A Friend Was Shot Yesterday

[walt007]

According to the story I received from from her boyfriend and the news, she is a 26 year old female who was spending the night with her girlfriends in a locked down apartment. Next thing they know, a man comes in carrying a shotgun. One girl jumps up, flees, and makes. My friend follows in her footsteps and as she gets up she is shot in the chest with buckshot from the shotgun. The distance had to have been far enough away as she is suppossed to be just fine. She is having surgery this Friday morning, but should be fine.

The area where this happened is a relatively upscale part of town and just gets you thinking. Yes, I have several guns and a CHL, but rarely ever carry. I guess when something like this happens close to home, the seriousness of these type of situations escalates , and the importance of being ready for almost anything anytime becomes more of a concern.

 

[JamisJockey]

Not enough details. You got a link to the news source?

 

[Henry Bowman]

Your point (I think I see what it is) is well taken.

However, any reader will wonder: Where is this "upscale part of town"? What town? What do you mean that the apartment was "locked down"? Do you mean that the door was locked (as in "locked up") or that they were being confined in the apartment for some reason? Was this a home invasion or was one or more of the occupants specifically targeted?

I'm sorry that your friend was injured and hope she recovers. Good that a lesson was learned also.

 

[Dave R]

The victim is very lucky. Its hard to imagine the shotgun being too far away when they were in the same apartment, or same room. A charge of buckshot to the chest at those kind of distances should be fatal. Guardian angel.

 

[crofrog]

There isn't much point of having a CCP if you don't carry. what are you going to do show the bg the card saying you have a gun but you forgot to bring it to the gun fight.

I hope your friend has a speedy recovery, and I'm glad she's alright mostly.

 

[walt007]

The details are not included for a reason. There is still some ambiguity regarding the circumstances.

To answer as much as I can, the door was locked with regular locking mechanisms. Not sure how many, what type, or location of locks, but most likely there was just two locks.

Girlfriends got together for the sake of fun, not confined. I have not heard of the attacker displaying vengence or any personal grievances toward her (I now see how a reader could have thought otherwise though). This area has been reported to have robberies occuring there recently, even though it a nice area.

Regarding the area, it is in Dallas, Texas around Midway Rd. right after you cross from Plano going South.

 

[SJG26]

Thank you Kidon News link.......

A woman was shot during a home invasion robbery in far Northeast Dallas early Friday. Police said the suspect may be linked to other robberies.
"Police seek home invasion suspect

Witnesses said a man burst in to a first-floor unit at the Wimberly Apartments in the 4100 block of Horizon North Parkway, terrorizing six tenants.

The man was armed with a single-barrel shotgun, and he was prepared to use it.

"When the mother of two of the girls wouldn't be quiet, they forced her into the back bedroom and they started beating her up, causing a lot of damage to her ribs," said Angela Rodriguez, a friend of the victims. "When one of the other girls tried to escape out the back door, he shot her with a shotgun."

The shooting victim was wounded in the chest and taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital for what police said were non-life threatening injuries.

Police were looking for the suspect Friday morning. They said he may be the same person who held up people at an ATM machine in the same vicinity. "

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ies/wfaa050610_wz_homeinvasion.2fd93ec40.html

 

[walt007]

SJG26, thank you for finding and posting that article. Half of the details included in this article, I was unaware of myself.

 

[Rockrivr1]

So can I assume that the local authorities have caught the guy or is he still at large?

I'm glad your friend is going to be OK, but I cannot for the life of me see how. Was she wearing a bullet proof vest or something? Buckshot at that close of a range directly into the chest is something most people would never get up from. Did she get hit by chance while she was in an attaching room while running. The only thing I can figure is that the BG shot through a wall and that took most of the velocity out of the shot.

Edit to add: Just read the link. Guess he's still at large.

 

[mete]

" THE suspect"..."THEY started beating her up" ??????

 

[thatguy]

I'm confused. Nobody is shot with a shotgun at inside-the-apartment range and is "just fine."

 

[ojibweindian]

Glad to hear that her wounds are not life-threatening.

You'd said in an earlier post that you have a CCW, but don't carry that often. I've mine, and I carry everywhere, except work. One thing I've learned, through either personal experience or the reading of the misfortune of others, is that danger can be encountered anywhere at any time.

If you have a CCW, use it!

 

[foghornl]

Walt007:

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hope the PD catches this/these dirtbag(s) TODAY.

Unless that was somehow a defective shotshell, or a near complete miss, (riccochet or through a wall perhaps), sounds more like maybe it was a birdshot load.

Didn't say in the article if it was a 'sawed-off' shotgun or not. I have seen some single-barrel break action shotguns cut so short, there was almost no barrel...less than 6". Really cuts down on velocity and pattern effectiveness.

Man, the more I read here on the High Road, the more I want to bring out my bigger guns...and my 'always-there-on-the-bedside-table-companion' is a Springfield 1911-A1.

p.s. Welcome to The High Road, Walt.

p.p.s. ALWAYS take your CCW piece with you.

 

[walt007]

Thanks guys. The reason I don't carry often is I really haven't found a gun that is easily concealable and reliable. All of the guns that I own are larger frame guns that are more accurate.

I was thinking of getting a revolver for the car as I won't have to change the clip out often, and it's always reliable.

As far as how she lived through this type of shot, I honestly don't know. I guess the cartridge was a relatively weak / cheap cartridge that did not possess a lot of firepower.

Just glad to know that she lived through it and should be fine.

 

[Fred Fuller]

walt007,

Welcome aboard- glad to hear your friend's prognosis is good. That was a terrifying experience and the damage will no doubt linger for a while. Hope you find something you are comfortable with and begin carrying it on your person soon. There are a good many comfortable high quality easily concealable carry guns available these days, the price for having a gun when you need it is carrying one ALL the time...

lpl/nc

 

[Third_Rail]

Could have been a 5" bbl .410 for all we know.


Hope your friend recovers quickly.

 

[Ryder]

Not hard for me to imagine how a girl can be shot in a non-vital part of her chest. Some have more of that non-vital stuff than others and if it was a guy the same shot would have been a miss.

Course that's only a guess but it's the most logical guess I've got. Hope they catch the guy and put him away for a longgggg time.

 

[Preacherman]

I'm confused. Nobody is shot with a shotgun at inside-the-apartment range and is "just fine."

Could have been an H&R .410, and might not have been buckshot - might have been large birdshot.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

By "just fine", he means that the wound is survivable...of course "just fine" isn't the most accurate terms to describe the situation, but it'll suffice.

I can't think of an apartment large enough where distance would render buckshot "just fine" in terms of "less than lethal" in a direct line of fire situation. BoxofTruth did some testing and showed #4 and #6 buckshot doing 6 sheets of 1/2" drywall (3 walls) and 00 buckshot did 7-9 sheets.

 

[peacefuljeffrey]

I guess when something like this happens close to home, the seriousness of these type of situations escalates , and the importance of being ready for almost anything anytime becomes more of a concern.

Please realize that the seriousness of these types of situations -- and their potential to occur where and when least expected -- does not actually change. The only difference is that some people who were not previously aware of their potential to occur suddenly become aware.

It's like if someone gets carjacked at an intersection they frequent. It's not as though suddenly this became possible. It was always possible. When they approach that intersection in the future, they will think, "Now this intersection is dangerous." Well, it was just as dangerous -- potentially -- six years prior to their carjacking! They just weren't thinking along those lines yet.

-Jeffrey

 

[walt007]

Peacefuljeffrey, good response!

More Info:

The attacker rushed through the door and told everyone to lay down. One woman proceeded to run, my friend followed to try to escape shortly after, and as she ran outside and was jumping the fence, her body turned sideways and towards the attacker, and he shot her at this point.

She just finished surgery not too long ago, and she will have to return for four more reconstructive surgeries.

 

[TarpleyG]

Well, if far NE Dallas is considered 635 and the Skillman area, I lived there from '97 to '99 and it was getting bad then. I'd hate to see what it is like now. Far cry from upscale IMO.

Can't believe someone shot within the confines of an apartment/house with buckshot would live (might have been #4 or something).

Anyway, sorry to hear it was a friend. Hope she pulls through and this scumbag gets his.

Edit: This looks like west Plano/Carrollton area. That is a pretty nice area. I have a buddy that lives over off Hebron Pkwy and Josey Ln. He doesn't carry either though and he's a damn cop.

Greg

 

[kbheiner7]

Huh? Shotgun + Buckshot + Apartment + Shot in Chest = Going to be OK? That sounds very odd to me.

I'm glad to hear she's going to me OK.

 

[P95Carry]

Most folks know my views re carry - it should be a committed 16/7 - there are no appointments to be made for emergencies.

I hope this type of incident can help bring this home to some, who treat carry (IMO) as a very casual deal. If you are serious about carry, why you choose it and are responsibly committed - DO IT!

Anyone gonna leave their spare tire at home today? Cos you ''know'' you won't get a flat!?

 

[walt007]

To clarify for some, the reason she lived from a buckshot was because she had gained distance. From my understanding, she started to run away through the back door. The intruder, I'm guessing, was standing at the door when he shot her. I guess there was enough distance between her (the fence) and the backdoor.