My wife's recent movie experience.....proud, but

My wife recently went to the movies with her best friend. They are scary movie junkies and I was glad for them to go get some time out for themselves. I'm studying for my LSAT exam in a month and have been confined to our study for a while now.

Upon her return from the movie she informed me of an issue she had while in the theater. It was a Wednesday night, and the 2 girls (wife and best friend) were alone in the movie theater. Approx 1.5 hours into the movie, almost to the end, a man walked in by himself wearing a hoody and a hat. The girls were in the smack dab middle of the theater, mid row and mid seat. He sat in the row behind them, and in the aisle seat. My wife told me that she immediately reached for her purse, put it in her lap, un-holstered her M&P 9c and kept her pistol concealed in the purse, in her lap, finger indexed safely but ready to go (the mere fact that she did that is a HUGE thing, she was not brought up around guns, and I have been "training" her to the best of my ability, pretty intensely for the last 6 months). She then informed me that she told her friend that she wanted to move to the back of the theater, she never took her eyes off the mysterious man in the row behind her, but she wanted to be able to see everything. Her friend told her that she didn't want to do that, and they continued watching the movie, no her friend does not carry. What she said was 10 minutes later, this man left the theater and they did not see him again.

She was pretty sketched out about the situation, but was proud of herself that she reacted in the best way she knew how to protect herself. I gave her some positive reinforcement in her actions. But I did tell her the only thing that I would have done differently was that after telling my friend that I wanted to move to the back of the theater, and having the friend deny, I would have moved my ass back there anyway. If the friend had a problem with it then so be it, but at least I would have that one extra advantage to ensure I made it back home safe.

So that's my story, feel free to add anything. I'm glad she is moving in the right direction, now I just have to get her to come practice with me more. Having the gun doesn't do her any good unless she can put multiple rounds in the right spot on command. She's actually a really good shot, I just want to work on the "shoot 'em till they're down" concept.

Sounds like she did good. And you are right, she should have went to the back anyway. But, all's well that ends well. Luckily this turned out to be a learning experience witbout incident.

Glad to hear that your wife is taking steps to protect herself. Keep up the good work!

A situation like this, but in a parking garage, is what convinced my wife to get her CCW permit and a gun. Luckily your wife was already armed and no harm done.:hand10:

I'm glad everything worked out for your wife and friend, and it looks like she is aware of her surroundings. You'll never know if the guy was up to something or just movie-grazing. If he was up to something, he likely saw your wife immediately put something on her lap. She may have been discrete it, but he could have figured it out that it was her purse. Now he's thinking uh-oh, possible gun, never mind.

If he was a BG, I'd guess he was intending to follow them out to the parking lot as they left.

Good for her!
She should have been more insistant with the friend or moved to a more distant seat herself where she could monitor the actions of her friend and "guest." Other than that, at least she's wise enough to spot potential trouble where the friend is not.

Outstanding situation awareness! Maybe she can take advantage of the situation and educate her friend about personal safety. Isn't that what friends are for?

I'm always more aware of my surroundings when I go out to catch a film. I too prefer to be in the rear because if someone wants to go out in a blaze of glory, they can very easily just pop you in the back of the head. I also watch the theater parking lots because people are still focused on the movie and they're not paying attention.

Well obviously the guy got to the theatre to early for the next show, or likes to see how it ends before he watches the whole movie. Once he saw he had time, he decided to go get himself some popcorn. :popcorn:

No, seriously I think she did fine. I don't know if I would have actually drawn the gun from the holster though. Now the trigger is not covered and a ND is more likely. I think just getting a good draw grip would have been enough in this situation. Assuming that the theatre is 40 feet wide he was at the edge of the magic danger zone since you said they were in the middle seats and he was in the aisle seat. If he decides to move closer than it time to confront him in a command force, "Sir, you are making me nervious, please do not approach me in the dark from behind!"

One thing I would double-check with her about, is if she kept her SA up when leaving the theater.

If the guy had been on a scouting trip -and it seems like he may very well have been- then there's no reason to believe he wouldn't have been waiting in the parking lot for two lone ladies to leave.

If she did keep her head up, then great!

Sounds like you found a smart one! Congrats! :thumbsup:

Should have told her friend, "We're moving to the rear of the theater", and got up. She should have also been on extra alert while leaving the show, as he could have picked them out for a meeting outside.

Sounds to me like your wife had her situational awareness going and handled it all very well.

You just never know... My wife would have done the same but certainly would have moved. Hopefully she kept up the good SA on the way out. Does your wife's friend know she carries?

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Originally Posted by claybreaker0

But I did tell her the only thing that I would have done differently was that after telling my friend that I wanted to move to the back of the theater, and having the friend deny, I would have moved my ass back there anyway. If the friend had a problem with it then so be it, but at least I would have that one extra advantage to ensure I made it back home safe.

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I'd have done the same thing, if something like that made the little hairs stand on end.

There's something about that special sense we all have that notifies us something just isn't kosher. Who walks into a film with ~20mins left, sitting right behind a group of females, then gets up and walks out 10mins later? Possibly it was nothing, perhaps even likely. But I'd want to have the benefit of seeing what's what, too. I would have headed to the back. But then, I am always back there anyway. Better viewing, IMO, and undoubtedly better visibility for the comings and goings.

she was situationallly aware, prepared, and wanted to move for tactical advantage...... good job. Now have her bing her friend over the knoggen next time and tell her , "I'm moving , if you want to go along with me come on".

Congrats to your wife.