Mugged! What would you do?

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knifedaddy84

Joined
Oct 8, 2002
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Two months ago a colleague of mine, "Dave" was mugged in Central Park. Three thugs approached him from three different directions and in a flash one of them had a pistol drawn. They threw him to the ground, tied his wrists behind his back with a cord while keeping the gun on his head. They took his wallet and cell phone (but didn't take his expensive watch). Then they vanished, Dave freed himself and went home.

Dave has an unlicensed pistol in his apartment (in NYC it's automatically unlicensed unless you are rich and famous) but doesn't want to get caught carrying it. He said he was glad he didn't have the gun on him as he would have lost that too. He said that if he had had the gun, or a knife, and went for it, he would have been shot. They were on him too quickly, like a pack of wolves.

What would you do if caught in this situation?
 
The same thing your friend did. :(

The only thing that can save you from something like this is situational awareness. It is unwise to walk around Central Park alone; especially at night.

n2s
 
Exactly what your buddy did. Let 'em take my stuff. I have a wife and kids, and I like being a husband and daddy. There isn't any material possession worth being shot over.

Either that or muster my finest Mall-Ninja skills and perform the spinning tiger claw thereby knocking all three assailants out simultaneously. :D
 
Ahhhhhh, the spinning tiger claw is good! But, you should have performed the flaming aardvark kick...much more effective.
Matt
 
Originally posted by Elvislives
Either that or muster my finest Mall-Ninja skills and perform the spinning tiger claw thereby knocking all three assailants out simultaneously. :D
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Gimme a couple of kerambits and I'll take FIVE guys down!:D

Nah, for real, sometimes not look at their faces and give them whatever they ask without making fast moves is a very nice strategy for keeping your life.

Then you go home and start cursing and ask yourself all kind of "what if...?" kinda things, but if you really know how things work in RL, you'll end up thinking that was the smarter move considering the scenario.

Just MO

NsB
 
If they were on me that fast, and one of them had a gun, I would have done the same damn thing. :mad:

Edited to remove the testosterone driven BS from post - 95% in other words. :rolleyes:
 
Don't think 97% of us REALLY know what we'd do confronted with that nasty situation.

Sitting here pontificating the matter, I feel that I'd most likely do something absolutely insipid and get myself killed.

Not that my wallet, keys or anything else material means that much to me- they don't, but the thought of absolutely relinquishing control of my body is one of the things in the world that absolutely terrifies me to no end. Thusly I'd rather die with a couple bullets in my gut than even REMOTELY take a chance of what could happen otherwise.

Sitting here in my quiet lil' office in my cozy log home in my peaceful suburban town that's what I think. Not to say that it is not entirely possible I could find myself trussed up with urine and feces stains on my undies, blubbering like a baby with nothing in my pockets.

Hope none of us ever have occassion to find out for sure.
 
I'd toss my attack-cat, June-Bug, at 'em, and let her claw the livin' shyt out of 'em.:D.

Honestly, when there is a gun pointed at you by some desperate character(s) there's nothing you CAN do but to follow their instructions and hope that you make it home alive.
 
There is such a thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Any reasonable person would do exactly what your friend did.
He would also be thankful for the outcome ad make sure he was never in that position again.
But, although it could happen to anybody don't these big city living/ self preservation type speakers preach of not letting yourself get into them situations in the first place?
 
I was the night cashier at an auto parts store, on this particular night, I locked the doors 10 minutes early as usual, and was just pulling out my till from the register and go upstairs to count out. from the direction of the shop door someone said something to me, I raised my head up to answer what I thought was a customer and my eyes came up to meet a 12 gauge sawed off shotgun pointed directly at my head, looking at it I experienced a feeling that is beyond terror, and fear that will never be forgotten. A second man came in with what looked at the time to be a 9mm semi auto pistol (afterwards found out it was a 9mm airgun. I picked up my till and shoved it at them as I said please go ahead and take it, but of course thry wanted more and the shotgunner grabbed my arm and with the shotgun pointed upwards into my face as he lead me around the corner towards the back of the store. They grabbed the manager and locked the rest of us in the mens bathroom. After 20 minutes I said they have to be gone now and I can't hear them either, we need to call the police. And do you think any one of the three men in their with me had the balls to open the door and check, oh hell no, me a girl had more balls and opened the door and walked over and called 911. all three of them abandoned me in the store while I was talking with 911 dispatcher, she told me when to exit and I felt a tremendous amount of relief, that I was finally able to go out and be safe with police. I turned that corner and opened the front door , expecting safety instead I was greeted by 20+ police officers that had their guns drawn and were pointing them at me. I was put in cuffs and placed into the back of a squad car. having all those guns drawn on me WAS MORE TRAMATIC FOR ME THAN THE ROBBERY ITSELF.

Anyway I think that In most cases you do not make any attempts to do anything but cooperate.
 
I would've done exactly what you friend did...:(

Exactly why I don't carry more than $30-50 on me and nothing in my wallet is irreplacable (I used to have old HS I.D. cards in there, for example).

Warthog
 
When faced with this situation, I find it very helpful to act 'mad' & 'insane'. I'm always practicing my technique of drooling and foaming at the mouth as well as yelling strange made-up words - you'd be surprised at how scared the BG's get! (Please tell me you know I'm kidding!)

I really think your friend was wise & did everything by the book. With 3 guys and a gun pointed at you even if your friend had his gun with him, how would he know if the other 2 thugs wouldn't pull out some type of weapon? Nope, Dave definitely did the right thing in this situation and I hope if faced with this type of attack, I would have enough sense to follow Dave's lead & hope these guy's only were interested in robbery!
 
Given the circumstances as you've described them, your friend did the only sensible thing. You didn't say but, if it wasn't night or if it was & a scheduled event was taking place, I have no criticism. Otherwise, I agree with TomW. To paraphrase an early catechism lesson, it's important to "avoid the near occasions of crime".
 
Yup. If I was caught with a wolfpack I'd give them everything and that's it.
It may be time for him to get a bulletproof vest if he's still somewhat scared about it. It might not guard against headshot, but it may help him to calm down a bit in those situations......
 
when there is a gun pointed at you by some desperate character(s) there's nothing you CAN do but to follow their instructions and hope that you make it home alive.
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Well, I don't agree that a gun is some sort of trump card.

But, in this case, three-on-one is really tough. The basic technique in that case is to keep one between you and the other two. But, when they're coming from different angles, you can't do that.

Basically, these guys are pros. That's good news and bad. It's bad news because it means these guys have done this a hundred times before. They've got it down to a drill. You're unlikely to be able defeat such a skillfully executed attack. But, the good news is that this is how these guys make their living. And, like all pros, safety on the job is priority for them. They really don't want to injure much less kill the victim. Another poor guy getting his wallet pinched doesn't grab the headlines or attract much police attention. But a shooting? Now that's a different matter. So, these guys really do want to keep things low-key. You can't take this to the bank, but chances are good that the gun wasn't even loaded. Again, the last thing these guys want is someone getting shot.

There is one other possibility. These guys are pros, but professional muggers don't get employee benefits. They don't have Blue Cross. And they live in a world where the strong eat the weak. Right now, they're strong and they're the one's doing the eating. But a single knife wound could change that. Even if it's not fatal, with no medical care, even a simple wound can demote you from strong to weak, from predator to prey. So, in a case like this, it is possible that if you make it clear that you're not going to be an easy victim, that one of them might get hurt, they might decide to retreat and wait for an easier target. Remember, these guys are not out to attack you personally. They're out to get some money, your money or the next guy's. If you make it clear that your money will be difficult and risky to take, they may decide to wait for the next guy. It's a risky gamble on your part, though, to try something like this.
 
Theres not much you can do in a situation like that. It comes down to the fact that even if he had a gun or knife or heat seeking missle launcher hes a civilian. Just like most of us. We walk around somewhat alert most of us with a weapon that can be deployed very quickly. But those 3 were out looking to get someone weapons drawn already ready. Thats just the way it works.
 
I would pounce on one foot and perform the "Dragon's Kiss" routine thereby rendering all three victims helpless in a matter of seconds. EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, your friend did the right thing. You can only counter-attack if you have time and skill and your name is "Batman", or "Rambo", or "Bruce Lee" etc.:mad:

Muggings, hijackings and robberies (especially cash-in-transit heists), are the order of the day here in Johannesburg. It is like the Wild West used to be I am sure. We are so desensitised it isn't funny.
 
Give up control, do what the BG's tell you to do and pray to G-d they don't decide to kill you anyway???

Are you all kidding?

Didn't that happen on Sept. 11 for three out of four of the hyjacked planes? They gave up, played good little victim and got themselves killed.(Atleast the people on the fourth plane fought and prevented other people from getting killed).

You are likely to be killed anyway. You want to die cowering on the ground begging for mercy while giving some scumbags everything you own? That's it?

Not for me. They are welcome to TRY to take my wallet. They might even take it. But they'll bleed for it.
 
The way you described it happening, I would have done exactly the same :( ... then, like Tracer-san said, at home, I guess I would have started cursing and playing what-ifs, finally rationalizing that it was the smarter move. Sometimes you just have (or let yourself be dealt) bad cards, and you have to make the most of them.
 
Originally posted by Emanuel
Give up control, do what the BG's tell you to do and pray to G-d they don't decide to kill you anyway???

Are you all kidding?

Didn't that happen on Sept. 11 for three out of four of the hyjacked planes? They gave up, played good little victim and got themselves killed.(Atleast the people on the fourth plane fought and prevented other people from getting killed).

You are likely to be killed anyway. You want to die cowering on the ground begging for mercy while giving some scumbags everything you own? That's it?

Not for me. They are welcome to TRY to take my wallet. They might even take it. But they'll bleed for it.
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All I can say to this, is what BOTH my father and my grandfather told me when I left for the Army. "Your head is bigger and harder than your balls, and the gravyards are full of hero's." This sage advise comes from a 30yr veteran of WW-I, and WW-II, and a 32yr veteran of WW-II, Korea, and Viet-Nam, each of whom survived to return home, collect their pentions, raise their children, and die peasefully in thier own beds. Sounds like a hell of a good plan to me!
JDBraddy
 
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