I was a victim of an armed robbery

[RuAk]

I work in small store and i realized that using a weapon in self defense, you must be prepared at all times! i got caught off guard.

I was on lunch break and i usually lock the door but i had forgot to do that and i was digging in a nice greasy gyro. I usually take my pistol out and lay it on my lap or on the desk when i eat.

I worked by myself that day.

As i was in the middle of my lunch, a black male walks in and looks around, right when i got the funny feeling (it happened in 5 seconds) i cleaned the grease of my hands with a napkin as quickly as i could but by then he already had a gun pointed at my head from about 12 feet or so and was walking to me very fast.

He ordered me not to move. I was trying to reach for my ccw pistol but he made a move with a gun and said no no! keep your hands up and by then he had his pistol to my head and he ordered me to the ground, while i was going to the ground i told him you don't have to shoot me just take whatever and i gave him the cash in my pocket. As i did that, he pistol whipped me and another male walked in with a ski mask right after he did that.

As the guy with the ski mask walked in the store, the door was wide open and i don't know what made me do it but i just stood up pushed the robber out of my way. I thought i got shot in my head because i heard a loud bang and thought yea this is it for me but i ran so fast to nearby businesses with my pistol drawn and i was asking people if i was shot because i was just covered in blood and i didn't realize i had gotten pistol whipped because i must of got dazed from the initial blow of the pistol being slapped across my head i really honestly thought i had been shot it was a scary moment.

When i realized i wasn't shot, i ran back to the shop ready to use my weapon in self defense mode but i realized i had got away alive and just let it be, they were gone anyway.

The people outside nearby businesses were terrified as i ran with my gun in hand they thought i was going to kill them!

This all happened in daylight around 6 o clock PM.

I felt terrible because i am always ready for something like that and its why i carry a pistol but i literally got caught off guard.

My life could of ended and i'm wondering if i made the right choice by not pulling out my own piece, but i had a very bad feeling it could of ended up deadly if i had drawn my weapon as i already had one pointed at me but the moment before he did that i could of pulled mine out but it just all happened way so fast!

The only way i could of used my pistol if i used better judgment and just pulled out my gun anyway by seeing the man walk in like that but it happened in a matter of seconds and i honestly had no idea he was going to rob me.

Very scary moment in my life but still i walked away with huge bumps on my face, my phone, my pistol, my wallet and most importantly my life!

My mother would of killed herself if i had got killed as her mother just passed away two weeks ago.

Today i am glad to be alive.

What and how would you handle a situation like mine? Would you have drawn your gun anyway even with one pointed at your face from about 12 feet away?

 

[X-Rap]

The surprise of your push and run to the door might very well have saved your life. Beyond that we can reflect on the same relating to how we might react.
I wonder what you would have done had you been able to clear your gun and shoot as you were going out? What gun and holster did you have? Did the robbery cause you to rethink gun, holster, other beliefs or habits?

 

[Certaindeaf]

Dang. Glad it wasn't worse. I'd think about using cover, especially while eating lunch.. maybe some outside cameras also with a monitor right in front of your face.

 

[blitztech]

Wow. Its hard to say what any of us would have done in that situation. Its one of those situations where instincts/reactions and training comes in to play. I have a feeling that with the gun already pointed at my head I probably wouldn't have attempted to draw. Maybe throughout the situation you could have gained the element of surprise at some point and then draw. Go buy a lotto ticket! Its your lucky day!

 

[RuAk]

I was wearing a comp-tac mtac holster with my glock 23 loaded with 180gr HSTs.

The robbery will now make me more aware of my surrounding. It really is a very difficult situation to be in. I just wanted to pull out my gun but instincts just told me to follow his order and i could maybe get a chance at pulling out my gun or better yet, surviving! but when he ordered me to the ground i thought i was a dead man so i took a chance to get up and run since the door was there.

When you get in this type of situation it is best to try to keep calm at all times so you can focus better and also try to practice your draw in every type of scenario you can think of such as sitting in a chair tucked in the desk ( as i was), standing up, greasy hands, just about any type of scenario where things like that can happen.

That blow to my head with his pistol probably should have knocked me out but my adrenaline was pumping that it didn't matter.

I'm happy i am alive and that i didn't kill anybody. He can have the money and whatever else he took.

 

[Yo Mama]

If a guy already has the draw on you there is little to no chance of you drawing sucessfully on them. Buddy of mine with a shop had a few guns behind the counter aimed out. Made more sense as he'd be reaching for cash, and would have an easier shot. The set up of the store including counters and machines also made it hard for someone to get behind the counter, they would have to really make themselves vunerable to get to him.

Thank God you are ok. That is all that matters, don't let your pride get into it. You being alive means you did everything correctly.

 

[45bthompson]

I think it would prolly be a good idea to have another person at the store with you. A lone store owner is a more appealing target to a criminal. Some obvious cameras would prolly also help. As for how you handled it...... Your still here.

 

[zxcvbob]

Thank God you are ok. That is all that matters, don't let your pride get into it. You being alive means you did everything correctly.

+1
Of course you could have done better (you can always do better) but not *much* better given the outcome. Learn from your mistakes for next time, but don't beat yourself up over them.

 

[Cosmoline]

It seems to me that speed and movement are the key. Personally I've had a recurring problem of "tree roots" locking me down to the spot when there's a threat or potential threat. Esp. if I'm preparing to draw, I get into range mode and don't move. Which makes me a much easier target. I don't know the solution other than training more with movement.

I'm glad you survived but obviously once you failed to defend yourself he closed the gap and you could have easily been killed. The moral there is it DOES NOT get safer or better if you fail to drawn and shoot instantly. It gets worse. Sometimes it gets as bad as it can get and you die. At 12 feet you have a chance. At one foot you have almost none.

You being alive means you did everything correctly.

No, it doesn't. Your life was in the hands of people who could have cared less about it. And there are a great many graves full of people who "just got pistol whipped." This is the time to learn and retrain. The goal is to figure out what you can do differently and to train accordingly.

 

[RuAk]

At 12 feet you have a chance. At one foot you have almost none

I was also thinking that but he had already drawn a weapon when i was in my chair tucked in. There was a gun pointed at me from 12 feet away so if i reached then he still had a better chance at getting me before i got him. I think he would of got the first shot. It was too risky. Who knows, maybe i could of pulled it out and got shot and survived and killed the attacker. Like everyone of you is saying thanks to GOD i am alive.

 

[X-Rap]

These actual stories are always more productive to me than those so full of bluster about how I'll do this or that if attacked. Your story tells the tale of just how fast things go down hill.

 

[Water-Man]

First of all, let me say I'm glad you're OK. You are very fortunate with the outcome of that situation.

I can relate to a certain degree to what happened to you.

Back in the Sixties, I owned a food distributorship with a few trucks. From time to time, when one of my drivers was out sick or whatever, I would drive his truck.

On two different occasions, over the course of three years, I was the target of an attempted armed robbery which, lucky for me, resulted in ME 2 - BG 0.
I wasn't injured either time.

Stay alert and practice your self-defense techniques. Good luck.

 

[loose noose]

Thank God you're alive, however when he got you in the prone position I have little or no doubt he was about to execute you as I don't believe you mentioned any thing about the suspect having a ski mask.

Therefore I agree with the other poster saying when he was about 12 feet away your best position was to move and draw your firearm and start shooting, the chances are very good the 2 suspects would have retreated.

Of course hindsight is allways 20/20. Ya did good just coming out of it alive.

 

[breakingcontact]

Glad you're OK. Thanks for relating things to us so we can all learn.

I don't think its a matter of drawing or not. But as you said, you didn't lock the door.

I'm sure you're beating yourself up. You did the best you could in the circumstance so over time I hope you can let any guilt or doubt go.

I really think its a a matter of hardening the target though. In this case, the door being locked would have stopped them unless they really wanted in. But breaking down the door or smashing the glass would have given you warning.

Always good to learn from these instances.

I hope they catch the mugs and throw the book at them.

 

[Blackstone]

Glad you made it out OK with some proactive action on your part

 

[Cosmoline]

It was too risky.

You would at least have had some control over the result. By not defending yourself you gave complete and inexorable control to the criminals, who simply opted not to kill you. So you are only alive because for whatever reason they opted to just hit you. That is a far thinner reed to rest your life on than the chance of getting hit in a gunfight, provided you have the training.

I'm not trying to pick on you or anything and I really appreciate you sharing your experiences. Dealing with a drawn gun is the ultimate nightmare. Distractions, failure to lock the door, failure to watch his hands closely, and failure to move are all things we are liable to do in this situation. Better training and remaining aware of the situation are the solutions.

 

[1 old 0311-1]

You didn't get shot, nor did you have to shoot anyone. The rest don't matter.

 

[xXxplosive]

Yup................it happens that fast......and it's called SA.

 

[FitGunner]

Glad that you're okay. You didn't get shot and didn't have to shoot anyone. I would say it went as well as it could considering.

 

[Creature]

Some questions:

Does your business have security cameras? If so, do the police have any suspects?

If not, is the business owner/management now onboard with investing in some video surviellance after your close brush with death?

btw...what has the owner/managment said about your carrying a CCW?

 

[icanthitabarn]

Great job RuAk !! Hope they somehow catch the creeps.

 

[SSN Vet]

You must have been pretty hungry and totally focussed on your lunch.

Who would have thought that a gyro could put you at a tactical disadvantage... but it sure did.

Glad you're alive to tell us all about it..... next time lock the door

 

[RuAk]

Some questions:

Does your business have security cameras? If so, do the police have any suspects?

If not, is the business owner/management now on board with investing in some video surveillance after your close brush with death?

btw...what has the owner/management said about your carrying a CCW?

No cameras yet. We just moved to another location recently and we are for sure getting those cameras in now ASAP! 360!

No suspects yet either but i did give the police a very good description of the man with no mask and i have a case number i can check up on. Hope they catch those bastards.

The owner lets me carry CCW as we work in a rough area.

 

[psyopspec]

i'm wondering if i made the right choice by not pulling out my own piece

Today i am glad to be alive.

You answered your own question.

You lost the initiative. You took it back. And no matter what, it's better to be lucky than good.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Glad you're okay.
This incident just goes to show that simply having a gun on your person isn't an guarantee that you will avoid being a victim. As in your situation, sometimes they're on you before you know it and have no time to react.