Scary situation last night at the park with my Wife and Son

[yobarman]

Hey man I would've done the same thing if some trashy guy was staring at my kid (if i had one)...

Good job not causing any trouble, but it would've been funny if you kicked his ass.

 

[BillyGoat]

That is scary, I used to live in oregon.. I am a veteran- a qualifyed NRA sharpshooter and have always carried concealed.
Now that i live in new jersey that is not an option. They only give cops and polititions concealed licences here- and get this, its illegal to carry openly too! As to the part about children- i have a 2 yr old girl and a 6 yr old boy and i have NP with haveing the guns in the house.. you gotta start them off early while they are impressionable so they will have proper respect for the weapon. My son started shooting about 1 year ago and has been threw 3 classes that focus on safety and rights and wrongs of guns.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Tyler

Originally posted by: Hoober

Originally posted by: Tyler
Sounds like you overreacted to some homeless guy who lives in the park and really has nowhere else to go, to me. He didn't do anything but look at you.

Have you ever been to the park with your fiance and found some dirty man just staring at her? And by staring I mean, won't look away for a minute. Then have you ever had said man approach your fiance while not even looking elsewhere?

Scary situation. He might not have done anything but stare at them, but if that's the case, why was he approching them?

Typically when I'm approached by a homeless guy, he asks me for spare change.
And, Ulfwald didn't say the guy was staring at him the whole time, he said he saw a shadow move, so he looked at the guy, who was looking at him. Then he turned back around and proceeded to watch the shadow out of the corner of his eye until he saw it move again. I don't think you can conclude that because he looked at the kid twice, he sat there with his gaze fixed on him the entire time. You erally can't be sure he was looking at the kid at all, sometimes it's hard to tell where someone else is looking.

Hell, my fiancee watches every single baby she sees. She thinks they're cute.

But your fiancee isn't a man, isn't homeless, and has a good life. I'm not saying that all homeless people are dangerous. But if some homeless guy approached my family after circling around in the "shadows" or bushes or whatever, you'd better believe I'd consider him a threat.

 

[Ulfwald]

Over reacting would have been to expand the baton and throw the guy a beating without warning him or even giving him the chance to talk to me. I asked him if I could help him, which is the polite way of asking, WTF are you doing here staring at my son you dirty old b@st@ard. I then announced my perception of the situation and warned him as to what couldhappen if he approached anymore.

He left, and nothing happened. So while it ruined my night with my family, the night ended without any violence, or law enforcement being called. We all went home.

I also don't have a gun right now because I had to sell it to stay afloat financially, and I sold it back to the shop I purchased it from, so i know it was a legal sale.

Once finances become more stable, I will get another gun. I prefer the Taurus because of the lifetime guarentee on them, plus they possess a drop hammer saftey.


Look, when I spun around and stood up, I noticed this guy could not maintain eye contact with me, instead he was definately fixated on my son. I never said he was homeless, just trashy looking. I did not ask this man where he lived, what he did for a living, etc. I worked in security for 5 years, body guard for 3, and helped track bail jumpers for 4 years as well. When you do that sortof work, you pay close attention to details, especially body language, and everything about him spoke loud and clear. It screamed "STAY ALERT!!!!"

Like I said, I did not over react, I assessed the situation, used only the minimal amount of force necessary to control the situation, my voice and stance, and difused it. Had it escalated, it would have started on his terms, and finished on mine.

 

[polm]

the guy was probably just a homeless man looking for some food...

that being said, I think you handled the situation fine. There is no law that sais you have to oblige a beggar...that is your choice. You were direct with him, and noone resorted to violence.

job well done

 

[JMaster]

That's always a scary situation, when your familiy is at risk. Glad everything turned out ok
Makes me mad just thinking about that psycho

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by: Tyler
Sounds like you overreacted to some homeless guy who lives in the park and really has nowhere else to go, to me. He didn't do anything but look at you.

 

[pulse8]

What were you doing in a park at night with your family? Don't most parks close at night?

 

[Ulfwald]

Originally posted by: pulse8
What were you doing in a park at night with your family? Don't most parks close at night?

We arrived at the park at 7 pm, well before dark, and this is a federal park, gates closed at 10 pm. Summer posted hours. This allows people who are fishing to use the boat ramp until 10 pm for night fishing, or to pull their boats out of the water.

And, the park is patrolled by police, as well as Rangers. Plus, you may even see some military police there, as it is close to a Dam, and with the war on terror, it is patrolled quite heavily now. National guard I think.

If he wanted food, or change for food, he should have asked. I have been approached before, most say "Excuse me sir but could you............ They don't stay behind a person and stay focused on a person's son when being confronted. You really need to get out and see what kind of freaks are in the world. Also, go the the GBI web site and look up zip code 30102, there are no fewer than 20 registered sex offenders within 5 miles of my house. So yeah, I am very cautious.

And if he had asked me for food, I would have gladly given him my sandwich, as well as my wifes, then gone to Publix and purchased more for our outing. He just stared at my son.

BTW, I live in Georgia, I have a permit, and GA is a "SHALL ISSUE" state. In other words, if youhave no criminal record, no mental issues on record, then you will get your permit. We are one of the easiest states to obtain a permit to carry. Most people know this around here, so they just don't approach without announcing themselves. I honestly don't think he is homeless, just trashy looking and has no good thought in his head.


BTW, if I had a gun last night, overreacting would be to shoot first and ask questions later.

 

[Geekbabe]

You know,I just think it's great that you were alert and aware enough of your surroundings to protect your family and I'm sure your wife is appreciative of you.Heck a lot of guys these days expect us to earn the money,take care of the house and they run like pansies at the mere idea that they might actually have to physically protect anybody.

 

[myputer]

He probably was harmless, but you can't ignore that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach. At least you didn't just jump up and thump the hell out him.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
You know,I just think it's great that you were alert and aware enough of your surroundings to protect your family and I'm sure your wife is appreciative of you.Heck a lot of guys these days expect us to earn the money,take care of the house and they run like pansies at the mere idea that they might actually have to physically protect anybody.

My wife earns the money, takes care of the house, and could beat the living crap out of most guys her size. Give her a few more years and she'll be able to beat the crap out of people bigger and stronger than she.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Don't worry.... I know you can handle yourself. I'm sure he was more scared you.

I think you handled the situation correctly and I'm glad your fam is ok.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: Hoober

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
You know,I just think it's great that you were alert and aware enough of your surroundings to protect your family and I'm sure your wife is appreciative of you.Heck a lot of guys these days expect us to earn the money,take care of the house and they run like pansies at the mere idea that they might actually have to physically protect anybody.

My wife earns the money, takes care of the house, and could beat the living crap out of most guys her size. Give her a few more years and she'll be able to beat the crap out of people bigger and stronger than she.

and what does she get out of the equation?

 

[blackdogdeek]

Originally posted by: Hammer

Originally posted by: Tyler
Sounds like you overreacted to some homeless guy who lives in the park and really has nowhere else to go, to me. He didn't do anything but look at you.

i guess it's possible he overreacted, but when it concerns the welfare and safety of your own children i'd rather err on the side of overreaction. better safe than sorry. and no one got hurt.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe

Originally posted by: Hoober

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
You know,I just think it's great that you were alert and aware enough of your surroundings to protect your family and I'm sure your wife is appreciative of you.Heck a lot of guys these days expect us to earn the money,take care of the house and they run like pansies at the mere idea that they might actually have to physically protect anybody.

My wife earns the money, takes care of the house, and could beat the living crap out of most guys her size. Give her a few more years and she'll be able to beat the crap out of people bigger and stronger than she.

and what does she get out of the equation?

What, you have to ask? I'm ashamed....


She gets me, of course.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Richdog

Originally posted by: Kiyup

Originally posted by: shinerburke
Just another reason I'm always armed.

I believe in that right that you should be able to arm yourself. States differ in their laws.

What a crazy world we live in, and you wonder why there are so many shootings...

It figures that you are from the UK, as you are completely misinformed as most from your country. The facts bear out that legally carried concealed weapons in the US actually decrease crime, and there are hardly any shootings by lawful gun owners except in self defence. Please get the facts straigh before you roll your eyes.

 

[Ulfwald]

My wife is a gentle person, she does not have aa violent bone in her body.

I am slow to anger, anger clouds my judgement, so I control it very well. Otherwise last night may have ended with me sitting in jail for assault.

He may have been homeless, I didn't interview him. I just had "that feeling" which does not happen that often. It is very rare that I actually go into a "fight or flight" mode. Last night, it was fight because my family was there. Had I been alone, I would have just left and gone home. Homeless or not, you do not approach a man 2x your sixe from behind without announcing youself, especially when he has family around.

 

[Gujski]

Where does one get an ASP baton? my wife is a nurse at a city hospital and works alot of late shifts and i would feel better if she had more than pepper spray..

 

[Ulfwald]

Originally posted by: Gujski
Where does one get an ASP baton? my wife is a nurse at a city hospital and works alot of late shifts and i would feel better if she had more than pepper spray..

I would not recomend this to her, unless she can really use it. Reason is, you have to get close to your attacker, or, allow them close to you. This is not good, as it allows the attacker to be able to grab the weapon and then use it on the intended victim. Her best bet is a good strong pepper spray, an alarm, cell phone, and run.

Now, if she can deliver a good strike to the knee cap, and disable her attacker, and is pretty quick/strong, then the baton is a good weapon.

She will need to learn how to use it.

 

[fatkorean]

You should of called the police though, to warn them someone is out there doing suspicious stuff. Never know if there is another family that he is looking at and what not. Better safe than sorry...

-fk

 

Scary.