This is how it happens. Fast, when you don't expect it. I just received this from a Gun Talk listener about an attempted attack, and his response. There are many takeaways from this, and I encourage you to read this a couple of times and put yourself in his place.
Carry. Train. Live the life of the prepared.
~Tom
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I thought I'd share a quick story from earlier this week. Thanks to countless years of listening to you, studying DVDs, and lots of really good hands-on training classes – it all went smoothly.
I always carry and fly with a gun as long as I'm legal. This week I was working in Houston, Texas, carrying my small S&W Shield 9 with Apex trigger, spare mag, and Ruger Polycase ammo. It's a good, slim pistol but still a good shooter for its small size, making it perfect for these out of town events when I need more concealment with dressier
clothes.
I was surprised how sketchy the area surrounding the event was. I finished up, had my gear loaded into my rental car around 10 pm, and began driving back to my hotel. Along the route there were hobos and garbage on all sides of the road. At one red light, I had cars in front of me – I was the car that couldn't move. I was also three lanes away from the sidewalk too, seemingly removed from all the vagrants compared to other cars near the curb.
I'm a 44-year-old man, and my family back home likes to get an update after big out-of-town events. So I had called my mom using my wireless Apple Air Pods, re-capping the day. I've worked for years to be always aware of my surroundings, and was doing my subconscious scans of the area – not watching anyone in particular, just listening to my mom tell a story.
Then something inside me said something was wrong. I had subconsciously noticed the shadow and movement in my peripheral of someone who had crossed the road behind my car had not reappeared on the other side. That dark shadow had initially stepped off the curb from the left, crossed two empty lanes in the street, but when he crossed behind me he had disappeared from my mirrors.
I leaned slightly to get a better look down my vehicle using my driver's side mirror to see where he went, and found him moving up the side of my car trying to stay hidden in my blind spot. I drive with my mirrors slightly turned out compared to most people because it gives me less of a blind spot, which helped me in this instance spot him quickly.
My mom was chatting on the phone, but her voice went quiet as my mind faded her and everything else out. My left hand did the gunfighter-seatbelt swim clearing the belt as the right hand pulled my pistol from the holster. ...Good initial grip, finger along the slide, muzzle whipping around never pointing at my legs, shoulders turning slightly to adapt to my seat and angle, left hand meeting the grip ...pins, friction, leverage... my gun pointed at the driver's side window .....just as this man poked his head into that same view. He was reaching for my door handle when he saw me, my eyes, and my pistol trained on him. He paused.
I said loudly, "Get the F#*k away from me!"
I could see his mind processing, his eyes glancing between my gun's muzzle and my eyes, when he wiggled his head "No," and hurried off into the night.
The light turned green and the other cars began to move, unaware of what just happened just feet from them. They were in their bubble and had no idea of their surroundings. I too pulled forward, scanning the area once again as my mind quickly brought my mom's voice on the phone back to consciousness. I re-holstered and realized she'd been telling me a story and was stunned when I swore loudly, seemingly at her for no reason. She replied, "What?!"
"Sorry mom. I wasn't talking to you. I had to pull my gun on a hobo that was trying to attack me. I realize I swore, but in times like this you have to talk their language. 'Gosh-Darnit' doesn't cut it with criminal types."
After hearing this, she dropped the story she was telling and wanted all the details in repetition, just grateful that I was okay. Then throughout the night I got more calls from the rest of my family, all grateful that I was safe and well trained.
Looking back I never got nervous, never got a burst of adrenaline. It all happened quickly but smoothly. And as I've reviewed it in my mind, I was surprised how many things I processed so quickly. It was so odd that that guy would cross multiple lanes of traffic to single me out when there were closer cars, however I was the car that couldn't pull forward and run the light. And I was surprised how I noticed this one particular guy out of the crowd and how I had subconsciously tracked him, even though he was behind me. I'm surprised how fast he moved up the side of my car, and how fast I had my seatbelt off and my gun out. He was expecting to surprise me, but I was ready and surprised him.
I learned the seatbelt swim in your VATA DVDs initially, and had practiced it too in a Travis Haley Vehicle/Darkness class years ago. I have long made it my habitual way to remove my seatbelt.
And I still don't know if this guy shook his head "No" meaning, "No, don't shoot," or "No, I've picked the wrong guy," or if he was signaling "No" to his wolf pack who perhaps was planning an attack on my right while he distracted me on my left. I don't know if he was trying to car jack me, or rob me, or what his intentions were –– but I do know that they weren't good. I'm just glad I was carrying, trained up, and aware so that I could go home safely.
So even though I've said it many times, thanks again for all you do, Tom!
PS: I would never go to guns from just a hobo approaching my car. This time was different. First, I had a specific and distinct feeling that I can't fully describe, that told me that I was in danger and that I needed to act right now. Second, I looked and saw the guy sneaking up the side of my car and there was no reason for him to be that far into the street and sliding up my door like that. It was obvious he meant harm in some way.
Finally, people talk about events happening in slow motion. I don't know if I'd describe it like that because I didn't feel like I was moving slow at all. But in looking back, time did warp. If anything, I felt I was moving normally and everything around me was slower. I made a decision to act, but didn't think about any movements. But I had the time and "headroom" as you say, to feel every detail of those movements ...the seatbelt going away, the draw, my finger position, my knuckles meeting up... even the yelling of commands. It just happened.
Each detail was precise and specific. And I'll bet if I had the ability to go back and watch it on video, that it would have been fast. It's definitely a testament to training and doing the reps.
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Tom Gresham
Author, outdoorsman, gun rights activist, and firearms enthusiast for more than five decades, Tom Gresham hosts Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, the first nationally-syndicated radio show about guns and the shooting sports, and is also the producer and co-host of the Guns & Gear, GunVenture and First Person Defender television series.
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