In a recent article by Tom Givens (concealed carry firearms instructor) in his monthly newsletter, he stated that many of the incidents involving weapons and homicide go unsolved. A study shows 122 homicides in a large city, 98 were committed with guns, 9 with knives, and the other 12 cases were unknown. Arrests were only made in 42 cases. The most common when the motive was listed was domestic or argument when the motive was a robbery or unknown there was rarely an arrest made. This reflects the difficulty in solving stranger murders in which the victim and offender are not known to each other. These are most often Street robberies and carjacking incidents.
The breakdowns of the motives are listed as follows. In 120 cases 91 cases were unknown 11 were arguments,10 robberies or domestic and one was gang-related. The robbery and unknown accounted for 83% of all homicides. Only one case was determined to be gang-related. This shows that by far the greatest threat to loss of life is from robbery or unknown which usually turns out to be a robbery or attempted robbery in some form. These are crimes that are committed in public places such as convenience stores, shopping malls, shopping centers, and dangerous parking lots.
Dangerous Parking Lots And Concealed Carry
This is why it is so important to be dialed into your surroundings. Know what’s going on around you. You don’t have to be paranoid just pay attention, especially when in parking lots. I was recently in Colorado Springs and was going to stop at a convenience store to get a drink. When I pulled into the lot I saw some shady people hanging around and the location all of a sudden seemed not to be so safe. I drove right through the lot and out the other side. Thus eliminating any risk I might have had by stopping at this location. Nothing we do in life is so important that we can’t change our minds about it. Use another location for the same service or use an alternative that is safe.
Nervous Chamber Checker (NCC)
One of my students recently told me about someone dropping a gun in a parking lot that he was in, and the gun discharged. Maybe it was an NCC (Nervous Chamber Checker) I have heard that they roam the streets. NCC (Nervous Chamber Checker) is a person who is not confident in carrying a gun with a round in the chamber. He or she is in a movie theatre or a coffee shop and thinks I better check my chamber and see if it’s loaded.
Sometimes in the process, they can’t keep their finger off the trigger and bang, you know the rest. I can’t imagine how scary this was let alone why or how this would happen as most modern pistols and revolvers are drop safe, but think about it, parking lots are scary places. Moving cars, panhandlers, people coming and going, lots of things going on that we must be aware of. Even worse is the amount of activity in these lots around holidays.
I always tell the ladies in class that if they come back to their car in the parking lot and the tire is flat keep right on walking. Do not stop at the car, it can be a setup for something terrible to happen to you. In these situations, a criminal can pose as a Good Samaritan in order to abduct women from parking lots. The man first lets the air out of his target’s car tire while she is shopping. When she returns to the vehicle, he offers to help change the flat tire. After changing the tire the man can toss you in the trunk or force you into the vehicle. The best way to handle the flat tire is to walk back into the store and call for some help.
Barriers in Parking Lots
The other thing that’s great to remember about parking lots is that an auto makes a great barrier between you and someone else. You can talk to someone asking for a handout right across the hood of a car. This gives you the time and distance you need to make good decisions. As we head into the last part of the year think about your activities in some of the bigger parking lots. Pay more attention when coming and going in these parking lots. Especially when you are distracted putting away groceries or carrying many items, you and your family will be safer for it.
This is where a close quarters drill is a good thing to practice when carrying a concealed carry firearm. Many hazards exist when executing these drills your hands and your torso can be in the way of the muzzle. Check this video from Rob Pincus and learn some Close Quarters techniques for concealed carry. Remember to check the rules for the range you will be practicing at. It is always better to have a training partner. That way he or she can detect anything that might not be safe in your training routine. As always I am available to run these drills with you. Sometimes an instructor can run a drill in a shooting range that you can not do on your own safely.