Today...Guns Flashed in Convenience Store Parking Lot....What Would Other Freepers Have Done?

self | 11-08-02 | wardaddy

[wardaddy]

This happened to me today. It rattled me, I'm not going to lie. I used to think I didn't rattle too easy but I found myself in a percieved hairy situation today and would like to know how other FReepers would have handled this.

This morning about 11 AM, I was on my way to visit my wife and our newborn son(#2) who was born last night at the hospital in midtown Nashville.

I decided to stop at a 7-11 style store near the hospital to pick up some drinks and stuff for my wife. Upon entering my parking lot, I chose to park my Suburban next to a Dark Green Yukon with "pimped-out" rims and whatnot. I didn't think a lot about it at the time except to think it was either bangers or a pro-athlete except that the car was backed in rather than the usual parking of nose first. As I got out of my car right next to the Yukon, I noticed 3 large "baggy urban clothed" young black males in the car with tinted windows in the back. It set off some mild alarms but not too much. I deal with bangers in my businesses frequently.

Anyhow, as I turned to close my door, I happen to look down right into the driver's lap where in one hand was a cell phone and the other hand cradled an open-bolt Mac-10 style machine pistol....the bolt was open and I could see by the brass that it was indeed loaded. I turned away by then very very alarmed and my thoughts racing...as I did , I noticed the passenger in front had a Sig or Glock cradled in his hand as well. I did my very best to appear that I had not noticed since I was to be sure in easy fire range thru the open window. I wasn't sure whther the Mac was selective fire or semi-auto.

I immediately made the decision to go ahead and enter the store not sure whether they were planning to hit the place or what in the hell but I sure did not want to spook them. A Yukon full of bangers sitting back asswards in front of an urban convenience store with guns in their laps in broad daylight was sort of overwhelming.....kind of like Neil Young's Powderfinger "it sure don't look like they are here to deliver the mail"....

I got in the store and immediately told the store clerk (an Indian of course who could barely understand a damn thing I said).....he stammered about a bit and I yelled at him to lock the "GD" door now damn it!...he complied and I took his phone to call the cops. I asked him if he had a gun to which he expressed befuddlement. I damn sure wished I had had one about then. I called 9-11 and told them what I'd seen. The dispatcher was quite nice and asked for a description and a tag #. I complied.

As we were waiting for the cops, another young black man in a red hooded sweatshirt came up and spoke to the driver and the driver got out with his gun under his coat and the new guy took over driving and the original driver got in and they pulled off about 10 seconds before the cops arrived. When the cops arrived, I ran out into the lot and told the cop which direction they headed and he thanked me and radioed the other units and told me he was on it and screeched off. I went back inside to try to chill out the clerk who by then had called his relatives and was sort of freaked out by me as much as anything I suppose.

Now, I've lived all over the damn world, been shot accidentally, been shot at on purpose and done a fair amount of living. The danger I immediately felt by the circumstances made me feel quite vulnerable. I simply was not sure what was going down but it sure didn't feel too good. I mean ....how many folks sit in front of 7-11s brandishing fairly serious handweapons in public in a parked car in the middle of the day?

I knew I was not about to walk past those guys again to get back in my car with the driver's window open and me a perfect target if I had spooked them if they thought I'd made them.

What kind of idiot's show their guns in public in that manner? I don't think these were CCW fellows.....

Anyhow. That's my story. Glancing down at that Cobray style pistol rattled me a bit.....It was damned surreal. I thought for a second that after all these years and rebuilding my life, I might just get clipped in some crossfire by some chickensh!t gangbangers over some bad dope deal or grudge.....it didn't seem fair. Does it ever?

The cops were pretty prompt to their credit.

I don't like calling the cops over anything to do with guns or RKBA but this situation just had a real bad feeling to it.

Any fellow FReepers care to lecture me on the right way to have handled it or just maybe I should have minded my own business ...feel free to fire away.

[LibWhacker]

A nightmarish situation, that's for sure. This is a damned if you do and damned if you don't predicament: If you turn around and get back into your car, they might shoot you on the spot; if you do not enter the store and try to make your escape around back or off to the side of the store, they might run you down and shoot you to prevent you from raising the alarm; if you go into the store, they might follow immediately on your heels and hold up the place, or open fire.

Providence was on your side today, my friend, and you did VERY WELL, imo. Better than I would've done, I think! I probably would've gone in the store, shouted a warning to the cashier, and made for the back, looking for a rear exit. Congratulations on keeping a cool head!

[AAABEST]

From one carnivore club member to the next, right on brother!

A lot of people can talk big until they're faced with a real life situation and their asshole is puckering. Your "do something" gene kicked in as it should and you're all safe and sound thank God.

Blessings to your wife and the new little one.

[tahiti]

"Any fellow FReepers care to lecture me on the right way to have handled it or just maybe I should have minded my own business ...feel free to fire away."

If you live in Missouri, I would remind of the following:

Missouri Constitution Article I

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 23

Right to keep and bear arms--exception.

Section 23. That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons.

MYOB and what part of "shall not" do you not understand?

This forum is FreeRepublic.com.

Why are you advocating and proactively summoning the police to violate the constitutional rights of free citizens?

[Tree of Liberty]

I hope I'd have had your presencece of mind in that or any similar situation.

I think this is a good place to remind us all of Col. Coopers' condition levels:

Color Codes

   Understanding the "color code of combat" is a first step to being able to fully implement your self-defense skills in real life. Colonel Jeff Cooper, a combat firearms expert, originally developed these Color Codes. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the codes. You need to etch these colors and their meaning into your mind. Success in combat/survival-defense relies more on an aware/alert mindset than any other combative element. There are four (4) colors in the code: White, Yellow, Orange and Red. As you progress from one color to the next you become better prepared to deal with specific threats.

Condition White

   This is the condition of least preparedness. You are not ready for anything. You are in a fog, unaware of who or what is around you. You might be tired or preoccupied with worry. Alcohol or drugs might impair you. Think of people at the Mall during the holiday season. Folks are hell bent on gift buying and pay little attention to anything happening around them. In condition white you have NO choice but to RE-act to any threat of violence. That's providing you even get the chance to react. In a white state, you can be so quickly overwhelmed that you don't even know what hit you. You will be a victim.


   How does someone grab your handbag if you are aware and ready for him? How does a knife get pressed to your throat if you're aware? The answers is- they don't. If caught in condition white even a black belt or Army Ranger can be quickly defeated. Condition white is only appropriate for when you are locked snuggly at home. When you leave home, you switch to ....

Condition Yellow

   Condition Yellow is the ready state. You are calm and relaxed but alert, scanning your surroundings for threats. You know who's in front of you, to your sides, and behind you. You can't be easily surprised. You don't think anyone will attack, but you are mentally ready to take direct action if something happens.


   Here is a business application of Condition Yellow. When you go into a Walmart, you are immediately observed by a senior citizen called a greeter, "Hi, how are you doing today?" You feel, "Yes, this is a nice folksy touch that Walmart does." And, yes, it is a nice gesture but there is an ulterior motive. Greeting customers is a tried and true retail security tactic. Let the customer know that a store employee has seen them. The hidden message is "Hi, welcome to Walmart. We see you so don't even think about stealing anything." For the same reason, you will find greeters at high end stores and stores that cater to teens.

Condition Orange

   In Condition Orange, the hairs start to stand up on your neck. The alarm bells ring. Your intuition tells you that something isn't right. Colonel Cooper uses the example of a man wearing an overcoat walking into a store on a sweltering summer day. What's wrong with this picture? In Condition Orange, you are set to go. You are aware of potential trouble and you begin to formulate an escape and/or attack plan. I can run here and here and here. I can use this and that as weapons. I can make a call on my cell phone. I can draw attention to my situation by this method or that. If the situation develops and your personal boundary is violated, you are ready to take direct action. You are on high alert. You are focused. You are a tiger ready to pounce. You hit. You hit hard. You run.

   Someone is leering at you or a teenager is leaning on your car or you are approached by a panhandler on the street. What is your intuition telling you? Listen! State your command - "Stay back" Create an opportunity to escape if you can. If the threat continues to develop, does it make sense to take the initiative and take charge of the situation? "Here is my wallet. Take it and go now!"


   If you live or work in any area where street robbery is more than a random possibility, you might consider carrying a decoy wallet or purse containing old cards and twenty dollars in singles and fives. You lose twenty dollars. You gain an interesting anecdote.

   If the area is crowded, the mugger will probably be happy to grab the wallet and make a hasty retreat. If the area is quiet, the mugger may feel that he has time to make further demands. In this case, you might want to create a diversion and a few seconds of lead-time by dropping or tossing the wallet to the side and then running.

   In most muggings, you will find yourself surprised and startled. This is perfectly normal. This is what the mugger wants and he has set up the environment to his advantage. You will be frightened. Any reasonable person would be. You simply don't want to be completely paralyzed by fear. If you have run through imaginary threat scenarios in your mind in advance, you may have the foresight to gain an opening to escape by tossing the wallet or using your pepper spray or sticking your fingers in the mugger's eye, something.




   Fact: The Marine Corp has their own color code with red being the ready state and black the action state.

Condition Red

   In Condition Red, you are in the fight. You are being assaulted and you must respond to the attack. The time for dialogue has ended. You must end the violence and escape. This means that you must put the attacker in enough pain that he worries more about the pain than in continuing his assault.

   "I must inflict pain." Until you can cross this psychological barrier in your mind, you have nothing to win in Condition Red! When you have survival mindset that, "I will do what it takes, whatever it takes to live long enough to tell stories to my grandchildren," then you are 90% of the way home. You will punch, bite, kick, scream, stab, shoot, spray. You will hurt the other person. You don't want to be raped, or killed or have your children abducted. You aren't concerned about getting hurt or getting sued. You will win by creating an opening that will get you and/or your loved ones back home. Do you want to be tried by twelve or carried by six?

[Rays_Dad]

Sorry about that there guy, add two more reasons to the list.

[marktwain]

I haven't read any other responses yet, so I may be repeating. I wanted to give you my thoughts before they were influenced by others. You did very well. You kept your cool, and almost certainly prevented a crime. Having the clerk lock the door was excellent thinking.

It would have been nice to been armed, and I am sure you are thinking about that now.

Agian, you did well. Thank you for your quick thought and community service.

[abner]

Good job.

[Alberta's Child]

I think you did very well under the circumstances.

As for myself, I would have done the exact same thing -- entered the store, notified the clerk about the characters outside, locked the door, and called the police.

Oh, and did you say that the baggy-panted young black men in a dark-green Yukon with tinted windows and "pimped-out" rims had guns, too?

[per loin]

Kinda figured that. Lotta gang bangers like to take their hardware out and play with it. gives 'em a feeling of manhood or something similar. The dangerous moments come when they point one at you and squeeze their eyes closed.

[YoungKentuckyConservative]

You did a wonderful thing. But, you should take this as a lesson and get yourself a concelaed carry license and start carrying. If they had tried to open that locked door, you would have been better off armed then unarmed. You don't have to pull your gun, but if the circumstances are sized up accordigly, you want every option at your disposal, and so do the anti-gun liberals stuck in the store with you.

It's our duties as American Patriots to defend ourselves and our second amendment rights. It's the safest way for us to live; both from the common criminal perspective and a tyrannical government (I'm not saying we have one YET, but you have to be prepared for whatever this crazy life throws at you).

Stay safe fellow Americans.

[wardaddy]

It gave me the appearance of robbery but I could not be sure.

[OldFriend]

You were more than brave......and bless you and your wife and new baby.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I would have done just what you did EXECPT I would have pulled the S&W 9mm I carry as soon as the door was locked.

[lelio]

MYOB and what part of "shall not" do you not understand?
I'm going to file that under the "hopelessly naive" or the "don't investigate anything" category.
We have in this situation: a "pimped out" SUV, gang banging looking individuals, displays of some serious firepower, backed into a parking space, and a convience store. That seems like enough to warrant a call to the cops. Notice he didn't take the law into his own hands and played by the rules.

[jwalsh07]

You're alive, the clerks alive and you've got a new addition to the family.

Can't do it any better than that wardaddy.

God bless your young ones.

[CPOSharky]

Thanks..it scared me....I'll admit that to this forum and the world.

It would have scared me too (and I usually pack) but that is what I would have done. Get behind a locked door and something inside pretty substancial.

Congrats on the new son.

[Caipirabob]

THANK GOD you're ok. What else could you do? They had the goods almost on you. Best to keep cool and seek shelter. You did the right thing. Be Safe!

[Pookie Me]

he stammered about a bit and I yelled at him to lock the "GD" door now damn it!...

Um, WHY?

I probably would have done everything else that you did. But if they locked the door, it wouldn't have kept them out.. (sort of like rolling up the windows in a bad neighborhood)

But good on ya!

Pookie & ME

[Bobby777]

.....It was damned surreal. I thought for a second that after all these years and rebuilding my life, I might just get clipped in some crossfire by some chickensh!t gangbangers over some bad dope deal or grudge.....it didn't seem fair. Does it ever?

hmmm ... well I have a similar story ... almost ... in 1999 I went down to Tulsa on a job interview ... I wandered around the city a bit, sans auto, since I was in town for just one night ...

walked through a shopping center and headed towards the Barnes and Noble where I proceeded to browse the technical books ... as it approached about 9:30 p.m. (IIRC), it dawned on me I needed to confirm my flight time with one of the guy's employees who would be returning me to the airport ...

so I headed out the door and suddenly felt a fair sense of forebearance, which has served me quite well over the years ... I shrugged it off, a bit foolishly perhaps, attributing it to being in a new city, job interview jitters, etc.

as I walked behind a Mexican restaurant I heard some commotion and saw a black BMW pull in behind a red Jeep Grand Cherokee ... I heard some yelling and paused to watch ... I was about 100 feet away ... then I saw the BMW guy kick the Jeep and thought "this is more serious that I first thought" ... then I heard "pop" "pop" "pop" and noticed the BMW guy was shooting a semi-auto pistol ... and yep, it sounded just like a cap gun outside ... and I had just come off the pistol range about a week before (haven't taken time to go for 3 years now) ...

well I wondered what to do ... any thought of intervention was quelled when a second kid took up a position about 25 feet from me behind the fender of a car ... and he began shooting at the other guy ... getting between two guys who might be shooting at each other is not a good thing ... 8) ... the mall across the street had closed about 30 minutes earlier so, thank God, there were few cars over there ... I stood there watching it, not really bothered at all, but it did dawn on me that I could "catch one" ... so I walked about 20 feet until the angle of the building was a protective "line-of-sight" and leaned back to see what was going on ... (I was not in the line of fire by a significant degree) ...

the BMW guy got in the car, backed out and and took off ... I thought it was over until I saw a few people gather ...

I went over and the kid behind the fender (I think) was on the ground with 2 bullets in him ... one in the chest and one in the leg ... he didn't appear to be losing much blood externally and was coherent ... then people stupidly started complaing about cars driving through moving the brass ... it wasn't complicated what happened and saving the kid's life was priority number one ... when a fire truck arrived with paramedics I walked away ... police had still not arrived ... probably 5-7 minutes after it started ... maybe 10 minutes ... can't be sure now ...

anyway the kid lived according to the online news I read a few days later ... the BMW guy was caught ... and the news claimed there was only ONE shooter!!! ... how do you like that? ... shows you how little the media gets right ...

once I got back to the hotel it did seem a bit surreal but amazingly it didn't bother me too much ... of course I wasn't the guy being shot at ... I did see a guy about 8 years back at a Western Auto with a .357 strapped to his side in Overland Park, Kansas ... I think that bothered me more than the shootout ... go figure ... he was just getting some oil ...

I don't know what you saw ... except maybe a preparation for a drive-by somewhere else ... that would be my first guess ... sounds like they were close to the door so let us know what you find out if it's reported ...

[RightOnline]

"Any fellow FReepers care to lecture me on the right way to have handled it or just maybe I should have minded my own business ...feel free to fire away."

"Lecture" you??? You've GOT to be kidding.........

You did a FABULOUS job, my friend. You handled it, IMHO, absolutely perfectly. GOOD for you. You kept your head, got the idiot inside to lock the door, called the cops pronto, no one got shot or robbed.

Wardaddy.........it just doesn't get any better than that.

EXCEPT...........when God gives you and the wife a new little one. Congratulations on #2. :) (from a dad of 7.....)

Well done...........on BOTH counts. :)