Incident At Lowes Parking Lot

You handled that extremely well considering the state of duress you were in.

 

Did Jen have her gat too?

 

I totally LOVE my guns but what bout just pounding someone with your hands? Everyone's talking about busting out guns all the time(which is cool and awesome to do) but don't you just love the feeling of busting someone's face with your fist? Plus theirs no chance of a stray bullet, the guy stopping you might get a stray punch or elbow to the face though

 

this is in the guns/hunting section and we talk about this kind of stuff in here. If you dont agree with someone or something thats fine but dont talk crap to the OP for sharing a story.

girls cant own guns, silly, especially in CA! duh

 

Lol I love how people think the op should have gave this guy a hug or something. He didn't pull a weapon to be a badass. In fact didn't pull it at all. He and his wife were simply getting prepared for what could have been a bad situation.

I applaud the op for being aware and cautious. Who cares what part of town it was, crime happens everywhere. Everyone should carry a weapon for self defense, cuz we all know the criminals sure as hell will.

 

kinda sadistic acknowledgement, hmm... you get joy out of beating on someone? this is 2012..., not the good 'ole barfight days at the Boars Nest and such... thugs will gladly insert knife blade in you, or shoot you for a dollar...

deterence is the best medicine, retreat if possible... you do what you want...

 

i couldn't help it you smelled good

 

I support the right to carry and I applaud the the OP for not escalating the situation but for those who say he over reacted.. He did! It's one thing to be prepared and its another thing to react with the first thing is to grab the gun! Where he and I live is not a bad area and the situation could have easily been misread!

This is the Lowes and the Lawnmowers he was looking at. This picture was taken at 8:30pm.. 30mins later then posted 8:00pm (NO I DID NOT JUST GO TO LOWES FOR THIS PICTURE)


As you can see he was a couple feet from the door and the parking lot was hardly "dark".

How he misread the situation. Though he did not know who the gentleman was it could have very well been my neighbor. My neighbor works the later shift at Lowes and is the gentleman that actually helps customers to there cars and collects carts. He also drives a Sedan to work. (If you are wondering how I am relating my neighbor to this situation, keep reading)

I am not sure of his lunch break and or what time he usually gets off. But what I do know is he is a very nice gentleman who comes off very socially awkward. I believe he has a very slight disability that puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to certain social situations. The first time I met him was actually at Lowes the week I first moved in to my house back in November. I had no idea who he was but he also snuck up behind me while I was loading items in my truck. He used my truck as an identifier as to who I was. So I talked to him and he let me know who he was and how he recognized me, then we proceeded to talk about my truck.

So him having a neighbor who has a similar truck could have struck a curiosity in his brain and was eager to talk to someone about it cause it was different then the one he see's everyday. So in all reality the man you "almost pulled a gun on" could have very well been my neighbor. He actually came up to me in the parking lot crossing 3 rows of parking spaces hastily just to say hey to me cause he saw me standing in the back of my truck!

Even if it wasn't him and this situation would have played out where you did draw your weapon on an innocent man it could have resulted in you having a lawsuit over your head for assault.

The media would have loved it to, Activists would have used your situation against gun lovers everywhere saying how "people who tote guns in public places use guns as a crutch, over analyze harmless situations, and classify us as people who are quick to judge"!

Like stated before "What happened to the good ole ass beating"!? You as a man could have allowed enough time for your wife to run inside and get help. Stabbed, shot, or not you would have went down as a hero!

Though I do agree with you for carrying a gun no matter where you go, it seems you need to work on your situational awareness and not be so paranoid to thinking everyone is out to get you!

This isn't an attack this is just here to allow everyone else to see the situation for themselves and make an informed judgement.

 

No offense, but thats the same mentality most victims have BEFORE they get victimized. It ain't legal to CC in Hawaii, but I bet you ain't gonna catch me sidearm-less if the situation calls for it.

 

I don't see it as an over reaction because he simple placed his hand on his weapon, nothing more. If he would have drawn it then yes over reaction but simply getting prepared is fine with me. Just because someone is "mentally disabled" doesn't make them less dangerous. Just the opposite in my opinion because they are very hard to read. I taught a man that is "special" though I really like the man he is very difficult to know and read. Not to mention that he is extraordinarily strong beyond comprehension.

 

I wasn't necessarily saying he was less dangerous.. but I agree with hard to read.. Hence the Socially awkward situations..

 

Okay, thanks for posting the image. Of course, you're grossly misrepresenting the situation. Read my previous messages. We were much further from the store than you claim, the parking lot is darker than your image suggests (store sign does not glow), and you're minimizing his actions while exaggerating ours.

To clarify, we were in the next lane over (closer to the exit) from the one shown, with the entrance to our left and the lawn mowers directly ahead of us, as we walked towards the store. As you can see, it is indeed quite dark in that area (despite your image making the whole scene appear brighter).

We parked roughly six parking spaces down that lane. There was an empty space between our truck and his car, with his car closer to the store. We got out and crossed to the other side of the lane (away from him and the store entrance) before passing his vehicle. He got out of his vehicle just after we passed and started towards the entrance. I glanced at him again as we got a bit closer to the store and he was still on the other side of the lane walking towards the entrance. Got distracted by the lawn mowers just afterwards.

A few seconds later, in front of the parking space in the other lane equal to the one with the white truck in your image, he was already across the lane and directly behind us. We were still some fifty or more feet from the entrance to the store and he was close enough to easily reach out and touch either one of us. Again, he did not come up to us. He came up behind us, not saying anything (about the truck, the weather, bigfoot, or whatever) until we turned to face him.

Once again, we're an elderly couple (late 50's). Contrary to your suggestion, I'm not going to get into a "fistfight" with someone nearly half my age (in an empty, dark, parking lot, with him possibly armed) and the wife is not going to just "run" into the store (fifty or more feet away) for help. Neither of us are that athletic.

Instead, our best approach was to turn and stand our ground, ready for any eventuality. After his little dance (described earlier), we talked for a few minutes and he walked on into the store (moving in a direction nearly opposite that he used to approach us). His vehicle was gone when we came out a few minutes later (we were there to buy a single bolt for my winch, which obviously didn't take long).

Anyway, I do not believe we overreacted in any way whatsoever. It's extremely unlikely the guy even knew we were armed. Beyond that, our reaction was no different than anyone else in a similar situation - suddenly approached by a stranger in an empty parking lot at night.

-

 

Don't let 'em get to ya, OP. You did the right thing. You were there, and none of the arm-chair quarterbacks were, so none of this second guessing matters. I'm just glad the situation turned out as peacefully as it did for you....and let it go at that. Keep being aware of your surroundings....and keep your powder dry.

 

So what if the dude was chatting on the phone - "yes honey, I'll get the parts to fix the toilet too, and yes, I know, I got it, yes I know about the leaky faucet too, ok ok ok." Then he's in a hurry because he wants to get back home ASAP to watch the Oscars for some possible wardrobe malfunction. Now he's not really paying attention and the people who he casually thought walked in about 2 minutes ago are still there in the parking lot. He suddenly looks up from his honey-do list and everyone is startled as he nearly bumps into them. He notices someone going for a glock and he's looking back at his truck, thinking "can I get my .44 long barrel from under my seat in time to defend myself?!" "Will I get shot in the back if I run?" So being nervous, he tries to diffuse the situation and says a few things. He's so nervous that he can hardly tell the difference between a 2009 and 2012 Taco in a dark parking lot. So before he shits his pants, he cuts around the couple and heads straight into the store.

Just sayin. No I wasn't there. But who knows. Sometimes carrying makes you see thugs everywhere.

Glad no one got hurt though.

 

lol, crazy people! When I read the original post I never once saw the OP say he drew his gun. I didn't even picture him making it evident to the suspicious person. He simply got oriented with it, gave good distance, keeping the gun farthest from the approaching person, he then assessed the situation and determined that there was no immediate threat. He then had a few strange words with person and the night continued on. He then felt obligated to tell others how he feels like they got off lucky today because he let his guard down in a perceived safe environment, yet found himself face to face with a possible nightmare.

 

lighten up, francis..

 

Yea, I've had just about enough of trying to explain. Some are ignoring what was said, adding instead what they want. This is a simple story, intended to illustrate the importance of being aware since odd encounters can occur amazingly fast. Never suggested the guy was a mass murderer or whatever. Never suggested I wanted to blow his brains out or whatever. It happened and then it was over, leaving us to wonder what the heck that was all about, glad it ended well. End of story.

Well, end of story except for acknowledging all those who offered advice, encouragement, and/or understanding. Thanks and take care.