No I didn't shoot anybody.....
Last night around 6pm or so, still light out but overcast, I pulled into my parking space at my condo. As I pulled in and stop 2 guys 18/21 years old walking down the sidewalk turned up the sidewalk that leads to my building.
(It is an 'open air' area to get to my door and others on the 1st floor, you do not have to enter the building per se. It is surrounded by the sides and overhead but not enclosed, if that makes any sense)
Which immediately got my attention because no teenagers live in my building and nowhere to go if you aren't entering a unit. The sidewalk(after a couple turns) does lead to/come out the other side of the building so someone 'could' use it as a cut through. Well they didn't turn to go down the side walk they just stopped, at the junction of the 2 walkways. By now I am getting out of my vehicle and walked to the passenger side to retrieve my stuff.
I am glancing up at them and they at me. They are just standing around 'trying' to look nonchalant but not doing a very good job of it. They are about 40-50 feet away.
So I am trying to noodle this through but I can't for the life of me think what bad intentions they would be up too. Though I have no doubt they are looking for trouble.
Aside from their actions, their physical appearance and demeanor/body language had also set my alarm off. As soon as I saw they didn't turn down the walkway to 'cut through' I knew they looking for trouble.These guys were up to NO GOOD!!
I have to go past them to get to my condo.So now I am thinking should I say something to them like, " You don't belong around here, move along". I had a box tucked under my left arm and jacket in same hand.
I decided I was too vulnerable without both arms/hands being available so I decided to not say anything. I proceeded up the sidewalk, had to walk between them, gave them both a good look as I approached and walked by, both averted eye contact with me.
So after thinking this whole episode through a few hundred times a little light bulb went off in my brain. I WAS their target!! There is no other explanation, they saw me pull up and then turned up the sidewalk they knew I would be heading up. This area is blocked from common observation also' as it is surrounded on 3 sides. I am convinced their plan was to rob me or something. So why didn't they? Two words....
Open Carry! God Bless Virginia
I think they changed their mind once they saw my sidearm. When I was getting stuff out of my car this put my right side facing them with my holstered G17 in plain view.
No, I wasn't drunk or imagining some 'scenario' or something that wasn't there, the more I think about it the more I am convinced they were going to rob/mug me or something. Once I got close to them I could see they were more then some pot smoking youths, the older one had criminal written all over him. Kinda creepy...
2 thumbs up for open carry.
What would I do differently:
* Believe that it IS possible someone can/will confront me and rob me. The whole time I was thinking , What could they be up too?, it never occurred to me that "I" was what they were up too.
* Leave my stuff in the car, go back and get it later. It was really stupid of me to have one arm/hand encumbered in that situation.
*Tell them to move along. I did go back out a few minutes later but they were gone.
Hopefully, someone can learn from some of the mistakes I made. Not that I need to say it but suggestions welcome.
Last night around 6pm or so, still light out but overcast, I pulled into my parking space at my condo. As I pulled in and stop 2 guys 18/21 years old walking down the sidewalk turned up the sidewalk that leads to my building.
(It is an 'open air' area to get to my door and others on the 1st floor, you do not have to enter the building per se. It is surrounded by the sides and overhead but not enclosed, if that makes any sense)
Which immediately got my attention because no teenagers live in my building and nowhere to go if you aren't entering a unit. The sidewalk(after a couple turns) does lead to/come out the other side of the building so someone 'could' use it as a cut through. Well they didn't turn to go down the side walk they just stopped, at the junction of the 2 walkways. By now I am getting out of my vehicle and walked to the passenger side to retrieve my stuff.
I am glancing up at them and they at me. They are just standing around 'trying' to look nonchalant but not doing a very good job of it. They are about 40-50 feet away.
So I am trying to noodle this through but I can't for the life of me think what bad intentions they would be up too. Though I have no doubt they are looking for trouble.
Aside from their actions, their physical appearance and demeanor/body language had also set my alarm off. As soon as I saw they didn't turn down the walkway to 'cut through' I knew they looking for trouble.These guys were up to NO GOOD!!
I have to go past them to get to my condo.So now I am thinking should I say something to them like, " You don't belong around here, move along". I had a box tucked under my left arm and jacket in same hand.
I decided I was too vulnerable without both arms/hands being available so I decided to not say anything. I proceeded up the sidewalk, had to walk between them, gave them both a good look as I approached and walked by, both averted eye contact with me.
So after thinking this whole episode through a few hundred times a little light bulb went off in my brain. I WAS their target!! There is no other explanation, they saw me pull up and then turned up the sidewalk they knew I would be heading up. This area is blocked from common observation also' as it is surrounded on 3 sides. I am convinced their plan was to rob me or something. So why didn't they? Two words....
Open Carry! God Bless Virginia
I think they changed their mind once they saw my sidearm. When I was getting stuff out of my car this put my right side facing them with my holstered G17 in plain view.
No, I wasn't drunk or imagining some 'scenario' or something that wasn't there, the more I think about it the more I am convinced they were going to rob/mug me or something. Once I got close to them I could see they were more then some pot smoking youths, the older one had criminal written all over him. Kinda creepy...
2 thumbs up for open carry.
What would I do differently:
* Believe that it IS possible someone can/will confront me and rob me. The whole time I was thinking , What could they be up too?, it never occurred to me that "I" was what they were up too.
* Leave my stuff in the car, go back and get it later. It was really stupid of me to have one arm/hand encumbered in that situation.
*Tell them to move along. I did go back out a few minutes later but they were gone.
Hopefully, someone can learn from some of the mistakes I made. Not that I need to say it but suggestions welcome.