A few days ago, a fellow sent me the email below about a close friend of his who was murdered. This tragedy occurred in Fort Worth, TX when a deranged man was going from convenience store to convenience store picking fights.
Here’s the email and the lessons we can take away…
So this guy goes store to store, calling and threatening his ex, trying to start a fight with anyone around him. My friend drove away from this guy, and the guy starts to follow him and open fire from behind several times for no reason but to take out his anger on someone else.
His aim was bad, hitting the car, the windshield, and one of them hit his head. A witness from a store called in his description just in case, and my friend was also able to give the cops the whole story, amazing.
He was taken to the hospital right across the street, they patched him up, but the bullet was still in his head. He was care-flighted to another hospital to have surgery, and in the meantime, cops captured the guy.
So one surgery went well to remove the bullet, then another surgery to remove a clot, sewed him up, and he was still doing just fine in recovery. My friend passed away a couple days after the incident, and now that guy is being charged with murder. Rest in Peace.
And thanks to the fast reaction from law enforcement, the man was captured. My friend liked to shoot sometimes, but he never bothered to get a CHL. I’m all ears on ways this incident could have been prevented.
My thoughts were: Someone could have called the cops sooner, when he was disrupting the peace; if it were me being shot at from behind, I think I would have slammed on the brakes to make him brake and swerve/crash, while I draw my side arm and return fire if he does again.
Or call the police right away if anything but that happens. But it takes fast reaction to do that, with just seconds for you to realize what’s going on.”
I’m sorry about your loss… what a senseless tragedy.
My initial thought (and it looks like your friend did this by driving away) is to avoid confrontation at all costs. I can only imagine how many egos get people killed each year. It doesn’t matter how well you’re trained, if possible, always avoid the fight and get out of the area.
Also, since I wasn’t there, it’s tough to know what happened before your friend got in the car. If the murderer already had his gun out, I wouldn’t try and get in the car and speed off. Getting in the car puts you at a disadvantage because you’re in a confined space.
Instead, seek cover (such as behind the engine block), draw your gun (if you have one on you) and do what’s necessary to protect your life. Also, make sure you carry a solid hollow-point round such as Speer Gold Dot. Those rounds will easily penetrate through a car door if you get in a shootout with a criminal who is trying to use their car for cover.
As far as shooting from a moving vehicle, it’s extremely difficult and not something I would recommend. The murderer obviously got a lucky shot. But, for law-abiding citizens like you and me, shooting while moving (and while trying to drive) is a very bad idea because you and I are responsible for every round that leaves the gun.
If you do find yourself in a vehicle and you’re being shot at remember to make quick turns going left or right. Human tendency is to hit the gas and try and drive away. But this keeps you in a straight line and none of us can outrun a bullet when the other car is relatively close to us.
Unfortunately, because every case is different, there is no perfect answer for this particular situation. But, always stay alert, have your gun on you, and swallow your pride and get out of every confrontation you can.
