Robbed at Gunpoint

[Warik]

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Guns are horrible weapons within close range, unless your target is clueless, and terrific weapons from 10+ feet away.

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I have heard this before and don't dispute it. Why is this the case, though?

My inclination, assuming I didn't lose my nerve when faced with the scenario, would be to wrestle with his weapon hand until the gun were pointed up in the air or away from my friend and just try to start firing it until it was out of ammo. Then turn around and kick the individual's ass.

I'm not afraid of a fight - just afraid of getting shot. Get the gun out of the equation and we're good to go.

Alternatively, we could try to the psychological approach. It probably won't work, but I've never seen it tried in movies so I'm curious.

"Have you ever killed a man before? Are you prepared to kill me and face a life sentence just for my wallet and my keys? Leave and find another victim... or one of us is going to die here tonight."

If, however, he is prepared to kill you, you are [censored]. I suggest fighting.

Oh, and getting in the car is teh suck.

Congratulations for not dying... hope they catch the [censored] and you are made whole again financially.

Change your locks ASAP.

[Duke]

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Guns are horrible weapons within close range, unless your target is clueless, and terrific weapons from 10+ feet away.

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I have heard this before and don't dispute it. Why is this the case, though?


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You can grab a gun pretty easily, and that limits it's effectiveness. Something like a knife is a lot tougher to grab since it'll bite back.

~D

[AEKDBet]

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WTF are you gonna do, shoot him first? If he wasn't planning on shooting you, just robbing you, and you pull a weapon, you're toast.

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You'd have a very strong argument for killing someone in self-defense anytime they pointed a gun at you, at least in some states.

Swede

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Yes but once you reach for the gun you can't hesitate to kill another human. Sounds easy, but I'm guessing it's not.

[swede123]

No argument there.

[Iplayboard]

It was at Tempe/Arizona State. I assume I'm not allowed to have a gun on campus, so since I was headed to class I couldn't really have been packing.

If the same situation happened again I definitely would not get in the car. I think just running is the best bet because it was a fairly busy street at 2 pm so most likely he's not going to want to shoot me.

[Tron]

I go to USC, and it seems like this year either (A) the students have gotten dumber or (B) the criminals have gotten bolder because probably about 2 students get robbed per week. I am inclined to go with Option B because, while robberies usually invole drunk kids walking alone at 2 AM, two robberies occurred at 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM last week.

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. How about if they have a knife?

[Blarg]

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the officer later informed me that 90% of the time people who get into cars don't come back.

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I've read this a couple times too. It especially relates to sex crimes and men getting women in cars or taking them someplace, but it applies to men too. They're taking you to someplace where they can do things to you that can't be easily done in the street -- rape, torture, murder, whatever.

Nobody really knows what they would do in this kind of a situation, so it's a little silly to talk about it. We all idealize ourselves and like to think we're smarter, or sometimes tougher or more courageous than the average bear. But the truth is, most people would not be superheros in these situations, or even very competent. Partly because we kid ourselves, but also to a significant extent because most of us have little or no experience in dealing with people coming out of nowhere and suddenly sticking guns in our faces.

I've told myself in situations like this that I wouldn't get into the car, but who knows. I might freeze up and lose my judgment, or not quite freeze up but still loose my judgment. Or I might just chicken out and do whatever a guy holding a gun in my face says. There's no way in hell I'd know until it happened. But in the meantime, this is the internet, so I guess I'd do something heroic and show off my mad skillzorz and then Jessica Alba would sit on my face.

[russellmj]

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Nobody really knows what they would do in this kind of a situation, so it's a little silly to talk about it.

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Not silly at all. We should be discussing this.

To get in the car or not could be the most important decision you'll ever make. Never ever let anyone isolate you. Even in a corner. I'll probably be scared. Maybe scared enough to pee my pants, but this is one decision I have to get right.
If he shoots me, it'll suck no doubt. But if we play the other side of the tape, it'll probably suck less than what happens if I get in the car.

Glad you guys came out alright.

[Blarg]

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It was at Tempe/Arizona State. I assume I'm not allowed to have a gun on campus, so since I was headed to class I couldn't really have been packing.

If the same situation happened again I definitely would not get in the car. I think just running is the best bet because it was a fairly busy street at 2 pm so most likely he's not going to want to shoot me.

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A guy willing to shoot you if you just threw your money at him and ran is probably the same guy who would shoot you if you got in the car, is my way of thinking about it.

[Blarg]

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I go to USC, and it seems like this year either (A) the students have gotten dumber or (B) the criminals have gotten bolder because probably about 2 students get robbed per week. I am inclined to go with Option B because, while robberies usually invole drunk kids walking alone at 2 AM, two robberies occurred at 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM last week.

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. How about if they have a knife?

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Just think of a guy with a knife as a 13th degree blackbelt.