So, I had a gun pulled on me this weekend.

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

It was great. If it has never happened to you, I highly recommend it… :thud:
I’m kidding of course. It was not fun.

This is how it went down. On Saturday, I was hanging with a friend of mine. He lives in Dorchester, which is not the safest city in the Boston area. We were just chilling out, having a couple beers at his house when we decided to go to the bar down the street.

So we went down to the bar, which was pretty packed, and proceeded to keep drinking. We had a couple shots each and plenty of beer. After a while we were both pretty shitfaced.

Then my buddy starts hitting on this girl at the bar. She was really cute too. I was just sitting back at the bar, letting him do his thing and I noticed this dude giving my boy dirty looks. But I didn’t think too much of it. The girl says she’s going to go use the bathroom, and my friend decided to go have a cigarette. I went with him because I like to have a cigarette when I’m hammered.

So we’re outside talking, smoking butts, when these three thug looking kids come outside, one of which was the guy giving my friend looks. They come up to us and are like, “Why you hitting on my girl? Yeah, why you hittin on his girl for? You want us to mess you up? What the fuck? Etc…” We were all drunk, so we started arguing. My friend was like, “If she’s your girl, why did she look like she wanted my dick?” It got ugly quick. Everyone was yelling. I figured we were just going to get into a fight. And I was ready for it too. But then one of the kids pulls out a pistol from his waistband.

He just stood there with the gun by his side, staring at us. It got real quiet, and everyone just stood there in silence, waiting for something to happen. I don’t know how long we stood there. It seemed like a long time, but it was most likely only about 30 seconds. It was seriously fucked. So finally, my buddy says something like, “She’s not worth getting shot over.” And we slowly walked away, watching our back the whole time.

It didn’t really hit me until we got back to his house. We both sat down and were in shock for a few minutes like, Did that really just happen? So we got really really baked to calm ourselves down.

All in all, not a very good night.

2

Yeouch, good to hear you guys came out of it ok.

3

Thanks.

The craziest part about it was that I didn’t feel scared at the time. When the kid pulled out his gun, this weird calm came over me. It was probably the adrenaline.

It was later on that I sat shaking going, Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

4

:hahaha; that’s a great thing to say when you’re in that sort of situation.

But yeah, good thing you got out of it without getting hurt. Guns can pretty much end someones life, so it’s good that, while “pretty shitfaced”, you guys still had the smarts to walk away.

5

Yeah, guns have a way of sobering you up real quick.

6

Holy shit indeed. You’re lucky those guys didin’t have short fuses. After that comment your friend made they could’ve jumped the two of you right there.

7

I’ve been there in Boston, when I was visiting relative in Worchester.

Teaches you to get drunk and try to get girls, eh?

8

Well, we weren’t exactly trying to avoid a fight, just a shooting.

Alyx, I wasn’t even the one hitting on the girl!

9

At the risk of being repetitive, holy shit. O.O I’m glad you came out of it okay, Dave. That can be really traumatic to someone, and if the guy had been in a bad mood…yeah. At least you’re here and okay. This is some good insight on what a good gift life is.

Also, if I may borrow a quote, “I guess this is why I don’t go out.” -Will Petersen (Grissom)

10

yeah uh, re: your friend’s comment, you shouldn’t be looking for trouble in Dorchester or you’re going to find it.

11

Yeah, no shit. But we weren’t the ones looking for trouble.

12

That doesn’t make provoking someone a good idea. The chances are ludicrously good that if the police make a showing, the three guys who came after you are going to plead self defense. You’d likely all be arrested (considering what Boston is like, it’s damn near certain…)

Note that we’re only tearing you down because we can’t get to your friend :stuck_out_tongue:

Anyway, going out for that smoke was probably not the best idea. If there was a bouncer at the place, you should have pointed out the glaring dude to him (or to the proprietor), said “This guy’s been giving me/my friend hard looks, so we’re leaving; could you stall them for us?” And leave you certainly should. It’s likely that any bouncer with a head for his job or an owner with a will to preserve his business level would do you that favor.

Failing that, don’t just stay in the parking lot. Don’t stop for a smoke, don’t stick around looking for a fight, just go. If you’ve done the prep work of parking a goodly distance away (no one can get your license plate), head out of the parking space (trying to reverse out of a parking space in a stressful situation is very very hard), with your keys ready (in your hand or partly hanging out of your pocket), you should be able to get you and your friends out of there as quickly and unobtrusivley as possible should a confrontation be imminent or, in the worst case, unavoidable.

If a gun is pulled, running is a good idea in most cases. Most shootings in America take place at very close range, about seven feet. If this person is too close to flee from, though, they probably mean business and you should rush them and attack viciously. Ears are real easy to rip off, knees are easily broken by a good stomp from the side ('specially if they’re forced in against the other knee). And losing an eye to a thumb hook or a finger gouge will monkeywrench thoughts of continued struggle. The adage is, “rush a gun, run from a knife.” That is, if you stick around to balance your checkbook with them.

The knee thing, along with a good punch in the gut to take the wind out of them, are both good, immediately effective ways to hamper pursuit (as is the throwing of nearby objects or people). But of course, if this conflict is likely to go to court (read: if you haven’t done your homework), the more vicious your tactics, the less sympathetic the jury will be. And considering a cat-burglar can successfully sue a homeowner for injuries recieved by falling from their skylight, you can see why jury sympathy is a big commodity.

I wouldn’t go back there any time soon either. Keep with the updates.

13

Anyway, going out for that smoke was probably not the best idea. If there was a bouncer at the place, you should have pointed out the glaring dude to him (or to the proprietor), said “This guy’s been giving me/my friend hard looks, so we’re leaving; could you stall them for us?” And leave you certainly should. It’s likely that any bouncer with a head for his job or an owner with a will to preserve his business level would do you that favor.

Well, you can’t smoke in bars in MA, so we had to go outside for a smoke. We didn’t intend to leave, we were just having a cigarette.

Also, I didn’t think that glaring kid was a threat at the time. There’s always some dude walking around the bar acting hard. And I’m not going to leave a place just because some dude is giving dirty looks.

And there was no bouncer. It is a dive bar. No security to speak of.

Failing that, don’t just stay in the parking lot. Don’t stop for a smoke, don’t stick around looking for a fight, just go. If you’ve done the prep work of parking a goodly distance away (no one can get your license plate), head out of the parking space (trying to reverse out of a parking space in a stressful situation is very very hard), with your keys ready (in your hand or partly hanging out of your pocket), you should be able to get you and your friends out of there as quickly and unobtrusivley as possible should a confrontation be imminent or, in the worst case, unavoidable.

We weren’t in the parking lot. There is no parking lot. We were standing on the sidewalk in front of the bar. Its not like we were expecting dudes to come out trying to fight. We weren’t waiting for a fight. And we walked to the bar. (I try to avoid driving to bars.) My boy lives like 4 blocks from the bar. So there was no car to worry about.

If a gun is pulled, running is a good idea in most cases. Most shootings in America take place at very close range, about seven feet. If this person is too close to flee from, though, they probably mean business and you should rush them and attack viciously. Ears are real easy to rip off, knees are easily broken by a good stomp from the side ('specially if they’re forced in against the other knee). And losing an eye to a thumb hook or a finger gouge will monkeywrench thoughts of continued struggle. The adage is, “rush a gun, run from a knife.” That is, if you stick around to balance your checkbook with them.

I can handle myself in a fight, which is what I thought it was going to be. But all the planning in the world doesn’t prepare you for getting a gun pulled on you. It all goes out the window. Had the kid raised the gun, I probably would have ran. Or I might have charged him. Its hard to say what I would have done. But lucky for me, it didn’t come to that. We were on the sidewalk of a fairly busy street. I don’t think they planned on doing anything but scare us. If we ran, they could have chased us to a more remote location and shot us there.

I wouldn’t go back there any time soon either. Keep with the updates.

Oh, I don’t plan on it! That bar is on my list of places to avoid.

The whole thing has made me seriously consider getting a gun of my own though.

14

You can’t smoke in bars in LA either. You also can’t breathe outside of one. All in all, not smoking is the best bet. Or smoking on the way home.

Consider carrying carefully, Dave. Weapons are almost always more trouble than they’re worth. If you’re planning to do something other than walk up behind someone and kill them with it, you have to be able to deploy it very fast (I’m told less than a second is a good par time to shoot for). Concealment makes this difficult-to-impossible, and carrying openly means two things: one, increased police attention (always a hassle) and the fact that people will come after you more seriously. Being a bad motherfucker is a good way to get your brains blown out from behind by someone who didn’t want to fuck with you face-to-face; a huge bummer.

Continue developing your abilities unarmed. Those weapons are always at hand, and can be just as effective for the purposes of protecting yourself.

It’s good that you’re going to avoid the bar, but if your friend lives four blocks away, he needs to be seriously careful; he’s well within cruising range of a place you know these guys go to, perhaps frequently.

As for charging the gunman, yeah, it’s <i>tactically</i> viable, but strategically it depends largely on your friend. If you two work well together, running (that is, haul ass and leave a trail of obstacles behind you) is good, but if your friend decides to rock and roll, which thankfully he didn’t, it’s vital for his safety that you even the odds as quickly as possible. That means, of course, going after the gunman first and taking care of each opponent as quickly as possible. Meaning three blows or less. If you are faced with a group or a weapon, assume it’s life or death and adjust your prisoner-taking practices accordingly. Meaning don’t.

It’s not easy to just chase someone into a deserted area if they don’t want to go there; not without prior planning or special circumstances working for you. Also, not going into a deserted area is an okay idea.

Back to the bar. I’d hate to pull a You Should Have Seen this Coming, but if the bar is a dive with no bouncers, in a bad part of town, it should be pretty obvious what kind of clientelle they’re going to have. Violence and alcohol go hand in hand, and where there’s little enforcement, people who want to be able to get away with things will congregate. I’d be seriously nervous about an old granny giving me the hard eye in a place like that. Even moreso if I’m in Texas at the time.

I’m not accusing you of looking for a fight; I’m inclined to beleive you.

That you can handle yourself in a fistfight is good, but sort of immaterial. Not expecting someone to pull a weapon doesn’t prevent it. Being chased is also dicey, but there’s nothing for it but hanging back around a corner with a two-by-four or pulling down trashcans and dodging traffic to expedite your escape. And the former is attempted murder in the U.S. as far as I know (hell, in California, where I live, carrying a concealed knife is a felony, concealed guns are a misdemeanor, and choking attacks are attempted murder). Your mileage may vary. Check your local penal code for more details.

15

Actually, it is better to fight a gun and not run. A gun can hit you pretty easy. You can’t run faster than bullet unless you’re the Flash or Superman. Also, there are some easy ways to make handguns ineffective at close range (not stuff I’d want to try with out a lot of practice though). Like if you push on a barrel of a 9mm you can keep it from firing (not something I would really do since it is easy to counter) or you can take the barrel off fairly easily preventing it from firing. You can even eject the magzine easily to make it so that they only have one quick shot. Also, if you fight, you can either completely disarm them or make it easier to run. Also, it takes longer for you to turn and around and start running than it takes for somebody to raise a gun and pull the trigger (at such clsoe range, aiming isn’t much of an issue).

Now the situation that they were in, fighting wasn’t really an option since it was 2 of them vs. 3. Running wasn’t much of an option either for the same reason. If anything, fighting would be better though since it could create some commotion and maybe get some people to break-up the situation. Also, it wouldn’t be hard for them follow and run. I mean, unless you run a lot and have more stamina than most people, running wouldn’t get you far. The reason you run from a knife is because the knife will help the person a lot in a fight, but the person most likely won’t be able to throw it at you with much success and even if they did hit you, it probably wouldn’t cause as much damage as a gunshot wound.

I personally think that the situation ended the best possible way once the gun was pulled though.

Dave, it’s good to hear that you are ok though.

16

Don’t get a gun unless you just plan on storing it where you live. It would not have helped you in this situation since you should NEVER carry a gun while you drink alcohol anyway.

17

Wow I can see the militaries done a fine job of brain washing you. I mean do you seriously believe in the situation these guys were in that the best solution was to fight them with some Rambo style disarming tatics? Honestly unless you’ve gone through some sort of weapons self defense training and felt you were in immediate danger of being shot like having the gun directly aimed at you, instead of some drunk punk kid showing off his daddies pistol to look like a hard ass. these guys did exactly the right thing. They shut up an let the situation cool down instead of trying to escalate it further by making a lunge for his firearm.

18

Infonick is right.

19

Infonick specifically said the situation was handled the best it could be by Dave. I’m sure, for the most part, Info would agree that a peaceful solution is almost always better.

20

Kraken just reads books about fighting, he dosen’t actually fight. And I would trust what Info has to say about fighting, the guy is a Marine.