Held up at gunpoint

[shizon]

Great start to the morning...

I showed up at the office. First one there as usual at about 6am this morning. I get out and get my laptop out of the trunk and start walking up to the door. Guy walks up to me and puts a gun to my head and tells me to get back in the car. I, with no gun, obviously comply.

He tells me to drive across the street to the bank atm. I get there and it's out of service. He has me pull out my atm card and give it to him and he also takes one of my credit cards. Both of which I have no problem giving to him along with my pin. Easily cancellable.

So all this time, he's got the gun jabbed in my neck, hasn't taken my wallet or my iphone or my laptop, just the two cards. He picks up his cell phone to call his friend to "verify my pin number". Then he has me drive him to an apartment complex just north of where we are. I drop him off, he takes off, and I haul ass out as I'm dialing 911.

I meet the cop at the closest place I felt safe 10 mins later. He takes my story and has another cop go look for the guy. Too late of course.

The most disturbing part of the whole thing is the guy has been casing the place and knows who shows up early as he described my other employees that show up early. That day, he was just going to take whoever was first to the office. Luckily it was me and not someone who may not have been as composed. The guy was pretty high-strung, may have been on something, and I wasn't about to try to disturb the fragile psyche.

In the end, the guy threatened to come back for more, but ended up with nothing as I had both cards cancelled before he could use them and the guy wasn't smart enough to take the $120 in cash I had with me.

Time to get a gun I think...so sad. I probably had the opportunity to pull it as he ran around the car to get in. I don't know if I would have, but if my wife was with me and he threatened her, I know I would have.

That's why I'm here. I want to learn to be a responsible person with a firearm. I don't think I would have handled this any different than I did, but who knows what maniac I'll be dealing with next time and if it comes down to me or my family and him, no hesitation.

 

[abnk]

Welcome. Where did this happen?

 

[shizon]

Around 71st and Georgetown. New Augusta area.

 

[Fenway]

As I said on the other board shizon... I'm no expert but I think you did everything right. You are alive to tell us the story. Glad you are OK. That could have gone a lot worse!

 

[esrice]

Wow. Thanks for sharing your story. You will find that although many of us here carry a concealed weapon for protection, VERY few of us have actually had an incident like you have.

Although its easy to say that you would have done things the same, even if you did have a weapon, keep in mind that you're saying that with the knowledge that nothing bad happened to you (thank God). He could've just as easily become frustrated and put one in your noggin.

Welcome to the site. I think you will find people here very helpful and friendly. If you ever want to get an "informal" look at a varitey of guns, I'd offer to take you with me to my folks place in Brown County. They have a private range, and you could shoot anything from .22 pistol to 9mm semi-auto to .357 revolver to 12ga. shotgun. And you wouldn't have the pressure of shooting at a normal range and feeling like a "newbie". I have every Sunday and Monday OFF work. I'd be glad to help.

 

[Denny347]

You can't out draw an already drawn pistol. He had got the dime on you. Shooting him as he is running to his car "could" be problematic. Unless he was still pointing the pistol at you (as he was running away) or told you he was going directly to your home to injure your family, shooting him in the back would probably be unwarranted. At that point, let him go. Up to that point I do not see a point where you could have drawn down on him, having a gun to your head pretty much puts that kabosh on that idea. Now, having some personal defense skills would have done you more good. Standing up and a person puts a gun to your head is a good way to get the gun away from the criminal if you have the right skills. Taking hand-to-hand training will probably yield better results. I want to brush up on my skills by jumping into a Krav Maga training class.

 

[esrice]

You can't out draw an already drawn pistol. He had got the dime on you. Shooting him as he is running to his car "could" be problematic.

Denny-

I totally agree that an already drawn pistol trumps one in the holster any day. But I think shizon was referring to the BG running around shizon's car to get into the passenger door, not running away back to his own car.

 

[Scutter01]

Oh man, that sucks. I'm glad that you're OK and here to tell the story. Thanks for keeping your wits about you.

As Denny said, it's hard to say if things would have played out differently had you been armed, but let's not forget that your best weapon is your brain. Being aware of your surroundings and paying attention are great deterrents. Then, even if something does happen, being able to control yourself the way you did can obviously save your life.

 

[TomN]

This is a tough one as someone said you can't out-draw an already drawn gun, so situational awareness would have maybe been a bigger help here. Always be aware of your surroundings! Did you see him as you parked your car? Did you look around as you went to your trunk? Did you see/not see him then? Was he hidden until you started walking to the door?

It's a tough situation you were in and I think you did everything correctly. Even with a gun I would have done the same I think, and I hope I would have been as calm as you. Good job!

 

[Mini-14]

Great start to the morning...

I showed up at the office. First one there as usual at about 6am this morning. I get out and get my laptop out of the trunk and start walking up to the door. Guy walks up to me and puts a gun to my head and tells me to get back in the car. I, with no gun, obviously comply.

He tells me to drive across the street to the bank atm. I get there and it's out of service. He has me pull out my atm card and give it to him and he also takes one of my credit cards. Both of which I have no problem giving to him along with my pin. Easily cancellable.

So all this time, he's got the gun jabbed in my neck, hasn't taken my wallet or my iphone or my laptop, just the two cards. He picks up his cell phone to call his friend to "verify my pin number". Then he has me drive him to an apartment complex just north of where we are. I drop him off, he takes off, and I haul ass out as I'm dialing 911.

I meet the cop at the closest place I felt safe 10 mins later. He takes my story and has another cop go look for the guy. Too late of course.

The most disturbing part of the whole thing is the guy has been casing the place and knows who shows up early as he described my other employees that show up early. That day, he was just going to take whoever was first to the office. Luckily it was me and not someone who may not have been as composed. The guy was pretty high-strung, may have been on something, and I wasn't about to try to disturb the fragile psyche.

In the end, the guy threatened to come back for more, but ended up with nothing as I had both cards cancelled before he could use them and the guy wasn't smart enough to take the $120 in cash I had with me.

Time to get a gun I think...so sad. I probably had the opportunity to pull it as he ran around the car to get in. I don't know if I would have, but if my wife was with me and he threatened her, I know I would have.

That's why I'm here. I want to learn to be a responsible person with a firearm. I don't think I would have handled this any different than I did, but who knows what maniac I'll be dealing with next time and if it comes down to me or my family and him, no hesitation.

I dont get this part of the story

 

[shizon]

Well he took his cell phone out to "call his buddy" because after he stole my atm card, he wanted to make sure I wasn't lying to him. I guess he thought he was going to let me go and go use my credit cards and atm card to get money. I really don't think anyone was on the other line. Regardless, it's not possible to "verify my pin number". I write credit card software. On the phone call, he also told his friend to meet him at "the spot". I really don't think there was anyone on the other end though. The guy obviously wasn't the smartest.

 

[Denny347]

Denny-

I totally agree that an already drawn pistol trumps one in the holster any day. But I think shizon was referring to the BG running around shizon's car to get into the passenger door, not running away back to his own car.

Ahhh, yeah. Thats different. IMHO...blast away.

 

[Denny347]

Well he took his cell phone out to "call his buddy" because after he stole my atm card, he wanted to make sure I wasn't lying to him. I guess he thought he was going to let me go and go use my credit cards and atm card to get money. I really don't think anyone was on the other line. Regardless, it's not possible to "verify my pin number". I write credit card software. On the phone call, he also told his friend to meet him at "the spot". I really don't think there was anyone on the other end though. The guy obviously wasn't the smartest.

You survived with your life...and your dignity. Did well.

 

[Pete-FWA]

You survived with your life...and your dignity. Did well.

Very well said

Terrible that this kind of thing happens, but this guy didn't sound the brightest. You outsmarted him.

Such an eye opener really makes a person think twice about training and taking self-defense much more seriously.

A year ago my brother was robbed at his own front door at gunpoint by three thugs. Most likely, according to he and his friends, he was followed from a bar where everyone was partying. When all was said and done, he only lost scant cash and his actual wallet. All CC's, etc were cancelled and the one check he had from a friend turned up at a check cashing store, resulting in a felony arrest.

Still, he was lucky and he knows it.

 

[blainepoe]

Welcome to the site and thank you for sharing. Well done keeping a cool head about you. It's hard to tell if a carry piece would have helped you at all, but a well concealed one couldn't have hurt. It sounds like the encounter was outside the whole time which is good. When the BG heads you into a back room things can go a whole different way.

Once again, well done, and try not to let it stop you from getting back to a living a good, enjoyable life.

~Joe

 

[HiRoller]

I'm all about poppin' the cork on a dirtbag.....too bad my company doesn't allow me to have a firearm on company property.....cause that's my neck of the woods for work.....79th and Zionsville My new S&W 629 Trail Boss may not be "the most powerful handgun in the world" anymore...but it's still very good .44 MAG .230 grain FMJ wouldn't feel too good at 5 am in the parking lot. I guess mace will have to do.....or maybe a spitball and a good staw from Micky D's

 

[465guy]

You are alive. Pat yourself on the back!

 

[oldschoolmuscle]

welcome to the site... and i hope the next person that gets robbed will be lucky enough to survive the situation.

 

[rhino]

If you're alive and healthy afterward, you did the right thing for the situation.

In general, though, it's a really bad idea (especially for women) to allow yourself to be taken to another location. What happens at a secondary crime scene can be (and usually is) a lot worse than whatever happens if you resist at the point of initial contact.

 

[Just got Robbed]

What's happening to this city?!