How would you react to this situation if you carried?

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After reading this thread, I feel compelled to mention,
96% of the people at and around a gas station, even at night in a shady part of town, aren't criminals or zombies.

Be prepared, but don't live your life afraid.

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I'm wondering - who locks their car doors when they get out at the gas station? My tank is driver's side, so I manually unlock just my driver's door and leave it unlocked. I figure - if I run from my car, I'll either have time to hit the lock button on the keys or I won't. I'd rather have the option to hop in my car and lock it, than need to unlock it first if I decide I want to hop in. I'd much rather have the security and speed my car provides than be on foot.

I'd also be willing to drive away with the gas pump still in my car, or left dangling with my tank uncapped so I could drive off a little faster. I know my instinct would be to hang up the pump, put the cap on, and wait for my receipt even if I were afraid, so I need to think about it now and plan ahead.
 
A few months back, my girlfriend and I loaded up on a friday afternoon after work to head to Florida for a convention the next morning so it would be an ALL NIGHT DRIVE with gas fillups every 2 1/2 hours. We stopped in this one little town and realized suddenly that I should not have sold my only S&W Sig 40 several months prior. This Guy was standing about 10 ft from my vehicle as I pumped gas watching me and my girlfriend. This was at 3:00 am in the morning with just us and the store clerk as the KNOWN good guys. I was nervous as hell. The fellow ended up approaching me 3 times asking for money. Thank god he didn't try and take it. He outweighed me by at least 100 lbs and over a ft. taller.
 
After reading this thread, I feel compelled to mention,
96% of the people at and around a gas station, even at night in a shady part of town, aren't criminals or zombies.

Be prepared, but don't live your life afraid.
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It's not about being afraid, it's about being ALERT! Keeping thy head out of thine ass.
 
If I'm minding my own business at a gas station, pumping gas or whatnot, and somebody sprays me with gasoline while giving me the recommended 'I'm not a victim!' glare, I'm going to assume they are armed and that they are assaulting me. That's a bad situation to be in, for everyone involved. If I get out of the situation ok, I'd be suing for reckless endangerment and whatever else my lawyer advises.
 
If I'm minding my own business at a gas station, pumping gas or whatnot, and somebody sprays me with gasoline while giving me the recommended 'I'm not a victim!' glare, I'm going to assume they are armed and that they are assaulting me. That's a bad situation to be in, for everyone involved. If I get out of the situation ok, I'd be suing for reckless endangerment and whatever else my lawyer advises.
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I hope you're not suggesting that you would shoot them. That's pretty stupid for two reasons. First of all, your life is not being threatened. Secondly, you're covered in gasoline, and that bullet is not propelled by CO2, it's propelled by a fireball.
 
Only problem was, as soon as the tyke got the nozzle in his hands, he squeezed the handle.

Gramps got a gasoline car wash. Fortunately there was no open flame about, and we got eveything hosed down and soaped off quickly before any further hilarity ensued. But for a second, there was about a sixty caliber stream of gasoline that went better than twenty feet.
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Was having an aircraft fuelled a few months, had filled the drop tanks & wing tanks & then the fuel guy started to fill the fuselage tank..

When it was about half full it started to syphon into the wing tanks, which were full so it vented overboard out of a 3/4in tube..

I had just filled it with oil so had 8x 2.5gal containers nearby. I managed to fill those while the fuel guy hid behind his truck & another guy tried to stop the flow from up top. Then I spotted a 30gallon plastic bucket on the fuel truck so I threw that under the fuel drain.
Still hosed the ramp down with 10-15 gallon of avgas tho..

Good thing we didn't get a static spark to set it off. The fuel guy was just about speechless by the time we'd finished, I think he'd been paying far too much attention during his safety training because while he was hiding, we did everything he was told never to do

That could have turned into an 'event" quite spectacually ;)
 
In 1992, I was robbed and shot at fairly close range. I lived in an apartment complex that had security gates but was not operational one day so they decided to keep the exit gate propped open. I was stepping out of my car one night when I was greeted with a barrel of a saw-off shotgun. This guy was waiting for me at the rear bumper of my car as soon as I stepped out of the car. I gave him the wallet when he asked for it. He went back to hand my wallet to his accomplish then walked back to my direction. He was about 10 feet away when a neighbor walked out to his car to get some things from his car. At that moment, I turned around and yelled, I just got robbed and I heard a loud shot. I remember my hair flew up. I ran into the house when a friend noticed that I was bleeding. I have been shot at angle so that buck-shots were ricocheting off my head. None of the pellets penetrated the skull, just under the skin. I am not sure if I could have been better prepare for the situation but I know that it was not my time to go. I still have a buck-shot in my head to remember of the event to this day. Some one was definitely watching over me.
 
It's difficult to know with broad details and no other info. Generally, I would probably hand them my debit card, and watch them closely. If they took it and ran, first call to the police, second call to my bank.

I think most such robberies are people looking to score meth or painkillers, I would have to make an on-the-spot assesment of if they were serious enough for me to act to stop them.
 
My assailant gets a generous high octane "sheep dip". If he wants to pull the trigger after that, more power to him. Besides, i think that gasoline in the eyes stings a bit. I'm betting it could affect his aim.
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For the WIN! Great idea!
 
Pretty rare scenario. If the perp was armed and had a gun out by the time I figured out what was going on, I'd probably give him my money clip and hope that would end it. Otherwise, tactically, there's lots of cover, I'd get behind a concrete pillar fast.
 
I hope you're not suggesting that you would shoot them. That's pretty stupid for two reasons. First of all, your life is not being threatened. Secondly, you're covered in gasoline, and that bullet is not propelled by CO2, it's propelled by a fireball.
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I would never draw, and never think about shooting somebody who wasn't threatening my life. And anyone reading this thread has already thought about the fireball, but thanks for being on redundancy patrol.

To clarify- if somebody hosed me down with gasoline, I would call the cops, press charges (that's either assault with a weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, or if there was any chance of a fireball - attempted murder). I'd file civil suit, and contact the state equivalent of the Department of Natural Resources to make sure they piled on for unlawful discharge of gasoline. How difficult would your life be, if the terms of your parole prevented you from buying gasoline or being within 50 feet of a gasoline-consuming engine?
 
keep one hand in the pocket, holding your life insurance 'policy'. dont make eye contact if anyone suspicious is walking around, but know what he's up to. just be calm about things, and if needed, be quick and brutal about defending yourself. in this case, YOU have the element of surprise.
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i agree, and that is pretty much what i do all of the time, even in my sleepy little home town. in strange area's the only time my hand comes out of my pocket is to catually pay for the gas. and that is after i have thouroghly "cased the joint". i want no suprises! can you tell i am a control FREAK!
 
Generally, if at all possible, I try to not fill up in sketchy areas especially late at night. I always try to keep at least a quarter tank so I never "have to" fill up. If I'm one of the only people pumping gas, I try to take the pump closest to the front door of the store rather than at the edges.

As I pull in, and as I get out, I do a quick scan for shady characters. If I see one (or more) I find somewhere else to fuel up. If not, I pump my gas and continue scanning my environment. Generally, predators pick the weakest looking target which is usually the guy or gal that isn't paying attention.

I wouldn't plan on using the gas hose as anything but a last resort. More and more stations are putting in pumphandles whith sleeves that won't allow pumping ulness it's acutally inserted into a round hole like a gas tank or can.
 
You've got to stay aware at all times, especially when out in the open, pumping gas, at night I keep a hand on my pistol and my eyes constantly survey all points of intrusion, but I can as easily become a victim as anyone else. These times are kind of ....different.
 
Someone tried to carjack me in Miami back in the early 1990's. He ended up with about a gallon of gasoline in his face. I don't recall the distances involved... it was probably about 5 feet. The gas pump had no problem reaching out..

Always hold the gas nozzle. It's an awesome defense tool.

ETA: In case anyone is wondering, the gasoline seemed to work like OC. Perp was down on the ground, eyes closed and alternating between gasping for air and coughing. I can only imagine he inhaled a good amount of fumes or the liquid. I high-tailed it back to the office and called police.
 
Gasoline is a weapon..........

I'm a full time automotive technician. I was taking a fuel tank out of a car once and it slipped from the jack. I got doused with fuel, inhaled and in the eyes/ears. It was by far the most painful experience I've had yet. The burning/ringing in the ears lasted several days. The effects were instantaneous. :fire::banghead:
 
distilled to the relevant section:

how can we best defend ourselves ...?
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Keep one's head out of one's rectum.

Seriously, pay attention to your surroundings. Always.

People don't just "come out of no where". You just don't notice them until they are on you if you're in lily white inattentiveness to your surroundings.

Best way to avoid a deadly force encounter?

Don't show up / be there.

John
 
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