The Writing on the Wall

How to survive an armed robbery

Having had just recently experienced an armed robbery, I thought I should write a short article explaining what one should do if you are robbed at gunpoint.

Disclaimer: This article is the oppinion of the author, who is not responsible for the actions or outcomes of any person who follows the given advice. All persons and their actions are the responsibility of the persons who performed them.

Here is what happened to me:

Wednesday night around 10:30 or 11 pm, I pulled onto the street in front of my appartment, coming home from kung fu class. Around the corner from my appartment is a karate school, who loans out their facilities to a tai chi teacher who is friendly with my kung fu teacher. His senior student, Troy -- a friend of mine -- and Britt -- an aquaintance of mine, where standing on the sidewalk across from my appartment door, about 20 feet directly across from my door and 15 feet south. I was facing the north, Britt was facing the appartments, and Troy was facing me. We had been talking for about 15-20 minutes when two black males drove south bound on the street, and stopped just behind me, jumped out. The driver, a young male about 5'10'' with blue jeans and a blue t-shirt and a short afro yelled at us something along the lines of "drop your wallet and your money"

At this point, I was engrossed in the conversation and didn't even realize that the car drove by. I heard the sound of a car door close and him talking, but didn't realize that he was talking to me. I turned to see what was going on, because two thoughts ran through my mind: 1) it was a friend of mine being funny, or 2) it was happening down the street, because it wasn't very loud. As I stepped back with my right foot and turned to see what was going on I saw that the car had stopped out and the driver was coming around the the corner of the car with a large caliber (probably .357) revolver (slightly blued) in his right hand. He was telling me he wanted my wallet, so with no hesitation, I reached in and grabbed my wallet and handed it out to him. As he got closer to me he grabbed my wallet out of my and with his left hand and continued around behind me to the other two guys. As he was walking behind me he smacked me just behind my right ear with the revolver and knocked me to my knees.

I was dazed and confused, I knew I had been hit but I wasn't sure with what or how, I also wasn't sure if he had fired the gun because it had been so loud. I stood up to my feet and stepped around to beside Troy. Meanwhile the driver/gunman was kneeling on the ground between Britt and Troy picking something up off the ground and the second man was standing beside me. He reached over and took my bag and my cell phone and then dropped my bag as they started to walk away, he picked it up and they left.

Here is what I did right: I correctly identified what was going on, robbery. I correctly figured out the tactical balance, they had at least one gun maybe two, we were trained but unarmed. I understood that you don't fight a robber, you comply. I stayed calm.

Here is what I did wrong: I was caught off guard. I handed him my wallet instead of dropping it on the ground. I let him get behind me.

Here is what I advize: First of all, preventative. Be aware of your environment so you don't have to scramble to figure out what is happening and be prepared ahead of time. Remain calm. Identify whether it is robbery or asault. With robbery, especially with a gun or knife, you always comply. Only a stupid person or an invincible person bucks a stacked deck. Next, if they ask you for your money, express your intention to cooperate, and then drop your wallet on the ground. Pretend to be nervous, or scared, it shouldn't be hard. Then always keep them in front of you. Never turn your back on your opponent. Don't be a hero, get a full description, pay attention to details. Make and model of cars, license plates, tattoos, accents, right or left handed. If they ignore the wallet on the ground and keep coming for you, then consider that they might not want the wallet anyway, they may be after you. If they attempt to harm you, then fight for your life. This is the difference between robbery and asault, with robbery you comply, and with assault you defend yourself.

On another note: Pray for the attackers, specifically that God's judgement will be brought upon them so that they may be brought to a state of repentance and saving grace. Thank you.

Posted by GodzScout at August 13, 2005 04:11 PM