Held Up At Gunpoint Tonight...

[Beach Accord]

The one night i was not carrying...

Walking home from a bar in Tampa called The Dubliner... A Nice area in south tampa, they caught me off guard (about 12 midnight). No flashlight, no knife, and most importantly...no GUN! They walked up behind me in a dark street as i was walking to my car, they both appeared to be high school age punks with long barrel revolvers. Told me to empty my pockets. I gave em my wallet with no cash in it, just plastic and IDs, and my cell phone. They told me to lay face down in the dirt as they sped away. I filed a police report, and Im glad I am alive. They can have the wallet and the phone, but It will NEVER happen to me again.

I will now be carrying a dummy wallet and will at no point leave the house without a carry piece.

Any suggestions besides the obvious?

-Chris

[tomh1426]

I dont want this to sound the wrong way but if you had a gun and pulled it you might of lost more than your wallet.
Man that makes me sound like one of them

[MDman]

That situation ended rather well. You did not lose anything you can’t replace and everyone involved left with no new holes. Had you a gun, and pulled it out, the best case scenario is you shooting two kids.

[fivepaknh]

the best case scenario is you shooting two kids.

Sounds like a good scenario to me. They’re violent criminals and they would have got what they deserved. Though, for Beach Accord it was better he wasn’t armed. He was outnumbered by to punks that got the jump on him. Had he tried to draw and shoot the odds are he’d be dead.

[MauiDoc]

`Aloha, BeachAccord, and TFL--my first posting!

Beach, I'm glad it came out well for you. A hard decision to go face-down: I've read too many accounts of compliant victims being shot anyway. Have to agree with MDman--better nobody got shot. Cancel the cards, have a stiff drink, thank your lucky stars, load your carry piece and carry it! The VT shootings just put the final nail into any complacency I may have had left over from my pacifistic upbringing.

My dad and stepdad taught me to shoot when I was young, though we didn't do it enough to get really good at it: therefore, I've just joined my local range and will take their NRA pistol class next month.

I had an experience similar to yours eons ago at a gas station in Oakland, CA, when my very full wallet was snatched from my hand by a well-dressed young man pretending to be working for the gas station. I held onto the wallet, came up into his face, he stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and said, "Man, I shoot you!" I let go, threw up my hands and said, "Take it." He took off around the end of my van, and off up the street. Luckily (I guess), he had set off my alarm bells and I had my girlfriend lock herself into the van while I paid for the gas (at which time the perp was looking over my shoulder checking the contents of my wallet). Lucky for him, as I couldn't get to the S&W .357 686 (6" fully-shrouded barrel, stainless steel, custom walnut grips, Redramp sights--my first--what a beauty) that was safely ensconced under the driver's seat. Just as well. I learned then about Body Alarm Reaction, because the entire universe narrowed down to a reddish tunnel focussed on his rapidly retreating back, hands shaking, breath short, and RAGE!! Twenty-five years later, I'm very glad I didn't (try to ) shoot him--any possible scenario would have come out bad for me, him and any bystanders and/or backstops.

My state has restricted carry laws, but I'm beginning to think that it's time to change that. Guess I'll talk to the guys on the range. Anyone out there had any experience with (trying) to pass a CC law in a blue state? Fairly Blue myself, though turning a little purple around the eges.

[redblair]

Glad you're safe. They got your stuff not you life.

Be safe.

Blair

Dec 15, 1791

[MauiDoc]

Aloha, BeachAccord, and TFL--my first posting!
Twice!

[BabyEagle.40]

I'm just glad you didn't get hurt! Hopefully the little b@stards will get there's some day.

[GroovedG19]

Glad you are alive and without injuries.Stay safe.Always.

[ShipWreck]

WOw - yea, glad U are alive.

But, having left the bar, had you shot one, you might be in some trouble - having drank alcohol and carried a gun. If U go to a bar, I would not take a gun with you.

[john in jax]

Uuuuuuumm, IIRC Florida Law prohibits concealed carry while drinking or in a bar for very obvious reasons.

We had LEO's teaching our CWP class and they specifically said that even sitting at a table in the "bar area" of a restaurant like Applebee's or Chili's was against the law. You can sit and eat in the restaurant portion, but you had better not be caught in the "bar" and/or drinking while you concealed carry.

Sorry it happened, glad nobody got hurt.

[Manedwolf]

Had you a gun, and pulled it out, the best case scenario is you shooting two kids.

They're not kids, they're violent criminals who need to be behind bars or put down before they kill an innocent person.

What is with this "kids" thing for people like that? To me, once they do that, they step outside the bounds of being civilized human beings, and just need to be stopped. By arrest, or by bullet.

[MDman]

a cell phone and some credit cards are not worth ending someone’s life over. You don’t shoot someone to punish them for their bad deeds, you shoot them because if you don’t you will likely die. I think it is a great mistake to kill someone over material items.

[joab]

a cell phone and some credit cards are not worth ending someone’s life ove

No but being held at gunpoint is
These type of criminals do not normally scale back their violence they escalate it over time
And no one should be asked to hope that they have not already escalated to the point of shooting because killing a yoot is somehow diststeful

[omaha64]

Glad you came out with the important thing intact. I share your feeling of being violated because I was held up at gun point when I was around 15 years old while collecting the money for a paper route.

[Mike Irwin]

At the point someone sticks a gun in your face, all bets are off.

I don't care if they're 89-year-old grandmothers, or 12 year old street thugs. At that point they've just graduated from lovable to deadly threat and can be dealt with accordingly.

I agree that you did the right thing. Frankly, even if I WERE carrying I'd likely give up my wallet to someone robbing me at gun point.

If, however, that person gives even the slightest indication that they're going to escalate the situation, all bets are off.

Were I to face the scenario that you faced, though, the only caveat is that I carry my gun in my front pocket. At that point the best thing I can think of is to give the wallet a pitch in one direction and move in the opposite direction for cover while drawing my gun.

One good thing to keep at home in a safe place is photocopies of EVERYTHING in your wallet -- front and back.

That way you have a list of everything you have to replace, the numbers of credit cards, expiration dates, and the phone numbers you need to call to cancel them.

[cgv69]

Glad you're OK but I have to say, it doesn't sound like having a gun would have done you any good in that situation. If they were already up on you with their weapons pointed right at you, what do you think you would have done?

This ain't the movies and you're not Clint Eastwood. You just left the bar so I have to assume you were at least partially impared and you think you could have pulled out a weapon from concealment and stoped 2 threats without either one of them shooting you first?

From where I sit, sounds like that sitation ended as well as possible.

[Manedwolf]

a cell phone and some credit cards are not worth ending someone’s life over. You don’t shoot someone to punish them for their bad deeds, you shoot them because if you don’t you will likely die. I think it is a great mistake to kill someone over material items.

If you think that they won't kill you anyway if you give them what they want, you're either hopelessly naive or very young.

They will. Whether they're twitchy on meth, doing it with gang members watching, for "respect", so there's no witness to their crime to give a sketch to police, or just for the rush of seeing their victim's fear and taking more from them, they will.

It's a low-yield high-risk thing to do, and you're expecting rationality from them?

There's been MANY cases where the victim complies completely, and the assailant still shoots or stabs them.

Because they can.

[jhgreasemonkey]

Damn, you have my sympathies. And You did the right thing. The only thing I can suggest is keep a watchful eye and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

[7.62]

You just left the bar so I have to assume you were at least partially impared

That sounds a little stereotypical.

[Mike Irwin]

No, it sounds like a logical inference.

If he had said "You're Irish, and you just left a bar, so I assume you were a little...."

That would be stereotypical.

[acmetim]

yeah, thats a tough one. im not sure what you would have done if you had a gun. if they are on top of you and drawn its a crap shoot.
would you have been in a bar with a gun?
ive had a gun put to my head. nothing happened, but i sent him to jail by remembering his plate#.
that seems like the best outcome.
the kid it turns out is an adopted son of one of my friends now. still a bit of a punk, but wiser for the jail time i hope. i also hope i never see him. im also glad i did not kill him.
i carry concealed now.
i know the possible consequences of that and accept them.

[Majic]

By your own admission you said they came up behind you on a dark street with their guns drawn and caught you off guard. What good would have a concealed gun done you? Your situational awareness was way down and why did you park on a dark street?

[SD_Chop]

carry your gun and shoot them. The wrong criminal will shoot you anyways. Just walking through any dark alley always watch your 6 and have a avenue of escape. But your alive so as stated cancel your cards and make a bourbon

[republican24/7]

a cell phone and some credit cards are not worth ending someone’s life over. You don’t shoot someone to punish them for their bad deeds, you shoot them because if you don’t you will likely die. I think it is a great mistake to kill someone over material items

You're right, I would not kill them for taking my wallet and cell phone... I would kill them because they were pointing guns at me.