Robbed at Gunpoint

[Mens Rea]

Do you go to St. Joes in Philly? This method of robbery seems to be the new thing, as it has happened repeatedly there and at surrounding schools in recent months.

[RacersEdge]

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Give him your $100, and as he is running away, pull out your concealed handgun and shoot him in the back. Then claim it was self-defense.

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Please name one realistic and reasonable situation in which you would need to use lethal force to defend yourself from someone with their back to you.

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I can think of one. A guy has you at gunpoint, gets distracted for a second, and turns away from you. Then, you get another gun and shoot him.

[JasonK]

I vote piss in your pants and cry like a sissy girl.

[Tron]

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Give him your $100, and as he is running away, pull out your concealed handgun and shoot him in the back. Then claim it was self-defense.

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Please name one realistic and reasonable situation in which you would need to use lethal force to defend yourself from someone with their back to you.

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I can think of one. A guy has you at gunpoint, gets distracted for a second, and turns away from you. Then, you get another gun and shoot him.

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I guess you missed the "realistic" requirement.

[AJackson]

My thought would be to run. If the guy is inclined to kill me, then the last place I want to be is in his car. Mostly I think these guys are interested in robbing-not killing-and if you run, then they'll go look for easier prey.

[IQ89]

Get yourself a cheap money clip. Put a five-dollar bill on the outside of some one-dollar bills to give it bulk. Keep it with you at all times, and don't get in the habit of using any of the money with the intention of replacing it when you get around to it. Now if someone tries to rob/aduct you again, you pull out the money clip and make sure he sees it. Then toss it in one direction and run in the other direction.

[mak15]

ya, i knew a kid (brother's friend) who used to walk through a rough neighborhood a lot and he'd carry a second empty wallet with him. one time he got stuck up he threw the fake wallet and ran.

that said, if i get shown a gun i'm giving my wallet up. no way i'm getting into the car though. literally your very worse option other than grabbing his gun and shooting yourself.

[Borodog]

What's with the 5 month old resurrected post?

For the record, while I understand the OP was on campus and hence unarmed, most robbers like this expect you to respect the weapon. If he is putting you in the car, you will have to pass very close to him. He will not be able to shoot you before you could push his weapon aside, draw and shoot him (or just put your gun under his chin) with your other hand. This is why its very impotant to practice shooting with your gun very close to your body.

All of that is very easy to type, of course, having never been in a situation like this.

[BCPVP]

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With this in mind, what is my gameplan if someone steps to me and demands my belongings? Usually around here, the robber shows a gun tucked in a waistband or a pocket.

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Hand them over. Your life is worth more than the $100 in your wallet
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How about if they have a knife?

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See above. He can kill you almost as easy and much more quietly. Plus if he has any experience with the knife, you're screwed (ask anyone who takes kali/escrima).

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What about this?

Give him your $100, and as he is running away, pull out your concealed handgun and shoot him in the back. Then claim it was self-defense.

Or I guess you could just give him a non-fatal shot in the leg or something, which I'm pretty sure is allowed to keep him from running away, especially if he pulled a knife on you.

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No, don't shoot him in the back and don't shoot him in the leg. You're not James Bond and this isn't a video game. If you shoot, shoot to kill. If you shoot to wound and he has a gun, he will not return the favor. Shooting him in the leg sounds like an excellent way to get everything you own taken in a lawsuit and shooting a man who's no longer a threat sounds like a great way to go to prison.

[Performify]

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Shooting him in the leg sounds like an excellent way to get everything you own taken in a lawsuit and shooting a man who's no longer a threat sounds like a great way to go to prison.

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Both of these points are very true. Shooting someone in the back isn't automatically going to mean you're convicted of wrongful death, but you're going to be on the hook to prove that you were in danger.

Shooting a robber leaving your house/etc, in any state but Texas i believe (no joke), is generally going to be a criminal offense.

<- licensed concealed carry permit holder, have been through the training classes with a very good instructor who covered all of this in depth.

Echo all those people who have said don't get in the car. If you can round a corner / get out of line of sight / get in to a building with other people closely, then just sprint your ass that direction. The misdirection play with tossing your wallet or saying something random or pretending to comply is a good idea when combined with the running away.

In all likelyhood a single shot isn't going to kill you anyways, unless he's sitting on a large caliber gun or he's loaded with hollowpoints or hits you directly in a major organ or miracle shot to an artery. Assuming you can get medical attention soon, you can live through a lungshot or a gutshot as long as you don't get shot in the heart / liver / kidney. You're actually supposed to run sideways away from the assailant, rather than give them your nice big back to hit - generally speaking its not going to matter that you're running sideways and not as fast - its a lot harder for an unskilled marksman to hit a decently small moving target with a crappy handgun than you'd think. Your objective is to break line of sight - round a corner, get to a public place or secured location.