mugging situation

[Argent]

I was walking back home through my residential area from Walmart when around 9:38pm a guy walked beside me and demanded my money. What I noticed is he pulled up to my left side and was holding the gun in his left hand pressed against stomach pointed at me. Defensive-wise I saw he did not give me many if any openings. All lot of things go through your mind in such a moment. I'll admit one of them was I am not give this bastard my hard earned money. A bit selfish and foolhardy afterwards but what I did next was jump in the middle of the road since I noticed headlights coming up from behind and waved down two cars yelling "he's got a gun!" and guy ran off. The police officer who was typing the report after I dialed them on my cell phone said that was ballsy move.

Ironically, I thought of carrying my .38 Ruger LCR with me, but my focus was more on excercise. I live to tell the tale and urge all to be better aware of your surroundings. Here is my question and I know I can play the what-if game to eternity regarding my situation. What would you do in my situation? I thought about it afterwards and if I had been carrying, it could have ended much worse (i.e. both of us confronting with drawn pistols, possibly higher chance of getting shot..maybe). If I was carrying, should I have drawn and fired at point blank range immediately when confronted? I live in Florida by the way. My actions tonite was done with not much deliberation and it all seemed so fast, no thinking, just action. Your comments and suggestions are all welcomed. This is the first time I have ever been threated with a gun and targeted for a mugging. Breakfast will be very sweet indeed tomorrow.

 

[Claude Clay]

Florida--that makes my answer eaasy:

i carry a throwdown wallet: old wallet stuffed with the credit cards sent in the mail 'your name here' ones.
so when he bends over to pick it up id sic on him my back up gater

what ua did worked----once.
practice situational awareness and think about carrying all the time or not at all.

 

[Corporal K]

I think you're a stud or studette as it may be. What you're going to see posted here a thousand times over is what you should have done before leaving the house, but in this case, I think critiquing what you did at the moment of truth is more useful.

You did everything right. You were caught and didn't know what the muggers ultimate intentions were. You made a decisive action and you won! It will be easy for people to say what they would have done in that situations, but everyone is different and everyone handles stressful situations differently. You did what you had to do in a terrible situation and succeeded. Great job!

 

[rainbowbob]

Welcome to THR Argent!

I agree with everything Corporal K said. Ya done good.


Burt since you asked...

If I was carrying, should I have drawn and fired at point blank range immediately when confronted?

Now that's a simple question with no simple answer - and one that's bound to engender plenty of controversy.

Although it's based on a very real circumstance (at least for you) - it includes the "what if" of having been armed.

I'm of the opinion that a well-practiced draw and immediate effective fire MIGHT have ended in your favor, given the effect of surprise and the apparent hesitation of the assailant to fire first.

BUT...


It is worth considering that such a reaction must be decided upon well in advance of such an actual occurrence to have any chance at all. If a person isn't armed and confident and decisive - fugeddaboudit!

We can choose (or not) to decide in advance, within the law, where the line is. How we will weigh our abilities and odds, in a given scenario, between decisive violent response and flight, is worth much consideration.

Thanks for the instructive first post!



You can't argue with success - and luck.

 

[grizcty]

Argent,

The key rule, is survival!

Which means you do what ever is necessary.

Sometimes, it is better to fight.
Sometimes, it is better to give up some cash.
Many years ago, while in the service.
I was taught, to never carry all your cash in one pocket.
Meaning if you carry a wallet, carry 1/2 your $ in another pocket. (same with C/C)

NO ONE, knows the situation you were in, better the YOU!
You survived, you won!
Rethink your options, over & over.
Research your local gun laws.

And thank/praise God, before you go to bed!

On lighter note.
If that thug, ever pulls the trigger on his gun. (the way you described)
He will probably, burn himself pretty good!

 

[shockwave]

Way to go, Argent.

What I really like here is the way you didn't follow the punk's script, but rather you took control of the scenario. There's a self-defense lesson embedded in there, for anyone interested in looking.

practice situational awareness and think about carrying all the time or not at all

Let's consider that. To the first part, yes. A mugger rolled up on you and got the drop. Was there any way you could have avoided that? Only you can answer. To the second, no. You can't carry all the time and a life in which you must carry a firearm every waking moment isn't one worth living. Nor is your wallet worth your life. I think you were smart and played this one really well.

 

[wishin]

...What I noticed is he pulled up to my left side and was holding the gun in his left hand pressed against stomach pointed at me.

That right there would have lead me to take out my wallet, show it to him and then toss it behind him. Depending on his action, you either:

1. Run (if unarmed or not), or;

2. Draw and shoot (if armed and his attention is diverted).

No amount of money is worth your life!

 

[308win]

What's to critique? Your decision worked in this set of circumstances. The take away is that he acted, you reacted and in the process put him in a reaction mode where he was no longer in control of the situation - not to say you necessarily were - but he was flummoxed I expect.

 

[Readyrod]

Nice move, you got huevos dude, but I'm with Claude Clay on this one, in dangerous places (which seems to be everywhere these days) carry a decoy wallet. Make it cheap, stuff it with stuff and a little money, and hand it over. It's better to live.

 

[Mikhail Weiss]

Argent:

Very happy to hear you're okay, and I think you did swell in the moment.

My actions tonite was done with not much deliberation and it all seemed so fast, no thinking, just action.

I think the above is the primary illustrative virtue of your experience. SWIFT ACTION and SURPRISE befuddled the the mugger, allowing you to seize opportunity while the mugger was thrown off his game plan, wondering what to do next. (OODA loop crash... System rebooting... Awaiting instructions...) Whether you had been armed or not, swift action and surprise is always useful, and the results...

I live to tell the tale and urge all to be better aware of your surroundings.

... indicate success. As to this...

If I was carrying, should I have drawn and fired at point blank range immediately when confronted?

“Getting off the X” as you did, getting out of the way of potentially incoming rounds, was a better first idea than simply standing still and drawing a gun would have been. Thus, had you been carrying, your action may well have been identical, except you may have drawn while moving away.

Of course seeing trouble approaching and then avoiding it would have been best of all, but you're well aware of that, so I'll skip to this:

Here is my question and I know I can play the what-if game to eternity regarding my situation. What would you do in my situation? I thought about it afterwards and if I had been carrying, it could have ended much worse..

What I might do might well depend on a great variety of circumstances, but my first thought* upon reading your account was just about as simple as yours. Run. There's no reason to stick around when there's room to run, and there's even less reason to engage in a shootout if other options are available.

*Explanation: Guy on my left, gun in his left hand, my initial impulse was to step diagonally backwards and to my left, getting one-quarter behind the mugger, giving the mugger a great big push with my left hand. He goes one way, I go another. If I were more Silat inclined, I'd make certain to trip him, too.

 

[Webbj0219]

To use a poker analogy here, for the guys that like Texas hold-em. You basically called his bluff. You took the chance that he wasnt going to shoot you in front of an uknown witness. You were very lucky that this witness showed up just in the nick of time, and you called the muggers bluff. And it worked this time. Part of it was maybe some bad timing/ location on the muggers part. I bet he wasnt inticipating a car rolling up from behind when this went down, or you making a big scene. That was enough to put the odds in your favor this time. If this happens again and the mugger has the royal flush, ie. has caught you by suprise in a secluded local with a gun. Then In that situation I would recomend folding and giving up the wallet. This situation I probable would have folded as well, because the odds your gambling with are your life.

 

[sidheshooter]

Not much to add; I was going to mention the OODA loop, as above, but I think other posts have summed it up.

Bad hand dealt; but you still took care of business using the tools you had at hand (oncoming car, your wits).

Carry a throw down wallet in the future, perhaps... as well as just plain carry.

But even if you had those extra tools at hand, your initial response still sounds like a good one.

Put my vote down as a "win", along with others here.

 

[Gouranga]

IMO, ya did good. Yeah, woulda-shoulda-coulda can be thrown out but really, you are here to ask this question and that is good.

You walked away, without a shot being fired. Had you had your weapon, and pulled it, given the situation it is more likely that both your weapons would have been fired, at close range, and it is a decent possibility that you may have both been shot.

Had you fought for his gun, it is also a good chance that there would be shots fired. The route you took was not confrontational to him. You presented no direct threat so his flight response kicked in and he ran. In that situation, you had nothing but a severe disadvantage, a confrontation would be more likely to end badly for you. You need to give him your money or do something completely unexpected like jump into traffic.