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Pulled my gun this morning. This is why I OC.

greengum

greengum

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
330
Location
Henderson, Nevada, USA
I may not have done everything perfect but the juices were flowing. This happened on the corner of Wigwam and Pecos right down the street from my house at about 2:45 AM.


This happened about 20 minutes ago. I left with my dog Clover to get a pack of smokes from the local terrible's I go to almost every day. I know all the clerks there and usually B.S. with them a little when it is really late. As I pull up and get out I notice an older 80's model caddy turn on to Eastern out of the parking lot then stop and reverse back to the driveway. I thought it was kind of weird but hey this is Vegas. I walk in and notice there is no clerk. I say "hello?" then I heard a muffled cry. I go to the counter and see the female clerk on the ground shaking. She say's I'm being robbed and he has a gun......

Now my brain goes into hyper mode. I ask her where he is. She knows me very well and knows that I OC every time I go there. She said that he just left. I look out the door to see that older caddy in reverse again coming towards the door. I took a defensive position behind the corner of the counter with my hand on my gun. She just dialed 911. The caddy pulls right up to the door like literally 2 feet from it and a guy comes out. The first thing that comes to my mind is maybe the armed thief is coming back. I un-holster about half way.

The man enters holding a cell phone saying he has called 911 and got a look at the guy. WHEWWWWW. I re-holstered my .38 Turns out he saw the guy and followed him up the street a little and was slowly making his way back while on the phone with the police. We waited till the cops showed up and the first thing I did I announce I was armed and that I was only a witness with my arms crossed in front of me. The cop went inside then came back out and asked if I would mind putting my gun in the car as 2 more HPD units were pulling up. I did, I really didn't want to get into gun rights at that moment. Finished making a statement then went back home.

I was like 30 seconds from having an encounter with an armed robber. $#@! wow.
 
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paintsnow

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
132
Location
Las Vegas
Glad that you missed him!

And i understand that your adrenalin was flowing, and if asked to do the same thing i probably would have done exactly as you and put the firearm in my vehicle. But from my comfy chair just thinking about it, a good response i might use would be to ask if im required to, since i really hate unholstering when not necessary due to more chances of a ND.

Again, not trying to criticize, that just made me think about the situation, never really considered running into a cop who would tell me to leave my firearm in my vehicle. Business owners yes, just never thought about police asking you that.
 
flagellum

flagellum

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
384
Location
North Las Vegas, NV
Wow, that's crazy! Glad you and the clerk are ok. Definately a smart move to stay with the clerk and take a defensive position. Though I figure now you may want to upgrade from your little snubby.
 
Sabotage70

Sabotage70

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
844
Location
Fabulous Las Vegas, NV, ,
greengum said:
I may not have done everything perfect but the juices were flowing. This happened on the corner of Wigwam and Pecos right down the street from my house at about 2:45 AM.


This happened about 20 minutes ago. I left with my dog Clover to get a pack of smokes from the local terrible's I go to almost every day. I know all the clerks there and usually B.S. with them a little when it is really late. As I pull up and get out I notice an older 80's model caddy turn on to Eastern out of the parking lot then stop and reverse back to the driveway. I thought it was kind of weird but hey this is Vegas. I walk in and notice there is no clerk. I say "hello?" then I heard a muffled cry. I go to the counter and see the female clerk on the ground shaking. She say's I'm being robbed and he has a gun......

Now my brain goes into hyper mode. I ask her where he is. She knows me very well and knows that I OC every time I go there. She said that he just left. I look out the door to see that older caddy in reverse again coming towards the door. I took a defensive position behind the corner of the counter with my hand on my gun. She just dialed 911. The caddy pulls right up to the door like literally 2 feet from it and a guy comes out. The first thing that comes to my mind is maybe the armed thief is coming back. I un-holster about half way.

The man enters holding a cell phone saying he has called 911 and got a look at the guy. WHEWWWWW. I re-holstered my .38 Turns out he saw the guy and followed him up the street a little and was slowly making his way back while on the phone with the police. We waited till the cops showed up and the first thing I did I announce I was armed and that I was only a witness with my arms crossed in front of me. The cop went inside then came back out and asked if I would mind putting my gun in the car as 2 more HPD units were pulling up. I did, I really didn't want to get into gun rights at that moment. Finished making a statement then went back home.

I was like 30 seconds from having an encounter with an armed robber. $#@! wow.
Click to expand...

What size shirt do you wear. That way I can get one that says "trouble finds me."
 
G

GoDSpeeD

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
217
Location
Las Vegas, ,
Stuff happen

Wow, interesting story.. The fact that you frequent this place sounds like the clerks must have trusted you!
I think you did what had to be done.... Simple as that. +1 for the good guys (by that I mean us OC guys)
Trouble certainly does find you greengum

GoDSpeeD
 
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paintsnow

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
132
Location
Las Vegas
Sabotage70 said:
What size shirt do you wear. That way I can get one that says "trouble finds me."
Click to expand...

amazing how this conversation occurred just a couple hours before the incident. Maybe you need to wear a warning sigh, or just fill your wardrobe with shirts of different styles and colors that ALL say "Trouble finds me"
 
G

Gordie

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2008
Messages
716
Location
, Nevada, USA
Good job. I'm sure that the clerk was glad to see an armed person that they knew to be on their side and could be trusted. I would bet that they tell people about the "gun guy" who is a regular customer and was willing to come to their rescue.

Also, considering the excitement level at the moment, and the fact that LE can get a little nervous when responding to armed criminal action, I think you did the right thing to just comply with LE's request to disarm. It seems as though he was resectful with his request, and probably just didn't want to deal with any confusion.

Overall, it would appear to be a good example of an OCer being just an average guy who can make a difference. Good encounter on your part with the public and the police.

Somehow I bet that it doesn't make the nightly news though. Oh well, we know about it.
 
D

DVC

Regular Member
Joined
May 12, 2010
Messages
1,185
Location
City? Who wants to live in a CITY?, Nevada, USA
greengum said:
I may not have done everything perfect but the juices were flowing.
Click to expand...

Well, lessee . . .you were carrying, and in Condition Yellow (aware of your surroundings).

You didn't go running out of the store to track down the robber.

You took a defensive position when you thought the perp was coming back.

You told the cops that you were carrying, then did what you were told.

The only two things that I would have done any differently was that I would not have half-cleared, and how you handled being told to put the pistol in the car. I would have looked at the guy's hands and then drawn or not, and I would have asked the cop to come to the car with me so that his backup wouldn't freak when they saw me unholster to put the pistol in the car. Neither of those two things really matters, so I would have to say that what you did was close enough to perfect that we could put it in the textbook.

BTW, did they catch the guy?
 
2

28kfps

Guest
Wow! I have been carrying for over 16 years and never had to put my hand on my firearm. However, there have been several times I was glad I had it. It is my plans hopefully, never have to put my hand on it for defense. However if needed I have it. So glad it worked out the way it did. I agree with you that it was not a good time to discuss gun rights. The wrong decision at that point could have created a huge black eye for open carry that could have started a negative media frenzy in light of the CostCo issue. We may not see in the media, an open carry person should be commended for actions during an armed robbery. Is a lot better than saying, a person carrying a legal gun once again created havoc for local law enforcement. At my place of employment we have a saying it takes thousands of atta-boys to wipe out one awa $h1t. Hope they catch the low lives.
 
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odesskiy

Regular Member
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
51
Location
Henderson, Nevada, USA
Sheesh...that's why I try to avoid stop-'n-robs after dark. Glad you came out ok, man. Would've sucked ass to walk in on a robbery in progress, especially with that little peashooter you're carrying around! :D
 
Nevada carrier

Nevada carrier

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2010
Messages
1,293
Location
The Epicenter of Freedom
There have been many an occasion where I feel as if having my weapon in plain sight kept me out of a situation where I would wish I had one to draw had I not been armed. I firmly believe that self preservation motivates criminals to select unarmed targets. This includes targets whom appear to be unarmed who hide their firearm from view.
 
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drdcup

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May 8, 2010
Messages
53
Location
, ,
Greengum I think you did well. If you think it is a good idea maybe approach the employees soon with some sensible information about carrying firearms and their 2nd amendment right.
 
2

28kfps

Guest
Nevada carrier said:
There have been many an occasion where I feel as if having my weapon in plain sight kept me out of a situation where I would wish I had one to draw had I not been armed. I firmly believe that self preservation motivates criminals to select unarmed targets. This includes targets whom appear to be unarmed who hide their firearm from view.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on the victim seekers being motivated by self-preservation hopping for the easiest of targets. Open carry takes all the guesswork out of what kind of victim a carry person is.
 
greengum

greengum

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Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
330
Location
Henderson, Nevada, USA
Update

Suspect is still at large. The woman who was working will likely not be coming back because of the stress. She worked graveyard because of a special needs family member she takes care of. I spoke to the other people who work there and they confirmed from watching the video that I entered about 30-60 seconds after the thief left. The other person who works graveyard was robbed like 10 days ago at gunpoint. I asked them all if they would consider carrying and they all said no. Reasons included were along the lines of "well if I had a gun I would have to pull it out when he already has one pointed at me".
 
flagellum

flagellum

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
384
Location
North Las Vegas, NV
I would much rather carry, but I can see their reasoning. You can't really draw a gun while one is pointed at you. The best time to draw and fire would be after then thug has made a break for the door, but unfortunately you're not allowed to shoot them at that point. Though of course if a gun fight was inevitable, I would sure like to be the guy with the bigger gun. Perhaps what they should consider that if they are carrying concealed or have one hidden, they do not HAVE to draw it. They can act the same way they would unarmed, but they would stil have that ace up thier sleeve in case they needed it.
 
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drdcup

Regular Member
Joined
May 8, 2010
Messages
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Location
, ,
Pistol Pete Utah said:
I know Vegas never sleeps, but I never go to the Store after 11 pm. Nothing good is going on after 12am, IMHO. Just sayin'
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I agree, going to certain places very late if there is no pressing need is unneccesary. I had to go out one night in a good part of town 2am to fix someone's flat. I made sure to carry something even in a good part of town. During the day it seems the high crime spots are banks. Every week in the mail there is usually now a picture of a wanted bank robber in the free newspaper.
 
Sabotage70

Sabotage70

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Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
844
Location
Fabulous Las Vegas, NV, ,
Pistol Pete Utah said:
I know Vegas never sleeps, but I never go to the Store after 11 pm. Nothing good is going on after 12am, IMHO. Just sayin'
Click to expand...

That's why we carry guns. ;)

Vegas is A LOT different than Utah. I lived just outside of St. George for almost 2 years, a few years back. And that town shuts down at 9pm. There's not much of anything happening after that.
 
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DVC

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City? Who wants to live in a CITY?, Nevada, USA
flagellum said:
I would much rather carry, but I can see their reasoning. You can't really draw a gun while one is pointed at you.
Click to expand...

You if it is completely unexpected. The criminal thinks he's in control, and it takes him a couple of seconds to lose that impression and react.

If I had a convenience store, there would be a pistol in the freezer, concealed and hung on the wall. If a robber told me to get into the freezer, I lean on the door frame and MY RIGHT HAND GOES OUT OF HIS SIGHT. I'm the only one who knows that I'm about to draw and fire. While he is still processing the sudden change, I will be processing a change of status from victim to victor.
 
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