Would You Have Acted Differently?

T

trex1310

New member
I was working one Saturday and had gone to a fast food place to grab
some takeout. I noticed a truck following me at a fairly close distance.
As I pulled into my parking place, this guy raced up, slammed on the
brakes and blocked me in. He jumped out of his truck holding about a
3' length of 1" galvanized pipe. I exited my truck and the guy said
"Give me your wallet". I responded by saying "Drop the pipe". I guess
he was unaware that I was holding a SA XD45 down by my right leg.
At the time this was my everyday carry piece. The man ignored my
command and took a step towards me (we were about 10-12 feet
apart). I didn't say anything else, I just shot him one time just right
of center and below the heart. The gun was loaded with 13 230 grain Winchester Ranger T JHP's. I did not fire again because he was literally knocked off his feet and didn't try to get back up. This all happened in
less than 20 seconds. This case was cleared by the grand jury.

Oh, by the way, the guy lived and was charged with attempted
robbery. He was sentenced to 2 years and he was already an ex-con.
Go figure.

Would you have acted differently? I'd like to read your comments.
 
I would have never exited my truck.
With 13 rds of .45 in my hand, I am not concerned about a guy with a pipe having his way with me or trapping me in my truck. If he decides to knock the windows out, that will be at his peril. Chances are very good that he moves on if I stay put as his attack is predicated on my getting out. My goal during this is to protect myself, if I can do this without shooting him...I still win. I feel discernment is the better part of valor and that it is still a most appropriate skill even if undeveloped in many.

But, it worked out well for you and I am glad of that.
 
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I probably would have done something very similar. It's probably best not to get out of your vehicle, but I probably would have gotten out just like you did.

Maybe, and I stress the maybe part, I would have placed my in a ready position instead of down by a leg like you did. In the situation you had I would like to make sure they know my gun is drawn and ready. It's either that or put it down I'm armed and then if they persist it's draw and fire time.

In any case I think you did well for a real life situation and I can't really argue with your response.

If I may ask, how did your body react after it happened? Did you get tunnel vision, shaky etc...? If that's out of line to ask, just ignore it, my bad manners.
 
If my vehicle was blocked in with no escape, I may have exited my vehicle like you...this would at least give me an option to seek cover or escape on foot if needed.
 
I've been in a similar situation. I raised the gun and said you better run. He did and I let him go. If he'd have advanced I'd have shot him. You done good.
 
Blocked "in" = trapped. Best to be on foot rather than sitting. Good deal and good to hear a Grand Jury thought the same as well.
 
By the time I said, "drop the pipe" my pistol would be aimed at his midsection. I want them to see I have the gun so that they will know the consequences if they decide to proceed with the attack.


And I think that exiting your vehicle immediately was a smart move.
 
I am generally against shooting and that is the law but you could not flee. IMHO everything you did was right. If you had stayed in the truck he could have used the pipe to smash the window and bash your head in. If you had stayed in the truck you would have been in cramped corners and unable to move or shoot. If you had tried to shoot while inside the truck you would need to have the gun near the window and he could have grabbbed the gun. You shot until the perp was down and you didn't shoot any more. I think things came off very well for you, you were innocent, didn't get injured, are still alive. The guy that didn't rob you would surely have gone on to rob and possibly kill someone else. The guy is in jail. You did society a favor.
 
Wow, sorry you had to go through that, but very glad you were prepared. Yes, obviously easy to play Monday morning quarterback, but I would have shown my gun sooner with the hope it would have been a deterrent.
 
I think I might have tried to stay in the vehicle, and go from there. On the other hand, I wasn't there, and I won't try to second guess you. Overall, it still sounds like you handled it well. Glad for the fact that you weren't injured or worse.
 
More elaborate command

As others have said, you done good.

If there's anything I would have done differently, I would have drawn and aimed (rather than keeping the gun at my side) while shouting, "Armed citizen! Stop and drop the pipe!" I'd be prepared to fire on lack of compliance.

In my first defensive handgun class, we were taught to say, "Armed citizen! Stop!" We didn't get a long explanation about why those words, but they make sense to me. They convey a fair legal warning. Plus it's hard to mishear those words if you're a witness and are called to testify. I recall reading about one self-defense shooting where the prosecution built an attempted murder case around the shooter's allegedly saying "Don't p*ss me off!" prior to shooting, whereas in reality he said "Back the f*ck off!" (which sounds similar). Fortunately he was ultimately acquitted.
 
If I recall correctly, Massad Ayoob advises us to yell "POLICE! STOP!", and that you will later testify that when you yelled "POLICE", you were yelling FOR the police.

Fortunately there was only one aggressor. I would have hoped to have the presence of mind to scan for an accomplice. Also, it's a good thing you had the training/practice to hit your target; the way I envision the situation, there must have been innocent people in your field of fire.

But Hey, as Shakespeare said, "All's well that ends well"!
 
To answer some of your questions:

I got out to have some manuveur room.

I didn't bring the weapon up because I was afraid it would cause him to
swing at it with the pipe. Maybe dumb, but it is what I thought at the
time. The police detective did tell me I was under no obligation to
inform the robber I was armed. I don't know if he was right or not.

I've been in combat before (many years ago) so I didn't have any
real problems after the encounter, just a knot in my stomach and
a slight tremble in my hands.

I called 911 (It took about 15 minutes for the police to arrive), then I
called a friend who is an attorney and he came immediately to the
scene.

There were no other witnesses.

My field of fire was clear.

It did occur to me to look for accomplices.
 
That is what we call an epic failure of the victim selection process. Glad it worked out for you. 2 years is ridiculous though for a first time offender let alone a repeat offender.
 
I agree with getting out of your vehicle 100% There's no way that I'd want to be sitting down in my truck when confronted with that sort of situation. Anybody who doesn't think he should have gotten out should consider this: What does an LEO expect you to do when he pulls you over? Get out, or remain in the vehicle? Of course he wants you to stay in the car, because it grants him a huge tactical advantage. Ergo, if a BG has blocked you in and is approaching your car, it behooves you to get the heck out of there and negate his advantage.

As far as shooting him, bravo zulu. I only hope that if, God forbid, I ever find myself in that situation, I'll have the wits to deal with it as well as you did.
 
Sounds like you handled yourself very well. Althought I now live on the other side of the bay, there are areas over there I try to avoid, or at least carry extra ammo. The perp is a living example of how fast food can be bad for your health. Good Job.
 
It's very unfortunate that you had to go through that experience, to say the least. In my opinion you did everything correctly, would like to think I would have done as well. I agree with holding the weapon at your side under the circumstances, basically keeping your trump card hidden but ready for use if let no choice. Had you showed the gun he very well might have tried to close the distance further, to negate your advantage.

Sounds like the Police and grand jury also were in full agreement with your handling of the situation. It would be nice to think that the perp learned a hard lesson and would choose a more acceptable lifestyle, both those types tend to be very slow learners.

Hope this for certain your one and only, that nothing of this sort ever comes your way again.
 
Good Job!

Since your vehicle was blocked in, the correct response was getting out. To stay in meant you were trapped in it w/ nowhere to go. He would have broken your door window and had his way w/ you. Although the Goblin didn't realize it, you had the initiative and were in-command of the situation from beginning to end. That's why he ended up in second place.

For future reference, more hits on a target means a reduced likelihood of prison overcrowding. <-- Tongue-in-cheek, sheesh :p

And I would make note of his release date.

On another note, I see you live in Mobile. I was there last year. Very charming city. I toured the BB Alabama, which was an awesome experience. I recommend everyone tour a BB at least once in their life.

Good job being at Condition Yellow
DVC
 
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It would be nice to think that the perp learned a hard lesson and would choose a more acceptable lifestyle, both those types tend to be very slow learners.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he learned not to bring a pipe to a gunfight. :cool:
 
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