[chedlin]

I have only had my CHL for a year, so I was definately unarmed. I was 21 years old and had been at work for 17 hours. I left at 2am and headed home.

As I exited the freeway my 1974 BMW lost a connecting rod bearing. It sounded like a machine gun under the hood so I promptly pulled into a gas station and the engine died. I called my autoclub for a tow to the BMW mechanic and was told it would be about 2 hours for a tow. I looked under my hood to see if it was anything loose and quickly realized that there wasn't anything I could do. I retrieved my laptop bag to enter the store when a car pulled up and a normal looking guy asked if I needed any help.

I would likely have offered other people help so I didn't think anything of it. I explained that I had already called a tow truck so thanks but no thanks. He then said "I have chains, I can give you a tow." He was in a normal sedan so this didn't sould like a normal offer. My regular mechanic's shop was about 15 miles away so I said this and declined the offer for the tow. About this time another car pulled up along the side with 3 people in it and I realized that this situation was about to go very bad.

He insisted that 15 miles wasn't too far and repeated the offer. When I declined he then said they were going to a party and invited me. I again declined. Up until this point I had not wanted to leave my vehicle unattended, but now I felt I just had to give up and get out of there. I was exhausted from work and didn't think I could get away. I then realized that I have a mag light in the car so I reached in and grabbed it and something else (I guess it is possible it was my laptop and I was mistaken when I said I already removed it). I then walked towards the store hoping they wouldn't follow.

I didn't raise my threat level fast enough. I know I could have handled it better.

I am 5'8" and I was about 150lbs at the time. I probably wouldn't have been very effective with the defense even with the flashlight.

What would you have done in that situation?

 

[rocky]

1. had the flashlight out to look at the car. 2. be aware of your surroundings. i learned the hard way once, got assaulted in a parking lot 1 night. (before CCW). Turned out alright , mostly because training kicked in and I got in a defensive posture quickly.

 

[Scott]

First off welcome to the forum.

You were unharmed and are here to tell us about it. So you did alright. Like Rocky said, the only thing different would be to have the light out from the get go. Otherwise I don't know if you stopped to talk to these folks or not, but keep moving. It breaks contact and forces them to pursue if they really want you. Basically, get inside the store as quickly as possible. :theyareontome:

-Scott-

 

[PgSqlQuery]

*whew* I'm not the only one :redface:

I had a similar experience some time back (10-12 years ago, I think), where the BG got as far as "I've got a gun, GET IN THE CAR" Before I realised what was going on.

That's a heck of a scary circumstance to be in. Especially tottally unarmed.

I ended up calling his bluff, and I'm pretty sure I covered the 3/4 mile back to my house in about 15s :embarassed:

To this day, IDK if he was bluffing or not, I never looked back, he never shot at me. I am pretty sure, however, that I wouldn't be here today, had I gotten in.

It was the strangest thing tho, in hindsight, how he progressed. "Where are you headed, bud?" "I can give you a ride" "No, seriously, I'm cool bro, lemme give you a ride" "Hey, we can stop by this party" "C'mon man, I'm not gonna hurt you", Then... "GET IN THE *Explative* CAR, I'VE GOT A GUN!" :gah:

I always thought I'd just be able to 'tell' up until then. I think a lotta people just assume they'll "just know", somehow, magically in advance....

 

[fitznig]

wow thats kinda scary!
I would have declined all the offers like you did, but I would try to get out of sight of my car for the most part, so people passing by don't see me, and just keep an eye on my car in the far distance, while I remain in safety!