Too close for comfort....

M

marlboroman84

New member
I had a really close experience yesterday that I thought I would share just for the whole what could have happened value.
Yesterday morning my fiance' and I woke up early and started cleaning the house. We found out we were out of trash bags and I was gonna run up and get some and get us some lunch. i was getting ready when an episode of Miami Vice came on TV Land(it was the one with Ted Nugent if you ever watched) so I sat down to finish it up. About 15 minutes goes by and I leave, I pull into the Kroger parking lot right across the street from my house and all hell breaks loose. Police cars are flying in from all directions, guns drawn and screaming at me to get back in my car. I know from experience this many police in one area, something bad is happening. i decide trash bags can wait, got food and went home. I found out today exactly what happened. Around 11:30 or so 6 guys walked into the kroger and held up the bank. One guy shot a girl in the face with a shotgun, somehow she survived and was released today from the hospital according to the news, so I'm guessing bird shot or something I dunno, but thank God she's ok. They got the money and took off. What I realized today hit me like a ton of bricks. If i had left when I intended I would have walked right into the middle of it and I would have done so without my handgun. I've been putting off getting my permit because I kept saying "well I'll probably never need it, but just in case" and didn't treat it as a priority. Well I went to the range today, shot and signed up for cc class. It was one of those situations that just makes you say " a few minutes earlier and that coulda been me." Everything I was ever told by handgunners came to me today, "Better to have it and not need it,than need it and not have it."
 
I know from experience this many police in one area, something bad is happening.
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LOL! A cop screaming at you to get away while you still can with gun drawn... That's not enough... hmm. It's a good thing you knew that if there are many police in one area, bad things are happening (or there is a donut shop nearby.)

:D
 
LOL! A cop screaming at you to get away while you still can with gun drawn... That's not enough... hmm. It's a good thing you knew that if there are many police in one area, bad things are happening (or there is a donut shop nearby.)
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Well considering I was already headed for the entrance when they all started squealing up, that's why they started screaming at me and the comment of there being that many police it being bad is because our response time here is pretty bad alot of times. It has to be something really serious to get more than 2 or 3 cars out.
 
Thank goodness you were unhurt and the lady survived. Now go get that CCW permit! Oh, and send Ted a thank you card.

Better to have it and not need it,than need it and not have it.
 
Great story, glad your timing was off that day.

Its encounters like this that always make me belt up my gun before leaving the house. When I got my CCW, the biggest question family asked me was, "Why?". Its reasons like this that we all need to carry.
 
Thanks Xavier and thanks cscoios. Yea "Uncle Ted" saves the day lol. Yea it was just really surreal because we all kinda walk around and don't ever think it's going to happen to us. After this though it's definitely ccw time and I think I'm gonna upgrade my carry choice too.
 
Just to play devil's advocate....What would you have done had you been carrying??? Seems like you may have been out numbered/out gunned and had you presented your firearm would have caused more harm than good.

On the other side, I am glad uncle Ted "held you up" instead of the BG's.
 
More harm than an unarmed teller being shot in the face? Considering that the robbers probably got away clean, given usual police response time, how many more people are going to suffer devastating trauma or be killed by these cold-blooded murderers?
 
Hangfire said:
What would you have done had you been carrying??? Seems like you may have been out numbered/out gunned and had you presented your firearm would have caused more harm than good.
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I think his point is if he were armed, at least he would have the choice and ability to defend his life. I didn't get the impression he thought saving the day against multiple heavily armed attackers was an option.

As it were, being unarmed, he would have been as helpless as the poor woman shot in the face.

I hope the punks that did this get what they deserve.
 
i was getting ready when an episode of Miami Vice came on TV Land(it was the one with Ted Nugent if you ever watched) so I sat down to finish it up. About 15 minutes goes by and I leave,
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Funny...what would have happened if you did not kill 15 minutes watching an old 80's TV show??? Don Johnson might have saved your life.
 
Don't get me wrong guys I would rather be armed too. But in all honesty, him being armed would probably not have had any realistic difference in the outcome of the situation. Could he have prevented the shooting of the teller? If he did, do you think that multiple armed bg's would just give up to one armed guy? Or would they have shot him, then shot the teller, and maybe someone else to show they mean business because the situation just got way out of hand? Like I said in my first post
Just to play devil's advocate
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Hangfire,
I'll definitely agree with you and i don't know what I would have done to be honest. Had I been carrying my handgun I own now which is a taurus .38 5 shot I would have definitely been outgunned. The only things I can think of is this, Had I been in the store and been able to have some element of surprise I might have been able to eliminate some of the threat. My main concern was the fact that the timing would have been most likely me walking in the front door about mid-way through the robbery. I'm ex-military so I do know how to defend myself if needed, but we never trained for 6 vs 1 bank robberies either. Also, as mvpel and Trip20 pointed out I would have rather had the option to have my firearm then have walked into the fray with nothing but my boots and fists. The whole situation could have been alot worse than it was, but yea kinda funny for me that Miami Vice probably saved me from the very least walking into a really bad situation. Guess I'll write Uncle Ted and Don Johnson a letter of thanks lol.
 
Don't get me wrong guys I would rather be armed too. But in all honesty, him being armed would probably not have had any realistic difference in the outcome of the situation.
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I totally agree. But, again, I don't think that's the point - Devil's advocate or not.

Tell the Devil I said that type of attitude is the same as not getting cancer treatement because you're "going to die anyway." ;)

I believe this man had an epiphany. Having a "close" call reminded him of his failure to obtain a CCW permit. This brought to light the fact that walking around unarmed (unarmed includes: no training, no hand-to-hand combat training, no OC spray...etc) means you are at the mercy of anyone who wishes to do you harm.
 
Maybe I did get a little of topic asking that question but what the heck, this is a "tactics" forum. Silly me. Marboroman, I am glad you were unharmed in this incident and that the light bulb above your head turned on and you have decided to take action. Good luck.
 
wow

Who says re-runs aren't a useful thing? :)

I am glad you are ok and that the teller survived. As for carrying, yes, you never know when it will be YOU in the middle of something like this and it is for that possibility that we carry.

Go get that CCL!!!! ;)

Springmom
 
For those who are curious, here's a link to a news story about the robbery. Check out the news video link - the 9 year-old kid they interviewed was great:
(from memory)
Reporter - "What happened [after the robbers came in]?"
Kid - "Some people ran to the back of the store."
Reporter - "And what did you do then?"
Kid - "Ran back with 'em." (said in a "Duh, lady!" tone)

Still, scary stuff - these robbers sounded inept (and thus dangerous) and I'm glad no one was badly injured or killed. Another vote for getting the CCW - not necessarily because it would have helped in this situation but because there may be a time when it will.
 
I'm glad you weren't injured. It seems like the teller caught a few pellets only since she was able to run to a nearby hotel for help. That ought to make everyone think about how inadequate bird shot is for home defense... unless you are getting attacked by birds!

Its a good thing you sat around to watch that re-run. I had a lucky incident where I decided to stop for lunch on a long distance drive and missed a tornado that cut across the highway just about the time I should have been there. Thank Don, Ted, AND your guardian angel.

Sometimes I ponder if it is better to do nothing in that kind of circumstance unless the bad guys start firing at people. While one teller was shot by a bad guy, having all 6 guys open fire in a crowded grocery store would be very bad. Even if the situation was different and you only saw one person, there could be a discreet lookout or backup for the guy. One thing is to get killed defending your family or your own life but I'm not ready to die for someone elses money... especially when it may get others killed. If they started shooting customers, I'd open fire for sure. Until then, I'd wait it out and just try to be a good witness.
 
Well, at the least everyone is relatively o.k.

That being said..there are positives to this situation:
1-The young lady will be o.k.:)
2-No one else was hurt.:)
3-This made be the catalyst for others getting there CCW's as well.:D
 
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