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Good friend of mine and college roommate from years ago was down in Ft lauderdale, FL recently where he went through the scare of his life. I don’t have all exact details as i didn’t want to interrogate him but he gave me good idea how it happened.
Basically he left meeting with potential buyers late close to 10pm (buys/sells commercial property), had setup night out with wife, kids had sitter and she was meeting him to eat, he stops by ATM before meeting wife, he said it was a well light high traffic area in a shopping center, gets off to ATM , there where no ppl waiting or other cars around, pops in his ATM card and within 20-30sec a car drives in, 2 men get out and immediately 1 puts gun behind head other stands to his side, told him take out all the money he had off atm, i think max was 500, after he gives them money they told him walk to his car they ask for his keys and tell him get in the trunk of his car, he starts pleading with them and telling them to take anything they want and leave, they continue to tell him get in trunk with more pressure, he instinctively started thinking he had to do something and pushed one of the guys that was in front of him and started running, they get him quickly and hit him with gun couple of times, he must of gone out cold, after this it’s basically what he assumes happens and police report. After 1hr40min or so they find his car with keys still on and him in the trunk barely conscious in the parking of a u-storeit place. The cops told him they where driving around for at least an 1hr with him in trunk as they have images of the cars from CCTV of a couple of nearby businesses up to 1hr after ATM. He suffered serious concussion, some damage to one eye and broken rib. They still haven’t catched these pieces of s**t but sure they will eventually.
Now to say he is grateful for his life is an understatement, he told me during the ordeal he constantly kept thinking about his 4 kids and how he didn’t want them to see him dead, his is a different man now. He knows i train in Krav and asked me about training, i pointed him to the locations page and has checked out a few already, also applying for gun permit i believe.
After him telling me this, I have more focus than before when training and wish even more we had gun defense training available, even seminars in Florida or even Southeast US…. 🙁 Train hard and don’t forget why.
Re: Why train.?
the sad thing is if they catch them, they (if they were in Charlotte anyway) would plea out for simple assault, maybe get some probation and back on the street.
i am glad your friend wasnt seriously hurt.
Re: Why train.?
Scary stuff – I can imagine he feels lucky it didn’t end worse than it did.
The KM thought is to comply in an armed robbery situation, unless it seems your life (or others) depends on it (eg: someone just got shot) – since once on initiates a gun disarm, a whole pandora’s box opens & the assailant is going to be fighting for their life too.
In this story the part where they wanted him to get in the trunk is a huge red flag moment as the scenario changes from robbery/leave the scene , into something else. Who knows what their intentions were. As I understand it the thought is to avoid at all costs going to a secondary location with assailants since then it will be a place of their choosing & they will have 100% control to perform whatever it is they have on their mind.
I would add – if your friend finds that after the passage of time, they are still troubled by the incident and feel powerful effects of images, thoughts and emotions related to the ordeal – undertaking EMDR sessions with a trained practitioner can make a rapid and big difference in reducing the impact of disturbing memories and any resulting emotions they may evoke.
The thought is memories from a traumatic incident get processed and stored differently so that they evoke more of an extreme reaction. With EMDR you access these memories again and one is then able to reprocess everything in such a way that it becomes ‘manageable’ and the impact is greatly reduced. Its done in a non-threatening way where the practioner brings the subject constantly back to the ‘now’ so things never get too overwhelming. EMDR has helped numerous civilians, LE, military & public safety personnel deal with the effects of a traumatic incident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMDR
Hope this helps & I wish your friend and his family all the best,
Re: Why train.?
Ain’t nobody putting me in a trunk concious…not because I’m a bad azz, but I’m more afraid of being locked in the trunk than the guys with the guns
another reason to train is to be able to run away from the attacker
Glad your buddy’s alright
Re: Why train.?
I had a man training with me for awhile. He had Cerebral Palsy yet he through himself into everything dragging one leg. He was an inspiration. I asked the question why do you train and received the following answer from him.
Apologies for the repetition here, but itís a great question and I donít have the time to wordsmith my answer. I know itís way too long (you know you like something when you can think of 17 reasons for doing it right off the top of your head).
I train because I want to be able to be there for Thomas and Jane and Cathleen while also setting a good example for them.
I train because without that, thereís no assurance I can help my darling wife with lifting heavy objects when the need arises.
I train because every single trainer Iíve met at BrandX is an inspiration for me, and thatís an enviable record for any gym to have.
I train because my kids still like to be carried sometimes.
I train because Kim said my running stride was a good one and Mikki once called me a ìblur,ì and there are some compliments that you enjoy but also feel compelled to continue making good on.
I train because I never made the cut on any varsity sports teams and was always picked last for playground games.
I train because my favorite brother-in-law (6í4î, approximately 240 lbs) found it entirely too easy to push me into a snow drift on Mount Laguna last winter.
I train because I didnít need the ten extra pounds I started CrossFit with.
I train because St. Paul said something about fighting the good fight and running the good race, and however metaphorically he may have meant such verses, those first-century fishermen and Pharisees were also tough hombres, most of them.
I train because the idea of ìfunctional strengthî appeals strongly to me.
I train because people I like and respect also train.
I train because I find that not being intimidated by bigger people is a useful kind of confidence to have.
I train because Iíve spent a lifetime being self-conscious about the way I walk and stand, and while thereís nothing I can do about a leg-length differential or mild cerebral palsy, thereís a lot I can do to make those things non-issues.
I train because itís a twisted kind of fun that has to do with endorphins and with shaving seconds off workout times.
I train because as much as I admire Marines and cops (dad was both), there are times in life when the only ìfirst responderî in a crisis is you. Or me. And Iíd like to be useful on those occasions.
I train because the BrandX trainers arenít just muscle-heads, and they never condescend.
I train because I want to be physically active until Iím dead.
Re: Why train.?
Thanks for posting that, Garddawg. I’m going to do my best not to whine today… Nice reality check.
Re: Why train.?
I’m just glad to hear your friend is ok, it’s sad but this story could have had a different ending. He gave them the money, offered the car & when they didn’t stop there he did what he could by pushing one of the attackers while trying to escape. Damn scary.
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