A neighbor from Wisconsin had a defensive gun use in Racine. His family and mine lived a half mile apart in rural Wisconsin while he was growing up. (That’s a close neighbor in the area.) I spoke to him over the phone about the incident. He disires anonymity.
On Thursday, July 14th, after getting off of work at 4 p.m., he hopped into his Ford 150 Crew Cab and drove his mother-in-law to a local Shopko to pick up a prescription. His son came along to do a little shopping.
He dropped off his mother in law and son, then drove to a spot a little away from other vehicles where he could watch the doors for when his son and mother-in-law came out. This put him a bit closer to a plasma purchasing center than to the Shopco. It was 86 degrees and breezy, so both windows were open. He turned off the truck, and started to read his Kindle.
Loud rap music alerted him to a vehicle two parking spots behind him. A quick glance in the mirror showed two black men in a beat up Toyota sedan.
The passenger got out of the sedan and started to walk toward my neighbor’s F150. The passenger was wearing a white, “wife beater” t-shirt. The driver had a skull cap on.My neighbor reached under the folded down console, retrieved a Ruger SR22, and rested it on top of the console, in his hand. It would not be visible unless you were looking in the window.
The driver of the Toyota pulled up to within six inches of the F150’s driver’s door, blocking that exit. As my neighbor saw the driver look past him, he turned to look to his passenger side window.
The Toyota’s passenger had arrived there. As the passenger looked inside, through the open window, he saw the SR22 in my neighbor’s hand. A forced grin appeared on his face, as he said, “hey..” and walked 15 feet in front of the F150.
The Toyota driver drove forward, the passenger got back in, and they screeched out of the parking lot, onto the highway, heading toward a not so nice part of town. The tag on the Toyota was an illegible paper dealer tag or a facsimile thereof.
My neighbor said that he had remained very calm throughout the 30 seconds that it took for this event to transpire. Then, as the adrenaline reaction set in, he started shaking. This is a common occurrence after a defensive gun use.
He has a concealed carry permit and carries regularly. The SR22 belongs to his wife, who also has a CCW. It was in the truck because she works at a school, and cannot take it on school property.
I have no doubt that the Toyota driver and passenger intended to commit a nasty criminal act. You do not drive so close to a driver’s door so as to block the exit in the normal course of events, while your partner approaches the passenger side.
My former neighbor wanted to avoid problems; he didn’t reports the incident to the police. No crime had been committed. Just another defensive display that almost certainly stopped a violent crime. Nothing for the news, here.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.