True Story: Shoot or not? I didn't.

[DRMMR02]

+1 on the bringing a friend, 2 if possible, both armed.

Also, I would have had them come to you. Perhaps not at your house, but somewhere in your town. You know the area, your friends are close, and the police are from your city. Whenever I have bought something out of the paper and whatnot, I have also done the traveling. And when I sell stuff, they come to me. I thought that's just how it's done.

 

[RioShooter]

Apology

I re-read the "Bloodlust" Sticky and apologize for the above comment. Making light of using deadly force was a poor choice on my part. I'm sorry.

 

[RioShooter]

Apology

Duplicate deleted.

 

[meef]

carpettbaggerr:

Well, meef, the 'dad' was going to hit him with a claw hammer. If he hadn't planned on murder I believe he would have chosen a less-lethal implement -- a blackjack or even a 2x4. Hit someone hard enough to knock them out with a claw hammer, and it would only be luck if they didn't die. Of course, the [attempted] hijackers might not have known that.

And they may have just been dumb and really been checking for bondo with a hammer instead of a magnet. Yeah, sure.

I'm not disputing what their likely intentions were.

These people planned to seriously injure or kill evan, in order to steal from him. If the 'dad' had cocked back and begun to swing the hammer, evan would have been justified in shooting.

No argument on that condition - had it actually gone down that way. "If, if, if."

It sounds like the hijackers have done this before, and probably will try it again, perhaps on a less aware person who will be killed or crippled by their attack.

Maybe they have, maybe they will. That's speculation.

There's a difference between deserved and justified. They deserved shooting, but evan wasn't legally justified to shoot them. Get the distinction?

Do I get the distinction? Based on your logic, I think I do.

I happen to subscribe to the rule that no one "deserves" to be shot unless there is no other alternative for defense of life or prevention of grave bodily harm.

Maybe it's just semantics we're debating here. Maybe we could all post countless instances of people we've encountered who "deserved" shooting. That certainly contributes to the concept of High Road, eh? And no doubt impresses new readers and armchair commandos everywhere.

I'm done with this one.

 

[Flopsy]

Pure curiosity

What kind of rig were you packing?

 

[Doggieman]

Reminds me of a story I read in a local paper awhile back.

----
Husband and Wife were selling their boat out of Newport Beach. Nice place if you haven't heard of it. Mostly upscale people. Anyway a couple of guys call 'em up and want to see it. So husband and wife take the guys out on the boat. They get a ways offshore and suddenly the guys pull guns, tie up the husband and wife to a couple of heavy objects -- anchors, if I recall correctly -- and throw them overboard. The remains of husband and wife wash up a few days or a few weeks later and the guys are nowhere to be found.
----

Selling stuff can be dangerous!

 

[evan price]

Flopsy:

Glock-21 1st gen, strong side OWB in a Glock belt holster @2o'clock. +2 mag extensions. 15 rds of Winchester Ranger SXT 230-gr .45acp, spare mag with +2's on it loaded with 230-gr jacketed ball ammo, weak side, in a Glock factory mag holster. Streamlight on right hip 1 o'clock. All covered by a grey hoody sweatshirt.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Evan,

1) DEFINITELY tell your wife. The trouble you avoided might decide to follow you home...

2) For the same reason, call the police and report the incident.

You did well once you enmeshed yourself in the problem, best approach (obviously, but you probably know that now) would have been to avoid the problem completely. Walkin, talkin' and lookin' around beats shootin' as the solution to a setup any day, had you waited for Dear Old Dad to check your noggin for Bondo with his Maxwell's Silver Hammer, it most likely would have gone poorly for you.

Congratulations on lessions learned, and thanks for sharing,

lpl/nc

 

[ProguninTN]

Scary

I have to agree with the posters that you should start paying attentions to warning signs sooner. The repeated telephone calls would be enough for me to start getting suspicious. Also, definitely bring a buddy as backup.

 

[David904]

Always listen to your gut. Every time - and I mean EVERY time - I didn't heed my internal whatever it is that lets me know that something isn't kosher, I regretted it.

Always.

+1 on calling the cops. Definitely.
+1 on bringing a friend (preferably also armed) with you.
+1 on not falling for the ruse from D's "Dad."

Having the gun I am certain saved your life that day. A swat from a hammer on your head will kill you easily. Should you have drawn? Dunno... Perhaps if you had, the "Dad" would have felt like the die was cast at that point and everyone was now fully committed to a lethal encounter. If you felt that you could have drawn and fired fast enough to save your life given the proximity of the shady folks you were dealing with, then I would say that you did just fine. Glad you came out alright. Perhaps I'll talk about my experience with an attempted carjacking sometime.

 

[DRMMR02]

How about now? I love THR stories