I got "interviewed" this evening.

[buck00]

They aren't talking to each other or looking at each other, both of them were watching me like hawks. Finally one of them stops at the back of the wash bay and the other stops at the front.

Car washes are prime areas to be robbed- most people are alone and not aware of their surroundings due to the loud sounds.

Well done.

The first step in my world is to look a possible problem right in the eye - no challenge at all just a dead expressionless stare that lets your possible opponent know they've been spotted and they don't have the ability to take you unawares. That will put most of them on their guard and have them starting to wonder.

I totally agree, the "look" is half the battle. You could walk around totally unarmed and defuse situations with your body language alone if you know what you are doing. The problem is, most suburb folk don't have enough experience with this. I only picked up on this after working with juvenile delinquents for a few years.

 

[Ignition Override]

This is a superb topic.

My only guns are rifles, and when reading about these situations the desire to have a handgun is harder to resist, but in the long-term this is an objective.

It might be that the older we become (and look), the more likely it is that we could be a mugging victim?

 

[Fred Fuller]

Gray hair could be a component in a 'victim selection profile,' yes, but there seem to be other factors that outweigh just the age of the potential victim. There have been formal studies done with convicted felons, in an attempt to interpret how and why they chose their victims. There are a number of factors involved in the victim selection process, and age could possibly be one of them, depending on the criminal's objective and level of organization or rationality.

lpl

===

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/ccm-columns/appearances-and-the-armed-citizen/

http://tkdtutor.com/TOPICS/Self-Defense/Victim-Selection/Victim-Selection-01.htm

http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/PDFs/ReasoningCriminal/03_walsh.pdf

http://www.your-personal-and-home-security.com/victim-mentality.html

 

[ZeSpectre]

The "funny" thing about the whole incident is the following facts.
1) I'm not a small guy. Yes overweight but I don't look weak or helpless at all.
2) There's nothing about my work attire or my vehicle (an old jeep) that screams "money"
3) My "stance" and "attitude" are left-over from working with LE. I am generally treated with respect even by complete strangers.
4) I let them know that I was aware of them and never let them sneak up on me.

So I feel like I did everything in my power to "fail" the "interview" (aside from being there) so they'd go elsewhere but I guess since there were two of them and they were young and fit, they decided they could take me so they "went for it".

Oh and just FYI, I was there first washing my vehicle, they showed up just about the time I was finishing.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I got where I don't go to the car wash at night unless it is a drive through one. We had a series of robberys over a month period in the spring in my town of 30,000; All at night and at Car washes across our town. Apparently the guy moved one according to the police so I believed it was smart to change one of my habits.

I am glad the guy who posted his story was smart enought to see what was going on and hopped and and got out of Dodge.

 

[george29]

As a retired cop, I was given a CCW permit as part of my retirement package (all those years ago). I haven't carried a sidearm once in all those years (even with the above circumstances). I do keep one nearby but have never needed it. I may be making a mistake but it was my choice and I haven't regretted it in almost sixteen years now. Lots more about this sort of stuff but not on a public forum....

A person never needs a gun until a person really needs a gun. The guy upstairs is tossing the coin and you have called it right so far, what happens when you finally call it wrong? An old retired Sheriff was at a formal event and his handgun was showing enough that one of the attendees asked him if he was expecting trouble (because he was armed with a revolver). He answered, "No ma'am, if I was expecting trouble I would have brought my Shotgun." The handgun was invented to allow people to be discrete in their defense, in today's world, a mouse-gun LCR/P3AT allows one to not have to worry what side the coin falls on. Just my 2 cents.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Now that statement is just a whole new can of beans, and not to hijack the thread but I respectfully disagree. If you would like to make an argument of it (which we have had dozens of them in the past) open a thread and I"ll add my half penny to the argument.

They left when shown a gun, if they saw the gun right off the bat than they wouldn't have even bothered to stalk him. Criminals choose easy targets and that includes being unarmed among other things.

 

[george29]

if they saw the gun right off the bat than they wouldn't have even bothered to stalk

^ That's the can of beans I didn't want to open.

Open vs Concealed has been hashed to death.

 

[Owen Sparks]

The coin-op car wash is the one time I want my pistol to be seen.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The OP is lucky the interviewers didn't completely block his escape.

People who attempt to stop cars with their bodies tend to become trauma patients. Even the dumbest of thugs understand this.