Thread: There are predators among us

Friday night about 11:30 PM I was home at my little condo and the helicopter with the search light was flying overhead for over an hour. Sweeping the area and I knew something was going on.wrong. I live a few blocks from a convenience store. A few blocks further east is the tattoo shop where I've worked for the past 15 years. Ten or so years ago 2 predators killed three women during a robbery in a restaurant directly across the street from where I work. They were caught when one of the two, proud of himself, bragged to a friend who turned him in.

Friday night two clerks who worked in the convenience store were murdered in a robbery. Here is the report in the local paper along with the video from the security camera. I've stood in front of that counter paying for gasoline or whatever more times than I can count. So I went to work on Saturday wondering if I knew the two men who had been killed. I keep a 357 magnum on my person when I am at work since it is largely a cash business. Saturday was a slow day and a slower night.

I was at the shop until closing at 11PM and wondered if, with an empty parking lot, thieves would think it was an easy score. Just pull in and shoot me and my co-worker and take the cash. When I was a kid, maybe 10 or 12 years old, I remember thinking how glad I was that I didn't live in a violent society such as what I saw depicted in movies about the wild western frontier and later the gangsters of the 20s and 30s. Little did I know.

I normally never carry a gun when I'm not at work. Now I will probably slip it in my pocket as I did this morning when I took the garbage out. In this world today you can't be too careful.

Quite relieved that i don't have those concerns. My in laws are in South Africa, but even there I feel safe on the whole.
Look after yourself Jimmy.

If i didn't read it from you i couldn't believe such things happening in a real world. It is sad. I feel sorry for those who got murdered just because they were doing their jobs. Take good care for yourself Jimmy.
We have it totally different here, but probably we are going to that same direction some day. Happy i am old enough not to see those times coming.

Getting killed in a robbery is very very rare here, as burglars and robbers do not usually carry firearms. I do not even remember when it was the last time someone died in a robbery here. Must be many years ago.

It's a rough world, out there. Stay safe, Jimmy.

As an aside, I saw some of your work in the Inkslinger thread.... really capital stuff. I'm not a tattoo guy myself, but I appreciate the skill that goes into clean lines and the artful design itself.

i myself have lived in some pretty rough parts of town.. i've found that with the right look in your eye.. no one messes with you.. i was once robbed at knife point when i was about 22.. i pulled 6 bucks out my front pocket and said it was all i had..

I had a guy pull a knife on me in school over a seat. A couple of years later I heard that a 15 year old kid got stabbed in the chest over a lettermans jacket at the same school. People get crazier every day.

"I carry a .45,because a cop is too heavy"

I firmly believe more ppl need to exercise the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. You can't disarm criminals,so the citizenry needs to protect themselves.

Jimmy, I am shocked and saddened, but not surprised. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. There was a home invasion and fatal shooting in my Tucson neighborhood 2 weeks ago, with the usual perimeter search and helicopter orbits overhead. Good thing is that one of the suspects was killed and another wounded by the homeowner-the wounded suspect and his companion were caught at a nearby hospital while seeking help for his bullet wound. You cannot rely on the police to protect you from an armed robbery. Surveillance cameras are no protection from room temperature IQ Orcs. My wife is trained in firearms use and has a .357 Ruger, and I carry a Sig .40 everywhere it is legal. I have only had to draw it once, fortunately, at a gas station with a would be robber who fled cursing obscenely. My wife hid behind me. You never know when you go out of the house if you will return again, so my motto is to live life to the fullest, and to always be mentally prepared for defense.

It's all just a reflection on the society we live. Social breakdown and people viewing others as prey. "Kill them all".

Yes, I tend to agree with Bigspender.

Gangs, and random gang violence are a problem. I rarely leave the house unarmed anymore. While the probabilities I will need a firearm are low, they are not nil.

Just the same, I prefer to have the freedom to arm my self than prohibit law abiding citizens the right to carry if they choose.