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texanjoker wrote:Panhandlers in Austin get that aggressive. They are scaring people into throwing them some money which is wrong IMO.

Austin is about the only place I run into them these days....I've encountered a few that are clearly mentally ill (one in particular who "patrolled" the median next to the Taco Cabana off Riverside), but none that have struck me as dangerous. Anyone who tried to scare me would just get a police report in lieu of money.

I've been approached by pan handlers many times --so many times my wife started calling me the Beggar King-- and I've NEVER had one run at me. From a distance they might shout and wave for attention, but I've never seen one run. I've also never seen a pair of panhandlers bumming money together. That doesn't even seem logical to me since they'd have to split the take, and from what I've seen, pan handlers can get pretty aggressive about staking out their own individual territory. My guess is the guy on the driver's side was trying to hold your attention while is partner jumped in your car on the passenger's side. I also think the car may not have had anything to do with it....that they saw someone they thought would be an easy mark, and would have tried to rob you, if not steal your car, no matter what you were driving.