Episode 189 with Jeff Street

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Rob- Introduction- Welcome to episode 189 of Self-Defense Gun Stories. We’re glad you found us if you’re only curious about self defense.. And if you’re well trained. I’m Rob Morse and we’re joined this week by self-defense instructor Jeff Street.

Jeff- Hi, Rob. I’ve been working and shooting and… (any calls after the virus scare?)

Rob- We received two more ratings and a review on iTunes this week (146/87). Please go to the iTunes store where you subscribe to podcasts and let new listeners know this show is worth their time.

Jeff- We’ll talk about recent examples where gun owners were in a life threatening situation. Were they lucky, or did they have a plan? What should we do if we were in their place? We give you the links back to the original news article in our show notes. Our first story took place last week in Joliet, Illinois.

Rob- First story- Are you armed as you leave for work?

It is cold and dark outside, but you’re going to work. You start your car from inside your home. A few minutes later, you walk outside and open the car door. A car drives down your driveway and blocks you in. Two men get out wearing masks, and one of them has a gun pointed at you. They tell you to give them your keys. You run back toward your house, and they shoot you. You fall to the ground.

You have your concealed carry permit. You’re armed. You present your firearm from under your coat and shoot your attackers. They run away. You limp back into the house and call 911. EMTs take you to the hospital for treatment of a non-life threatening leg wound. You also give the police a description of your attackers and their car.

All three of your attackers are arrested after a short car chase.

Jeff- Think of all the things our defender did to protect himself. He got a permit so he could touch a gun in a gun shop. He found a gun that fit him. He bought the gun and a holster. He got his concealed carry permit in Illinois. He learned to present his firearm from under his coat.

In the dark, he identified an immediate, unavoidable, and lethal threat. He moved, and then he used his firearm to end the threat. When the threat went away, he got to safety and called 911. He must have given a good description because the police found his attackers pretty quickly.

Rob- Not a lot of cars out at 3:45 in the morning.What would you like your students to do if they were in a situation like this?

Jeff- We want to avoid a gunfight and I like the way our defender moved. In hindsight, we’d like to look around for trouble as we walk up to our car, but that isn’t going to prevent every problem.

Know the legal rules for the use of force. Strangers coming up to you in the dark with a gun in their hands are enough of a threat that you should run or shoot, or both. You don’t have to wait to get shot.

I want my students to go to the range so they can hit their target at about 21 feet, the length of a car. Learn to shoot on the move and in low light. Since you’re going out to your car in the dark, it would help to have motion sensitive lights, and a flashlight.

Rob- Is this sort of robbery common?

Jeff- A third of aggravated assaults take place in and near our homes.

In dim light

near your car is a transition zone.

Jeff- https://lawofselfdefense.com/law-of-self-defense-principles-introduction-audio-book/

Rob- Anything else?

Jeff- That is enough for now. Our second story happened in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Rob- Second Story- Is your firearm nearby during the middle of the night?

You hear someone beating on your house. A moment later you hear your front door being smashed in. It is just before midnight. You grab your gun, walk out of your bedroom and stay at the top of your stairs. A stranger is coming up the stairs and the stranger has a handgun pointed at you.

You shoot the armed intruder several times. He drops his gun, and you shout for help. Your roommates call the police.

Weeks later, the district attorney says you had every right to shoot your attacker.

Jeff- Thank goodness our defender was armed. His firearm was accessible and loaded. He defended the people in the home, and did not go downstairs to investigate. That was a good choice. Defending a stairway gives you an advantage. You know that your defender has to come up a narrow path. You can stand behind the wall, and he can’t. Our defender shot multiple times until the threat stopped, and then the defender stopped shooting. He got multiple adults to call the police and EMTs.

Rob- We’re shooting in the dark again.

Jeff- I want you to yell as soon as you see someone. “Hey, roommate, there is an intruder in the house, call the police. Stop or I’ll shoot.” and turn on the lights. You want the intruder to know you’re there, but not necessarily know where you are.

Rob- Tell me some of the steps a new gun owner has to learn to defend themselves in a situation like this.

Jeff- Safety, marksmanship, storage and cleaning, shooting from unusual positions like crouching or kneeling, use of cover, legal use of lethal force, talking to the police after an attack.

Rob- You teach all that?

Jeff- We mention that in our first course, but we can’t cover all of that in any single course. It is progression, and my students have to master each set of skills. For example, I can’t teach you to shoot in the dark until you have a consistent grip and safe firearms handling.

Rob- I wondered if you were going to mention a flashlight.

Jeff- You might have one, but I’d turn on the lights so you can learn the most about your intruder. You don’t want to shoot your drunk neighbor.

Our third story happened Charlotte, North Carolina.

Rob- First this message from DRGO

Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you’re driving to the bank?

Charlotte, NC- five teens try to rob woman at night at atm

You drive up to the ATM after midnight. A second later five men are around your car and they try all the doors. One of them is banging on your drivers side window and shouting for you to get out of your car. You’re a woman alone against five men, but you’re armed. You put your hand on your gun, roll down your window, and shoot your nearest attacker.

The men run. You drive away and call the police. The police arrest your wounded attack a block away.

Our defender had her firearm, and a concealed carry permit.

Jeff- She was attacked by five men, and she defended herself until she could drive away and contact the police. That has to be an amazing phone call because I know how emotional I’d be after I was attacked.

Rob- It doesn’t say if the attackers were armed. Does that matter?

Jeff- Our defender was outnumbered and out muscled. She was terribly vulnerable if she didn’t have her firearm.

Rob- What else did you notice?

Jeff- I wonder if her car was running and she could have driven away. We say that now, but it takes a lot of forethought to know you’d run over someone to escape if five people were mobbing your car. We’ve gone our entire lives trying to not run over people. That is a very strong inhibition.

Rob- Does an attack like this happen very often?

Jeff- Honest citizens are attacked thousands of times a day. ATMs and store parking lots are particularly attractive to criminals. We have money, cars, and we’re distracted so we make an easy target.

Rob- Except for this victim.

Jeff- She was ready, but no one is ready for this. You’re going to be a mess. You can’t give a simple and clear description of everything that happened to you. That is your lawyer’s job.

Identify yourself. Tell the police that you were the one who called them and that you were attacked. You want them to bring charges against your attackers and you’ll testify against them. Save the details until you’ve had a few nights sleep and spoken with your lawyer.

Rob- Why is that so important?

Jeff- Because you’re suffering from a brain injury called adrenaline. You need time for that to wear off. You want to see the security video before you give a statement to the police.

Jeff- Our forth story took place in Buckhead, Georgia.

Rob- Fourth story- Are you armed when you stop to get gasoline?

Carjacking witness

You’re walking into a convenience store in broad daylight on friday afternoon. Three men pull up in an SUV and point a gun at a man pumping gas. The robber also points his gun at you..and shoots at you.

You’re armed. You move, present your gun, and fire back. Your attacker falls and you stop shooting. The attacker’s accomplices jump back in their car and drive away. You walk into the convenience store and call the police.

EMTs take your attacker to the hospital with a life threatening head wound.

Again, our defender owned a gun, and he had a holster and his carry permit and was carrying his firearm in the middle of the afternoon.

Jeff- Our defender kept his gun on his body. He was immediately able to use it to save his own life and the life of other people at the scene. He stopped shooting when the threat stopped.

Rob- What would you like us to do if we were there?

Jeff- Move. Move as you present your firearm. Shoot your attacker until the threat stops. Move to safety. Call the police, and ask all the witnesses to call the police.

Rob- Could our defender have run away?

Rob- Another example where you’re going to be confused when you talk to the police.

Jeff- You are going to be mentally upset and confused anytime your life is threatened.

Rob- When do you get to ask your students to move as they present their firearm and shoot?

Rob- Do you practice making the phone call to the police with your students?

Exit- Rob- that wraps up this episode. Jeff, thank you for helping us again. Where can we learn more about you?

Jeff- Find me at Step by Step Gun Training in Naples Florida. We provide group classes as well as custom training and weekend competition. Leave us a message on the Step by Step Facebook page.

Rob- After you look at Jeff articles, then leave us a message on the podcast facebook page.

Jeff- We share this podcast with you for free. Please share the podcast with a friend and give us a rating on I-Tunes and Stitcher. We’re also available on Google Play Music,Tunein, Spotify, Podbean and iHeart Radio.

Rob- This podcast is part of the Self-defense radio network. Find more great shows at sdrn.us

I’m Rob Morse. We’ll be back next week with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.

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