New dilemma...

[purple88yj]

Here is the scene:

Your spouse, who does not carry, needs to run into a store. You have two sleeping children in the car (those with kids know you don't wake a sleeping child, as that is usually the only time you get any peace and quiet).

While you are sitting in the car a couple of punks approach the door to the store. They are showing the tells that they are up to no good, or they pull on a mask as they enter the store. You call your spouses cell phone only to find they have left it in the car with you.

You aren't going to risk the welfare of the kids by taking them into the store, nor are you going to leave the car with them in it.

You are on the phone with PD alerting them of your suspicions.

Now what??

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Nate]

One ******* sticky situation, to be sure.

I think I would just hope for the best for my wife and protect the children at all costs. Any attempt to signal her with either headlights or horns would probably spook the robbers more than they already are and lead to snap decisions and unnecessary (not that violence with their motivations is ever necessary) violence on their part.

Depending on how far away from the entrance to the store I was parked, I might move my vehicle farther away from the entrance, but still within visual contact with the entrance, as well as maximum visibility through the windows (assuming this is a convenience store, etc.) If I was parked close to the entrance (a high probability), I would sit tight, try to remain hidden, but draw my weapon at this point, as they then have apparent easy targets of opportunity, both in the vehicle itself, and my children and me inside.

Turn off headlights, foot off the brake pedal, lock the doors, take the keys out of the ignition, etc., and stay low. Pray that my wife has the wits about her to hide somewhere, since more than likely the perps would be making a beeline for the cash drawer, etc. Hope that the cashier is armed. Listen and watch for any major commotion inside the store and, when/if the robbers exit, remain as hidden as possible while seeing the direction they last took off in, vehicle make/model/tag number if they're not on foot, and relay this information to the dispatcher.

After I was reasonably sure they were out of sight, but not quite out of mind, I would then probably shout for my wife and whoever else from the front door of the establishment while waiting for the police and still keeping an eye on my vehicle, children, and surroundings. Sure, two people went in with masks, but who's to say there wasn't one or two more already in the store placing a phone call to their buddies outside saying the coast was mostly clear? When the police arrive, I would promptly place my weapon on the ground until given due time to explain that I am a witness and explain and show my CCW permit and the situation.

Ideally, though, my wife would have exited the building post-haste at the beginning of the event, wherein I would have picked her up and driven a few miles away to relative safety, leave my number with dispatch and have them call me after police were on-scene so I could return and give my report. Until then, aside from making yourself a target, there's not much you can do without leaving your children open to attacks from either the perps in the store, or anyone else nearby if you tell them to run (assuming they're old enough to run).

[Sheldon J]

. You call your spouses cell phone only to find they have left it in the car with you.

Sounds like my wife, she never has her cell on or with her. Meanwhile I just trust that her .357 with laser grips is close at hand and she is paying attention.

[retsupt99]

in her purse...not always turned on, but that's another story.
For me, I take the kids and the car further from the entrance. My wife has a weapon, but would know enough to stay alert and be a good witness. She would probably move to back of the store, or out the front door if possible.
She would do the same...if she were in the car while I went inside, and whoever was in the car would be calling 911 while scoping out the parking lot...
For the sake of the scenario and 'input of my age'...they would be grandkids...

Stay alert...stay safe!

ret

[bae]

Your spouse, who does not carry, needs to run into a store.

I would find a different spouse, frankly :-)

[Nate]

I do have one more thing to add: This rings close to heart with me, as my wife is a rather anti-gun person (actually factored heavily in some very heated arguments before we got married; she's since accepted the fact that I keep a firearm in the house), so hopefully one of these days I can convince her otherwise. She doesn't even carry the mace I bought for her, as she's afraid she's going to spray herself instead of the BG. I've given her knives that get buried underneath car keys, compacts, and cell phones (if anything, she at least ALWAYS has her phone on her). I really need to sit her down and go over some basic self-defense practices, or perhaps talk her into taking a women-centric protection course.

Excellent thought-provoking scenario, Purple. Really opened my eyes.

[rocky]

Not much ya can do, make some space, watch the kids , call 911. Gettting into it with BG's would endanger your kids or leave em helpless at best.

[produman]

Gotta get some space between my car and the front doors. Call 911. I would have my gun out and ready just in case the BG's come my way. God help them if they get near my kids..

[walther1]

As for the car with two kids in it, I guess that would be a rather difficult situation to explain to my wife if she came back out, because we don't have kids! (Dancing banana, oh yeah!)

Now as for what to do, I would do one of two things:

1.) Drive the car through the front of the store and pull out my AK47 and kill everyone inside...kinda like Rambo, but without the bandana!

OR

2.) Call the police and let them handle it. If I went in with my gun, I would only be escalating the situation.

I am leaning towards 2, but in all honesty option 1 popped into my mind, that is why I put it down.

P.S. I am just kidding on option 1. I don't even own an AK.

[peacefuljeffrey]

in her purse...not always turned on, but that's another story.
For me, I take the kids and the car further from the entrance. My wife has a weapon, but would know enough to stay alert and be a good witness. She would probably move to back of the store, or out the front door if possible.

There is the very real possibility that she and others inside the store would be herded together and forced to give up valuables (jewelry, watches, phones, watches) and possibly searched. So it is possible that any weapon or weapons the wife has with her may be discovered, unless she has managed to escape notice and hide.

[Rob72]

My inclination would be to stop it before it got into the store.

Lock & shut the car, as I step out. Step onto the walk in front of the store with weapon out, and give them a "Hey"(placing myself offline from the car, as close to the wall of the store as possible). If they do anything other than run, they have a very bad day.

If they go into the store, you would basically have to go in with the intent of killing them on sight, regardless of what they are doing, otherwise you'll only be initiating their fire.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Rob, I'm sympathetic to that course because it is proactive and takes the fight to the bad guys, BUT, you have to acknowledge that doing so will get you painted as a vigilante, particularly if you end up killing one or both of them.

The defense, obviously, would be, "I made them, and saw that they were about to enter with weapons to rob a store where my wife was shopping unaware. I probably saved several lives, in addition to removing violent criminals from society's midst."

(That last part, while laudible, would be seized upon by the soft-on-criminals media, to be sure. They'll start calling you 'judge, jury and executioner,'" etc.)

The sad fact is that if you're anything other than a cop and you give criminals a hard time, especially in public (as opposed to in the home) you will be given a hard time.