Carjacking at gas station where I buy fuel!

[SMLE]

This is too close to home.

http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=14934&cat=HOME

Last Update: 11/11/2004 6:32:51 PM
By: Todd Dukart

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a suspect in an early afternoon shooting and carjacking.

Deputies say the suspect shot another man in the leg at a gas station at the corner of Bridge and La Vega at 2:45 Thursday afternoon. The suspect then took off with the victim’s car.

Deputies say they found the car dumped in a nearby alley. At 6:30, they were still combing the area for the suspect.

I watched the TV news and it said the victim was pumping gas when the perp ran up, shot him in the leg and took off in the car. I'm usually at at LEAST condition yellow when I'm at this station, now I'm going to be at condition red.

Moderators, for some reason I though I was on S&T instead of L&P. Oops.

 

[Preacherman]

No problem - moved it to S&T for you.

Gas stations are a major headache as far as situational awareness is concerned... a big one can have a dozen or more vehicles filling up, pedestrians moving to and from the vehicles, a convenience store with another bunch of vehicles parked in front of it and in-and-out foot traffic, cars arriving, cars leaving, pedestrians on the sidewalk... major, major headache to keep everything under observation!

 

[fansipans]

gas stations

Egads, I swear gas stations are the bane of everyday self defense.

As Preacherman points out there are just too many things going on at once to be totally safe. Every time I fill up I just try and keep my back to the car and my head on a swivel reading people's faces.

There have been a number of times where I've gone from yellow to red while pumping gas, in most situations it's just been the chance passing of an unsavory indvidual or group.

Things I try to always keep in mind with respect to filling up:

• Lock all doors except for driver's
• Stop the car, removing and securing keys on your person
• Be in a position where you can see a full 360 degrees around you. The scariest thing I can think of is someone popping out from the other side of the pump!
• Go to red when taking out/scanning/storing credit card for pump payment. I practically assume magical goblins will appear out of thin air when I pay
• Immediately lock doors when returning inside car.

And SMLE, don't feel so bad: the DC Sniper shot someone at the gas station my wife and I used at the time (talk about magical goblins )

There is a positive to gas stations though, you can see pretty much everything in a 50' circle around you. If you're at yellow it's not that bad.

 

[NMshooter]

Bridge and La Vega? Not suprising. Gas stations are good places to find running vehicles on short notice.

 

[Blackhawk 6]

I do not find gas stations too problematic. Not nearly the problem that mall parking lots are. Despite all of the activity, there is no reason for people to get within 10 or 12 feet of you.

I make it a habit to do the following:

* Select a pump on the end vs. the middle. While it does not eliminate the need to look 360, it does concentrate the most of the activity to a specific location instead of being surrounded by it.

* I survey the area as I enter the station and re-check 360 before exiting my vehicle.

* Use the Pay at the Pump feature. It reduces time at the gas station and prevents me from going inside where the money is, and therefore, trouble is more likely to occur.

* I lock my door when I exit the vehicle and put my keys in my pocket.

* I use local gas stations that have a CCTV system overwatching the gas pumps.

 

[JamisJockey]

Maybe I missed it, but I think the most obvious security measure for gas stations was overlooked....
Avoid filling up at night. Even if this means topping off during the day, the goblins prefer to work at night. A couple places where I stop to get gas are whole different animals at night...and thus I avoid them like the plauge.

 

[Rickstir]

Also, look inside and see what's happening. I don't go in until I see normal cash register activity and everyone looks okay. I immediatly scan the entire inside to see who is where and what they are doing. I fill up twice a week and I like to get a soft drink for my one hour drive. That's why I go inside. I do pay at the pump whenever I can.