Happened in Co Springs last night

[Treo]

This situation actually happened last night in Colorado Springs.

You pull into a gated apartment complex in the ‘Hood as you pull through the gate you’re cut off by a car and 5 adult, early/mid twenties, males jump out and rush your car. They split off and 3 come to the driver’s side and 2 go to the passenger side. You have 2 armed guys (out of 3) on the driver’s side and 1 (out of 2) on the passenger side. There is a passenger in your vehicle

That’s all I know but I’m going to speculate that the BG’s waited till the gate shut behind the car before initiating the ambush. I’m also going to speculate (given age and the fact that this is a military town) that the 5 were vets, had seen combat and probably wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot.

How would you react?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ATXFather]

Put the car in gear and slam petal to the metal at least make as much noise as possible, not a situation I hope to ever be in. Hope everything turned out ok.

[retsupt99]

Lock and load my 3,000 pound bullet...someone's going to need some collision work or a possibly ER visit...things are going to get

As a side note, one doesn't usually wait and see if the gate behind them shuts prior to to moving forward, thus, one would/should have some room for movement 'front or back'.OMO

[Guantes]

I'm not sure why you would be sitting there waiting for the gate to close and not proceeding to a parking place. In any case, most of those gates that I have seen are not that solid. I doubt that they would stand up to an accelerating vehicle.

[carguy2244]

Was this story online?

[WhoWeBePart1]

This has to be the story...

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/98828114.html

Colorado Springs police are looking for suspects after a robbery in a parking lot.

Police say it happened a little before 1:30 a.m. Monday at the Windmill Apartments on Lacy Lane near South Academy and Airport Road.

Officers say two victims were pulling into the parking lot when a maroon four door vehicle pulled in front of them and stopped. Five black males got out and walked towards the victims who were in their own car.

Police tell us three of the suspects came to the passenger side of the victim vehicle and two of them pointed handguns at the passenger. The suspects forcefully took personal items from the passenger after hitting him with the one of the handguns.

Officers say two of the other suspects came to the driver's side and one pointed a gun at the driver. Personal items were taken from the driver, after getting hit with the gun. Neither of the two victims suffered serious injuries. No gunshots were fired.

Police then say the suspects took off, traveling northbound on Murray Blvd.

The suspect vehicle was described as a maroon four door, possible a Toyota Corolla. The only description of the suspects is five black males that all appeared to be in their twenties.

If you know anything about this incident, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP.

[Rivers]

Waiting for the gate to close is standard at airports, to maintain the security of the area. I can see the same practice being useful at apartments, the intent being that the underbelly of society would be kept out. Unfortunately, unless everyone does it, waiting for closure does no good.

Since it was a Toyota Corolla and anything I drive is bigger than that, it's bumper car time! I'd just duck below window height and hammer it for 5 or 10 seconds, maybe throw it in reverse for ten yards or so, to see if anybody goes bump, then make a complete exit while calling 911.

[CCWFlaRuger]

That's a rough one... out numbered, outgunned, and taken by surprise, the BGs thought this one out. The only real option I see is to either floor it and hope you can move the offending vehicle (corolla is fairly light and a hit near the rear axel should be able to turn enough of the car to make a run for it and get better position to defend and alos cause quite a commotion getting attention and possibly help) or to cooperate fully hoping that the wolves are not hungry for sheeps blood tonight.

Personally, I avoid areas where I do not need to be and am fairly paranoid about where I travel. Hope I never see a scenario like this one... heres to hoping none of you do either.

[carguy2244]

Definitely use the car.

[Spirit of 76]

Wow, this is amazingly similar to a robbery near me in a town called Chili, near Rochester, NY last week:

"Police in Gates and Chili say two armed robberies within minutes of each other earlier this week are connected. Authorities are searching for three men who allegedly committed the robberies at gunpoint Monday night.

Investigators say in the first incident a man walking in Gates on Ranch Village Lane at about 10:30 p.m. had a cell phone and purchases from Walmart ripped off.

Police say about 15 minutes later on Battle Green Drive in Chili, a woman was nearly carjacked. Investigators say one of the suspect's cars cut the woman off while the second car blocked her in from behind.

Police say the woman was punched in the face and had her purse stolen. The suspects allegedly fled when another vehicle drove past before they were able to get the woman's keys.

Police say one of the men could be armed with a rifle. The suspects are reported to be driving a white Chevy Cavalier and a dark colored Toyota Camry."

Be aware...be very aware.

[Spec]

My jeep has a ramming bumper guard that connects to the back tow/hitch (2 inch steel tubing length of the Jeep's rearend) I'm using that as my reward ramming tool against the gate. then my gun is drawn after that... but hopefully the gate breaks and I get away in my bat mobile.

[jackson85746]

F250 7.3 Powerstroke 4wd vs Toyota Corolla. Smash the Corolla...........assess the situation..........ready for war.

[jg45]

Those are nice sentiments, but think about this. Do you ram as soon as they block you? Probably not. What about when they exit the car? Maybe, if they are already flashing weapons. If not, it is when they get to your car and now have weapons pointed at you. In either case, I don't see anyone ramming another car until they see the weapons and the intent becomes clear. So now, you have three armed individuals aiming weapons at you. Can your car out accelerate a bullet? A 7.3 powerstroke has some get up and go, but probably not that much. In fact, short of a warp drive engine, I think you are SOL. As soon as you hit the gas, they are going to unload on you. Hope your doors have kevlar lining.

This is a tough one. I think I would be assessing the situation and looking to gain the element of surprise and distraction. Most likely, I would end up giving them what they wanted, keeping the fact I am armed a surprise and wait for them to withdraw. I think this is really a no win situation. I could try to engage at the first sign of weapons and hope that they withdraw and are really bad shots. I could try to ram them and hope that they are really bad shots. I would probably be wishing for that under car flame thrower I saw on TV.

[Treo]

I don't know this But I strongly suspect that this was not some random robbery. I'm thinking drugs or drug money was involved

[Tala]

I don't know this But I strongly suspect that this was not some random robbery. I'm thinking drugs or drug money was involved

I dunno. I think it probably was just a "random" robbery, although 3 guns is a bit overkill for my area, but the OP did say it was in the 'hood'
I find all apartment complexes to be rather dangerous places. Perfect for a setup due to the way that they are laid out - lots of hiding places and lots of random people moving at all hours. It's kindof like living on a WalMart parking lot 24/7. SA is a nightmare, and the crime rate is sky high!