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63 year old healthy female, had been out shopping and paying with large denomination bills she pulled from a bank envelope.
Gets home just after dark, parks car in the back yard and carries groceries to the back door. Hears someone running up to her but figures it is a neighborhood kid.
Turns and sees a thug pointing a gun at her saying "I'll shoot you, give me the purse!" and acting very nervous. She instinctively drew back her purse. He grabbed the purse and clocked her on the head with the gun. She released the purse and he ran away.
She said it had been her intention to fight the thug but she didn't anticipate getting her clock cleaned and blood flowing everywhere. She could not remember if any one followed her home. She lost her cell, about $1,000 cash, credit cards, and a flash drive with her entire lesson plan (she is a teacher).
And of course she said she never imagined being assaulted in a suburban small town area, in her own yard. Also note her husband is an attorney in private practice, but years ago he did public defender work. They are aware of the realities of crime. The Sheriff's Dept has a scent dog out there now trying to get a track in case he didn't go back to a car.
Between us all we figured the guy must have had an accomplice stop the car in the street long enough for the BG to run up on her, then he ran back for the getaway. This was a country road just out of town with 2 side streets nearby and a lot of vehicle traffic. More bold would have been for him to be acting alone and park his own car in the driveway. Since he was armed and ended up pulling this robbery, it would seem that it was to some extent premeditated. The only other option we could figure was that someone was lying in wait for the attorney but attacked the wife as a target of opportunity.
EDIT TO ADD: AS I TYPE THIS ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER THE INCIDENT, A CALL JUST WENT OUT A FEW HOUSES DOWN FOR SHOTS FIRED!!!
So what can we learn from my patient's experiences?
1. Be very cautious with flashing cash around.
2. Be aware of who is around you, and if they are watching you.
3. Check 6 before leading someone to your home.
4. Never let your guard down when doing things that are routine.
5. If you become aware of something unusual, don't assign a non-threatening explanation. Move to identify it, and counter the threat.
6. You might think you know how an assault will go down, but it will not follow your plan.
7. Be prepared to adapt and overcome.
8. Minimize your time of exposure to assault.
9. Have one or more weapons and be prepared to use them.
10. Know your limitations. Are you trained, and physically and mentally capable of fighting an armed man for your property.
11. Dimly lit back doors are no match for well lit front doors.
Anything else?
Gets home just after dark, parks car in the back yard and carries groceries to the back door. Hears someone running up to her but figures it is a neighborhood kid.
Turns and sees a thug pointing a gun at her saying "I'll shoot you, give me the purse!" and acting very nervous. She instinctively drew back her purse. He grabbed the purse and clocked her on the head with the gun. She released the purse and he ran away.
She said it had been her intention to fight the thug but she didn't anticipate getting her clock cleaned and blood flowing everywhere. She could not remember if any one followed her home. She lost her cell, about $1,000 cash, credit cards, and a flash drive with her entire lesson plan (she is a teacher).
And of course she said she never imagined being assaulted in a suburban small town area, in her own yard. Also note her husband is an attorney in private practice, but years ago he did public defender work. They are aware of the realities of crime. The Sheriff's Dept has a scent dog out there now trying to get a track in case he didn't go back to a car.
Between us all we figured the guy must have had an accomplice stop the car in the street long enough for the BG to run up on her, then he ran back for the getaway. This was a country road just out of town with 2 side streets nearby and a lot of vehicle traffic. More bold would have been for him to be acting alone and park his own car in the driveway. Since he was armed and ended up pulling this robbery, it would seem that it was to some extent premeditated. The only other option we could figure was that someone was lying in wait for the attorney but attacked the wife as a target of opportunity.
EDIT TO ADD: AS I TYPE THIS ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER THE INCIDENT, A CALL JUST WENT OUT A FEW HOUSES DOWN FOR SHOTS FIRED!!!
So what can we learn from my patient's experiences?
1. Be very cautious with flashing cash around.
2. Be aware of who is around you, and if they are watching you.
3. Check 6 before leading someone to your home.
4. Never let your guard down when doing things that are routine.
5. If you become aware of something unusual, don't assign a non-threatening explanation. Move to identify it, and counter the threat.
6. You might think you know how an assault will go down, but it will not follow your plan.
7. Be prepared to adapt and overcome.
8. Minimize your time of exposure to assault.
9. Have one or more weapons and be prepared to use them.
10. Know your limitations. Are you trained, and physically and mentally capable of fighting an armed man for your property.
11. Dimly lit back doors are no match for well lit front doors.
Anything else?
