, based on one point of data, is a lousy way to make determinations.

The incident was unusual, meaning not common, and only shows that pretty much nothing said or believed is 100% . Probability never is 100% .

 

[alohachris]

I think he may have been targeted for the gun. Sneak up close, shove an airsoft or piece of pipe in somebody's back and relieve them of their real loaded gun. You get away with a $500 gun and a way to get more money or guns.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I thought rule #1 was "Bring a gun."

And apparently it is, but it assumes certain parameters are already in place and therefore don't need enumeration, such as

Rule #0, "Bring a brain and use it."
Rule #0.1 "Maintain situational awareness"

etc.

 

[WCSO]

[QUOTE,
I know two cops/co-workers that were disarmed (open carry, fully uniformed) after a BG got the drop on them. He took their radios, guns, badges, and left them handcuffed together on the east side of Cleveland.

One of the very first things taught to new recruits in the police academy is to NEVER surrender your weapon, no matter what. I would like to know the full story on this incident but feel the same way as SharpsDressedMan.

 

[NMGonzo]

The story is not complete

 

[yongxingfreesty]

rather keep mine hidden and not shown to every single person.

the bad guy was smart and got him when he least expect it.

 

[bigfatdave]

Rule #0, "Bring a brain and use it."
Rule #0.1 "Maintain situational awareness"

Rule Zero is "DON'T PANIC

 

[Agostini]

Leadcounsel says: I applaud people who have the cojones to OC, but I question their judgement. You open yourself to harassment and targeting from all sides.

So true. I'm all for OC but the hassle the OCers must endure ...