By Brandon via concealednation.org
A Greensboro, North Carolina, woman sitting in her car at the Kangaroo Express at 3225 Pleasant Garden Road about 3:30 a.m when a man walked up and began to talk to her. During the chat, the man reached into the vehicle and grabbed the woman’s gun that was sitting on the center console . . .
Let me say that again. The guy reached into the vehicle and grabbed the woman’s gun that was sitting on the center console.
Once he had control over her firearm, he pointed it at her and ordered her to drive away.
And that, folks, is how to easily get your gun stolen from you. Why it was sitting on her center console out in the open is beyond me. Moreover, how you can let a person get that close to you (especially 3:30am at a gas station) is also beyond me. From where I’m sitting, it’s irresponsible.
It’s your firearm, and it should always be in your control. You are responsible for it.
Today on ‘OPSEC fails’!
3:30 in the morning? Figure that anyone on the street who isn’t working is either predator or prey.
And here we have a little of each….
I work swing shift. 0330 is basically to me like 7pm would be to you. I might be grocery shopping or picking up some fast food. Of course, I am always vigilant, but fact of the matter is that just because it’s darker out doesn’t mean more street crime occurs or that everyone out at that time is a miscreant.
I hear you, I used to work 5:30 to 2:30. Not a lot of traffic. But you do want to remain aware of who’s around you at that hour.
“that just because it’s darker out doesn’t mean more street crime occurs or that everyone out at that time is a miscreant.”
Just to clue you in: In fact, more street crime does occur when it’s dark. So if you aren’t a miscreant, you should be at level I situational awareness.
Interestingly enough, I read a few years back that British home burglaries are more common in the evenings when occupants are more likely to be home and can be induced to point out where jewelry, cahs, etc are, and possibly open safes. In the US, unoccupied homes are more likely targets because burglars don’t want to risk getting shot.
How about starting with situational awareness?
3:30AM
Gun sitting on console
Random guy comes to window to talk
NO!
WTF?
I just wonder how random the man was. Did the two know each other?
BINGO! $20 says it was a casual drug deal.
Aren’t there jurisdictions where a firearm transported in the vehicle *MUST* be out and in plain view?
In NC, where this occurred, the rules are:
Handguns in Vehicles
It is unlawful to carry a concealed handgun in a vehicle unless the person has a valid concealed carry permit.
A person who is not a convicted felon may carry a handgun if not concealed.
A handgun is concealed in a vehicle if it cannot be readily seen by a person approaching and if it is readily accessible. A handgun under the front seat or in an unlocked glove box or console is illegal. A handgun openly displayed or in a locked glove box, locked console, or in the trunk is lawful.
— NC Department of Public Safety
Sounds like North Carolina needs to change their guns in vehicles law to something like we enjoy here in the Great State of Texas where anyone not otherwise prohibited can lawfully carry or possess a handgun in a vehicle as long as the weapon is concealed, and best of all it doesn’t cost you a dime since there is no licensing requirement for someone that only wants to possess or carry a handgun in their vehicle.
No. North Carolina does not need to adopt Texas laws. We are an open carry state. She could have carried concealed if she had a permit. Regardless, she was irresponsible. What law would have fixed that?
You pass open carry yet, or are y’all still carrying flintlocks from 1897?
Maybe, maybe not. Do you really believe the guy could have as easily reached in and grabbed the gun had it been IN the console instead of ON the console? How does that work? There are a lot of Texans who have no interest in obtaining a CHL or carrying a concealed handgun on their person while out in public, but there are ALOT of Texans who keep a concealed handgun in their vehicle since doing so is completely legal and cost free since a CHL license is not required to be armed in your vehicle, there are also no restrictions at all here in the Lone Star State for carrying loaded and accessible rifles and shotguns in a vehicle, concealed or not. Apparently that’s not the case in North Carolina, but if you’re happy with that, I’m happy for you!
Yep, in Louisiana the car is considered an extension of your home. You Can put it anywhere in the vehicle and have it loaded.
We also have a anti car jacking law that makes me surprised that someone hasn’t ventilated some pan handler that startles someone on the cell.
3:30 am at a gas station, with a stranger approaching … why wasn’t the gun in her hand?
That was exactly my thought.
“A handgun is concealed in a vehicle if it cannot be readily seen by a person approaching and if it is readily accessible.” I don’t think that is what my red book (CHP training manual) says and how can it be concealed in a vehicle and readily accessible? What is the definition of readily accessible? The red book nor the NC statues defines that. Gibberish written by lawyers who know/knew nothing about guns. And yes I am an NC CHP holder. Also, the NC AG is on record as saying a handgun in a locked glove box is a gray area as far as he is concerned. A gray area???
You can’t fix stupid.
Stupid can be fixed, but it is painful.
“Stupid can be fixed, but it is painful…”
…and oft a fatal resolution. Luckily, the BG didn’t have the testicular fortitude to eliminate the witness. Probably won’t work out well for him in the long run, seeing as how he was brilliant enough to try and chat her up just prior to leaning in for a close encounter. I suppose el policia have a great description of the perp. 😉
…but I thought criminals were always deterred by open-carry and would never do something like this!
Open-carry, maybe. This is more like open-sitting-in-the-middle-of-nowhere….
More carry, less open. Next.
This wasn’t open carry per se. It was open laying around in the vehicle with a window down where a perp could snatch it.
Isn’t there a law against that? Couldn’t happen if it’s against the law!
The vehicle interior was sand-colored. After watching a nutnfancy youtube video, the driver duracoated her firearm FDE. She thought it would be good to go-camo.
The only time I secure a handgun in my vehicle is during a medical procedure, or a when I secure a rifle while I’m away from my truck. Below is a link to a device that’s an effective way to inexpensively secure a weapon to a solid anchor point inside a vehicle, I bought one online for less than 40 bucks. A thief would need a rotary cutting tool or cutting torch to defeat this lock.
http://www.masterlock.com/personal-use/product/8290DPS
It always amazes me how much people underestimate a $30 pair of bolt cutters.
Never buy anything branded Masterlock.
Obviously you didn’t bother to go to the link to see the device, otherwise you’d know it’s a great big Street Cuff lock made of hardened laminated steel, bolt cutters won’t work, it takes a rotary cutter or cutting torch. All that’s needed to defeat the lockbox in the console is a tire tool.
or they could use this nifty tool called (shocker) a file!
I did go to the link, and I know from experience that thin metal links like that succumb to bolt cutters faster than most not “rated” to defy same. I did a couple stints in supply during my military service, and we occasionally had to break into containers with locks (much stronger than your “cuff”) whose keys or combinations had been lost. 18″ bolt cutters, every time.
And I’ve got plenty of experience with Masterlock everything. They are the most common “trusted” brand for locks, which means both criminals and locksmiths are well served to learn the ins and outs of all their products (In high school, I used to be able to crack a Masterlock combination padlock in less than a minute, without training or criminal intent. The more expensive, the easier they were to figure out. They make consumer level products targeted at those who don’t know better, and rely on units sold outweighing units defeated for marketing).
Yes, it’d take a minute with a grinder to cut off your cuff. Or days with a very dull hacksaw. Doesn’t matter, I’d have it far, far away with plenty of time to work on it, because that bike chain holding the cuffs together isn’t that strong.
Granted, your average thief is looking for a quick, easy score, and will usually drop something at the first sign of resistance. But bolt cutters are part of the kit for many who make a career out of stealing. They’re cheap, disposable, and will cut almost anything that fits in their jaws.
Just so you know; hardened metal compounds that are resistant to cutting, are more often than not, brittle & quite vulnerable to extreme cold. Easily defeated by application of commonly found liquid state chemicals, such as R-12/R-134 freon, Ln2, He3, He4, etc (preferably non-flammables). Add a fair whack with a hammer after supercooling, and those difficult to cut locks are rendered into pricey fragments rather quickly, quietly, & much less unobtrusively than a plasma cutter/carbide cut wheel/oxy-acetalene rig/tungsten carbide bit/tungsten cobalt bit/spotweld cutter.
Just saying, don’t depend on some level of inconvenience to protect your items, as the marketing is always a bit on the deceptive side. Keep that in mind.
As to whether you should be highly concerned, well… Just about any bike thief, either bicycle or motorcycle, uses this method often when encountering similar hardened locks.
“& much less unobtrusively”
Correction: That should read *& much more unobtrusively”. Sorry, I woke up a couple of hours after bed (caffeine loaded Excedrin I took for a headache), & posted in a somewhat dazed state.
You won’t cut this Masterlock with a “$30 pair of bolt cutters”:
http://www.masterlock.com/business-use/product/A5200GLSHNKA
http://cdn.small.masterlock.com/product/285/MLCOM_PRODUCT_A5200GLSHN.jpg
There was an episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” where the teen-aged “perps” used LOX on “high-security” bike locks in order to steal BIG-buck bicycles.
First rule: have a g….damn.
My mom always told me nothing good ever happens after 2 am.
Sure it wasn’t nothing good happens after Midnight?
This is for the ladies:
Don’t talk to strangers in the wee hours of the morning
Don’t drive around with windows down or doors unlocked
Have mace within reach if your FUp state has law that you have to have gun visible
I usually have 2 pistols and a tomahawk.
Folks this could have ended a lot worse.
I wonder if this mans name was John…
OPSEC! Sadly a loaded console gun is not a possibility for those of us that live in slave states. Than again, I am getting out of my slave state at the end of the summer.
The fact that she left her handgun displayed in the open has to due with NC state law, which requires that pistols be visible if one does not have a CHL.
She probably either let the windows down to get some cool air in or did not have operable A/C.
We’re not getting AC weather at that time of night here in the Old North State (yet). I’m not far from G’boro.
Sounds to me like the reason her window was down was so she could talk to the guy. At a gas station at 3am.
Or maybe he just bought the gun from her and she reported it “stolen” to cover it up. Reminds me of the story of the kid who got “mugged” for his brand new .22 pistol.
The moral of this story is — get the CC permit. Yes, it will cost around $200 and the hassle for the class and the permit. But then no worries about peculiar laws that make no sense. For an NC permit she would have to fire the weapon and hit the target, so at least she would have done it the one time, and maybe learned something about gun safety and security in the class. (I live a half hour away from there. It’s by no means the “hood” but I wouldn’t call it the best part of town, and there have been drug murders not too far away. She probably was trying to keep safe without having the CC permit. I am assuming she was a legal owner, or else she would not have called the police.)
This was either a drug deal gone bad or the thief knows the woman.
Actual link is
http://concealednation.org/2015/04/woman-robbed-of-her-gun-but-how-by-being-irresponsible-thats-how/
In North Carolina, if you don’t have a cwp your firearm must be in visible sight. I found that to be a stupid law when I visited the state.
If I lived in NC and wanted a gun in my car it would be hidden, even if it were illegal. Because really who is going to know???
*disclaimer I don’t live in NC and my KY permit is recognized there so this is purely theoretical