Attempted Car-jack

[Bart]

Glad things worked out for "your friend" at the end of the day.

[Jonathanaf]

Sometimes I think "maybe these things don't happen as often as we think". Then I read posts like this and that thought quickly goes away.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

gemini:

Thanks for the story about your friend's successful encounter.

As far as the logistics go, where did he have his weapon prior
to the draw, and what kind of gun did he have?

I always think the worst place I would ever need to draw would
be while I'm in the driver's seat, with my seatbelt on. My range
of motion would be compromised because I'm either pocket-carrying,
which would prove impossible to draw quickly. Or it's in my OWB at
4 o'clock, which would be better, but still tricky while seatbelted.

My aim is to have a BUG which will live between the truck's front
seats, for a quick draw while seatbelted.

SIA

[suthdj]

"now you've got a problem, what are we gonna do?"

First thought "Clint Eastwood"

GG safe and alive, BG on their way to jail, sounds like a lucky win win to me.

[5thGenTexan]

Not knowing all the details but knowing the area pretty well from my years of working in the area, I'm pretty sure the seperation when he exited the truck could not have been more than 5-6 feet I'm afraid the gentleman that got out would have at best been in surgery for two holes in center mass and at worst would have expired where his buddy drove off and left him, unfortunately that would have left one out working but this way we can be pretty sure they will both be working while waiting for trial and after they get out with their good time in a couple of years.

Sorry but he pulls a gun and I can get mine out I would have to put him down he made the choice to risk death when he pulled his weapon. I would not take a chance of missing the driver due to bad angle and hitting the next car over.

[Excaliber]

He was there, it was his decision to make and he got to go home without any physical harm.

As for the shoot, don't shoot discussion - we don't have all the facts, many of which would be difficult to explain. We all assess a person's body language everyday in order to determine threat level, mood, health, confidence, etc. I would guess that your friend's initial assessment of his body language played a major role in his decision not to fire at that time.

The guy pulling the gun to scare him out of the truck, then putting it down by his leg to hide the gun, is entirely different than the gun being held on him with his finger on the trigger.

Being able to shoot and needing to shoot are two separate issues. I give him an A+ for handling himself so well under such a high level of duress.

I agree.

While justification for use of deadly force clearly existed and the intended victim was equipped and prepared to use it, he believed he could end the threat without firing. He was right. It's hard to argue with success, but I also could not criticize him if he had brought his gun up and fired as soon as the muzzle aligned with the target.

My only Monday morning quarterback suggestion would be,if one is going to use verbal intervention at a time like this, to use wording that would move things in the right direction less conversationally. In my opinion the best option would be a command: "Drop the gun - NOW!"

There's an awful lot of subconscious analysis that goes into making these decisions in an actual situation, and it comes out as intuition. If you're alert and well trained, following that intuition is almost always the best course of action, and there usually isn't time to do anything else.

This brings up a logical follow on question - what do you do if you're not alert and well trained?

The reality is that you will very likely freeze in a crisis because you will have more problem and less plan than you can manage in the time available, and the outcome will be decided by the BG.

While you're thinking about if before it happens to you, I suggest making immediate plans to take advantage of the opportunity to fix those problems before they get you into something you're not yet prepared to get yourself out of.

[casingpoint]

Excalibur wrote:

In my opinion the best option would be a command: "Drop the gun - NOW!"

Agreed. But that's more for cops who have some training and experience along that line, not necessarily for others who are statutorily only empowered and taught primarily to use deadly force in self defense.

If you're alert and well trained

Most of us are probably deficient in both on a daily basis and will be lucky to pull a gun and get off a disabling shot, much less talk a perp down.

[dihappy]

Seriously? People actually pull guns out when a GUN is pointed at them?

If i was in my truck and someone pulled a gun on me at a traffic light, my foot would be on the pedal before you could blink!

[Dragonfighter]

Excalibur wrote:

In my opinion the best option would be a command: "Drop the gun - NOW!"

Agreed. But that's more for cops who have some training and experience along that line, not necessarily for others who are statutorily only empowered and taught primarily to use deadly force in self defense.

If you're alert and well trained

Most of us are probably deficient in both on a daily basis and will be lucky to pull a gun and get off a disabling shot, much less talk a perp down.

An early CHL instructor said, if time and circumstance allowed using verbiage like, "Drop the weapon!" and "Don't make me shoot you." He stressed avoiding use of "gun" and "kill".

I wasn't there, I am not going to second guess either the actions or positive outcome. But I doubt that I'd be saying much until the situation was over.

[TLynnHughes]

If i was in my truck and someone pulled a gun on me at a traffic light, my foot would be on the pedal before you could blink!

I think escape in my vehicle would be Plan A. And I would hope that by some chance the BG would step in front of the vehicle to attempt to stop me. And don't forget to hit your horn to draw attention to the situation. BG's normally hate that. However, it's not always possible to keep an avenue of escape open at a stop light. For that reason, I have Plan B (aka: firearm).

Now, that being said, since I'm female and all that jazz, I would never have engaged in conversation with them in the first place.

I think the situation turned out well and thanks for sharing. I love the comments and lessons learned that crop up in these discussions.

T.

[MechAg94]

he pointed a gun and said, "I'll take the truck AND your watch"

The proper response at this point would be to exit the vehicle whereby you could assume a shooting stance and open fire until the threat is neutralized. Don't tell him he's got a problem. Give him one. It's not a debate.

How is this a good idea when the truck was along side his truck and getting out of the vehicle would mean he is only a few feet away from the first guy? He is as likely to be pistol whipped trying to get out of the vehicle as he is to be shot.

Also, at only a few feet distance, the "proper shooting stance" is a waste of time. Everyone should practice off hand shooting at short ranges.

I like the idea of escape as the first option. I might fire my gun if I thought I had to, but with the armed bad guy close by, I would definitely be looking to get out of that situation.

[The Annoyed Man]

I would have lobbed some flash-bangs and some tear gas into the other truck to soften them up, before deploying my door ram and crushing open the door of their vehicle, preparatory to a full on ninja assault in which I dress in black, and rappel down from the roof of their cab and through the shattered window into the interior where I would administer a severe beating with one hand tied behind my back, followed by a stern lecture along the line of Robert Duvall's speech to wayward young men from Second Hand Lions... ...and then I would offer them each a fresh steak to hold over their black eyes...

...all to the tune of Bob Marley's "Bad Boys," of course.

Alternatively, I could have just hit the gas and run like heck. Being left handed which makes accessing my pistol in a hurry problematic; and being old, fat, and crippled, the alternative works better for me. I don't look that good in all black anyway.

[WildBill]

...all to the tune of Bob Marley's "Bad Boys," of course.

Wrong again, Big Guy. Inner Circle did "Bad Boys". You must be thinking of "I Shot The Sheriff".

[The Annoyed Man]

...all to the tune of Bob Marley's "Bad Boys," of course.

Wrong again, Big Guy. Inner Circle was the group.

Dadgummit! I could have sworn Marley wrote that song. If I keep this up, I won't be able to sell it as an attraction anymore. It'll be too common.

[LongHairedRedneck]

Most people never think can/will be a victim until it happens to them. Too many times the outcome is not nearly as good as it was for your friend. This situation could have gone bad in so many ways. Thank goodness your friend was willing and able to protect himself and his property.