true story of a close call

[jemail]

I've been reading this forum for a few months and want to thank everybody for all the good info. I've never really had anything to contribute until something reminded me of a true story about an armed CHL holder that a local CHL instructor tells frequently. The instructor is fairly anti-computer so, I'll share the story....

A man (who we'll call John so I don't confuse myself with pronouns) was driving home in the middle of the night after working in another state all week. He pulled into a small town gas station in the middle of nowhere. It was empty except for the clerk inside and a car beside the store across the parking lot. John gets out and starts pumping gas. A man gets out of the only other car around and starts walking toward John. The guy says "Hey man!" John ignores him thinking he'll go away. He says "Hey man!" again and adds "Can you help me? I need some money." John still ignores him and continues with his gas. All of the sudden the man walks around John's car and they're standing face to face and the man has a knife poking John in the side and he says "Give me some money or I'll kill you." John stands there in shock for a second until the guy wiggles the knife and says again "Give me some money or I'll kill you."

What should you do in that situation? Do you give the guy a few bucks knowing it'll buy drugs or booze but probably make him go away? When the guy first made contact should you yell "Stop! Don't come any closer." What if the guy didn't stop? Maybe then you say "Stop right there! I have a gun." What if he still doesn't stop? What if he starts coming toward you even faster? Do you shoot him? What does the clerk see here? Does she tell the police "Some random guy was just walking across the parking lot and this other crazy guy just pulls out and gun and shoots him."? Maybe you should just get back in your car and drive off when ignoring the guy didn't work. This is the only gas station in this town though. Do you have enough to make it to the next one? Let's say none of that happens and you're in the same situation as John, standing there with a knife poking your side. The bad guy is obviously serious. Do you pull your gun and shoot him? You'll get stabbed but you'll probably survive. A well placed shot will certainly kill the bad guy but a slit in your side proves he's an attacker and all the conditions are met for lethal force. Do you flee? You'll probably lose your car but nobody gets hurt.

Well, here's what John did: He look the guy in the eyes and ask him "Do you think Jesus Christ would approve of what you're doing tonight?" The guy put his knife back in his pocket, apologized, and walked away.

I think Luke 12:12 applies here. "for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

There's no question you should think through your reaction to all the situations you can think of and that you should be proficient with whatever you plan on defending yourself with. Christianity isn't about being passive but if the time ever comes, I'll trust God over any of my skills or equipment.

[jcharro]

In today's society especially in a huge city like the one i live in, criminals that are out to get you are stoned or just plain crazy. I can be dressed as a priest, I can be a pastor driving a van with a huge banner that says "Jesus Loves You".. They (Criminals) don’t give a crap. They see an opportunity to take what they desperately need; money, truck, car, jewelry, etc. If they have no respect to go into a church and steal and vandalize, what makes you think they are going respect you out in the real world? The thief you talked about robing the guy pumping gas probably realized he’s in a town of about 250, the clerk already saw his car, saw his face. He felt more guilt on robbing a guy who brought up Jesus and turned away. Here in the big city, you bring that up you’ll probably irritate them more and likely will shoot or stab you for stalling them on their score. Instinct and preparation is what could get you out of a situation like that in a big city. A situation like the one you described here in Dallas, Texas would have ended with a dead thief.

[JALLEN]

A situation like the one you described here in Dallas, Texas would have ended with a dead thief.

Chris Kyle, former SEAL, and author of American Sniper, credited with the most kills of any sniper in US history, had two men come up to him as he was filling gas at a Dallas area station, demanding his truck keys. Fellow former SEAL Marcus Luttrell, "The Last Survivor" tells the story:

On a bitterly cold morning in early January of 2009, the war, in a sense, found Chris again. What happened to him not far from his home outside Dallas never made the news, since the town involved didn’t want the publicity, but the incident certainly would have made national headlines had a reporter ever gotten a tip about it.

Chris was minding his own business, fueling his pickup truck at a gas station, when he found himself at gunpoint. Two men holding pistols demanded his truck. Law enforcement will usually advise you to give in to the criminal in a situation like this. And that’s good advice. But Chris took another route. Very calmly and coolly, he sized up which of the men was handling his pistol more comfortably. He put his hands up and told them he was going to reach into the truck to get his keys. Then his hand went under his coat. From a waistband holster, he pulled his Colt 1911. Swinging the pistol under his left armpit, he gave each robber two .45 caliber Hydra-Shock hollow-points to the chest. By the time the cops responded to the 911 call from the terrified lady who had locked herself in a car behind Chris’s truck, the matter was settled. Elapsed time: about ten seconds. The service station’s security cameras caught the whole thing.

I pray for anyone whose life gets so desperate that he or she chooses to resort to a life of crime, but it’s hard to resist a little cold laughter all the same: I mean, how unlucky a dumbass do you have to be to target a random guy for felony armed assault and find out he’s killed more people than smallpox?

http://statelymcdanielmanor.wordpress.c ... ood-laugh/

[wheelgun1958]

Duplicate thread.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=61253

[pcernuch]

jesus would want me to make sure i am around to continue being the best father i can.

god bless.

[Purplehood]

I've been reading this forum for a few months and want to thank everybody for all the good info. I've never really had anything to contribute until something reminded me of a true story about an armed CHL holder that a local CHL instructor tells frequently. The instructor is fairly anti-computer so, I'll share the story....

A man (who we'll call John so I don't confuse myself with pronouns) was driving home in the middle of the night after working in another state all week. He pulled into a small town gas station in the middle of nowhere. It was empty except for the clerk inside and a car beside the store across the parking lot. John gets out and starts pumping gas. A man gets out of the only other car around and starts walking toward John. The guy says "Hey man!" John ignores him thinking he'll go away. He says "Hey man!" again and adds "Can you help me? I need some money." John still ignores him and continues with his gas. All of the sudden the man walks around John's car and they're standing face to face and the man has a knife poking John in the side and he says "Give me some money or I'll kill you." John stands there in shock for a second until the guy wiggles the knife and says again "Give me some money or I'll kill you."

What should you do in that situation? Do you give the guy a few bucks knowing it'll buy drugs or booze but probably make him go away? When the guy first made contact should you yell "Stop! Don't come any closer." What if the guy didn't stop? Maybe then you say "Stop right there! I have a gun." What if he still doesn't stop? What if he starts coming toward you even faster? Do you shoot him? What does the clerk see here? Does she tell the police "Some random guy was just walking across the parking lot and this other crazy guy just pulls out and gun and shoots him."? Maybe you should just get back in your car and drive off when ignoring the guy didn't work. This is the only gas station in this town though. Do you have enough to make it to the next one? Let's say none of that happens and you're in the same situation as John, standing there with a knife poking your side. The bad guy is obviously serious. Do you pull your gun and shoot him? You'll get stabbed but you'll probably survive. A well placed shot will certainly kill the bad guy but a slit in your side proves he's an attacker and all the conditions are met for lethal force. Do you flee? You'll probably lose your car but nobody gets hurt.

Well, here's what John did: He look the guy in the eyes and ask him "Do you think Jesus Christ would approve of what you're doing tonight?" The guy put his knife back in his pocket, apologized, and walked away.

I think Luke 12:12 applies here. "for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

There's no question you should think through your reaction to all the situations you can think of and that you should be proficient with whatever you plan on defending yourself with. Christianity isn't about being passive but if the time ever comes, I'll trust God over any of my skills or equipment.

I would say that John had a plan and it worked for him.

My plan might differ.

[GeronimoAg]

This sounds a bit too much like a chain email that keeps making the rounds or a Facebook post that keeps popping up, but what the heck, let's play along...

"What would you do in this situation?"

Simple answer, don't allow yourself to get in to that situation. "John" has the situational awareness of a 2x4.

I don't care where I'm stopping to get gas, I'll take a quick look around when pulling in and if something or someone doesn't sit right with me, I won't stop there. If you're on empty and don't have another choice, then park in a well lit spot and sit in your car with the doors locked until whatever or whomever it is that you don't like goes on about their business and leaves.

Then I'm in and out of the car as quickly as possible and while the gas is pumping, I get back in and lock the door til I'm done. Then it's in and out as quickly as possible to finish up and back in the car and driving away.

That way if any one approaches at any time, I'm in the safety of my vehicle with the doors locked. I can tell them nicely and politely to leave me alone and if they choose not to, I can do whatever is necessary to get out of the situation, from calling 911 on my cell, to driving away, to protecting myself if it comes to that. All while they can't get in physical contact with me.

[JALLEN]

Duplicate thread.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=61253

I thought I had responded to virtually the same scenario twice, but then I figured it was just deja vu all over again, or something.

Thanks for pointing that out. I feel better already.

[rp_photo]

Then I'm in and out of the car as quickly as possible and while the gas is pumping, I get back in and lock the door til I'm done

Be very mindful of static electricity when entering and exiting a car while fueling.