Unbelievable

[Meep]

My husband and I went over to our friend's house yesterday afternoon after I got off of work. They were having a barbeque and, as per usual, we went over. We had burgers and hot dogs, beer and vodka... and well lets not forget the guy waving a gun and demanding us to give him money.

When it got dark out, the kids (8 boys all under the age of 10) played beside/behind the house in our sight while we started a fire pit. So, there's a group of us 4 girls and 4 guys sitting around just keeping warm, drinking beer, and chatting about different things. The owner of the house gets up and goes into the house to go to the bathroom. One girl walked to the side of the house to check on all the kids.

We were talking about something when this guy walks up behind me (whom I didn't see until I noticed everyone staring over my shoulder). My reaction being, "Oh sh!t" when I turned around and saw a gun right in front of me. The guy yells, "Give me all your farking money!" My husband remarked, "We don't have any money." The guy, who's wearing a Jason mask and a green trench coat, has it pointed at Terry and the other guy over my shoulder and again yells at us, "I know one of you has got some farking money!". He pulls the trigger, it clicks, but nothing happens. The guy cocks the gun again and fires it but it jams. "s---!" He runs away.

We're all confused as hell but grab the kids and rush them into the house. Call the cops. The guy who owns the house comes out the bathroom and we tell him there was a guy outside with a handgun that just demanded we give him money. He grabs his shot gun and checks the yard but they were already gone.

The kids had started crying at this point because we pretty much grabbed them and shoved them all into the house. I grabbed one of the kids and had to calm him for about 10 minutes because he was crying because all of us (the adults) were running around checking the house and checking the yard.

The 10 year old said he saw three other guys in front of the house before we got them all into it. The smaller kids were scared of being by the windows because they overheard one of us talking about the guy aiming a gun at Terry and the other guy (who happened to be dad of 4 of the boys). The kids continued to freak out when the cops arrived.

They took our statements and our very useless description of the guy. Hmm he was probably about 6ft tall and maybe 240 pounds. He had a Jason face mask on so we have no clue what his face looked like. He was dark skinned. He had on a green trench coat. The gun was this silver (nickel-plated maybe) handgun/revolver, probably a 9mm.

The cop went into the back yard and pulled a casing off the ground right behind where I was sitting. That sent shudders down everyone's spine once we realized the gun was loaded and he inteneded to use it on someone...

I mean wtf was the guy expecting. Here's a group of people sitting around a fire drinking beer in a backyard and you expect them to have money? Thankfully, everyone is fine and that little sh!t didn't get anything from us. But the guys were pretty much hitting up the alcohol after that. I mean... unbelievable![/i]

[Grants]

Thats pretty desperate stuff! So no more barbies over there I'm thinking...
At least everyones ok.

[ovendenk]

wow. thank god you guys are alright. that's intense stuff going on there. who'd try to kill someone for maybe $150 if he's lucky. idiot.

[DavidOS]

God Bless america!
man i swear you guys have guardian angels watching over you, not once but twice!!

[ccreech]

God Bless america!
man i swear you guys have guardian angels watching over you, not once but twice!!

The idiots and criminals have guardian angels too though. These guys continue to get away with stuff like this. Those guardian angels saved the gunman's butt too. If he had shot one of you guys (God forbid) he would have been found and put in jail for quite some time. Since no one was injured the police won't investigate it in great detail and he will probably not be found until he tries to do it again. Lets hope that those folks are as lucky as you all were. When did South Augusta become so dangerous. I though you were more likely to get assaulted by a horny white tailed buck than to be held at gun point?

[jschrauwen]

He grabs his shot gun and checks the yard but they were already gone.

Meep, not to minmize your tramatic and harrowing experience, but the quote above say's it all in a nutshell. The home owner is an and out of the house that quick with a loaded weapon - OMG, I don't even know one friend off the top of my head that owns any weapons - no need. In other words "the right to bear arms". It's an evil monster that will never go away for the US unless it changes it's laws, policies, views and perspectives on the NEED to bear arms. Sad as it is, it comes with the territory. Glad no one got hurt though.
John

[Meep]

Well, the gravity of the situation never really hit us until we heard the gun click. But my first reaction when the guy turned to run was to grab all the kids and get them into the house just in case he came back with more people.

Needless to say, our friend isn't buying that house now. They were going to sign the papers for it this week but not now. The guy who owned the house though had no clue what was going on and just grabbed his shot gun because he thought the guy was still out there. We all had pretty much grabbed the kids and ran into the house before he even got out of the bathroom.

And I'm actually more pissed at the fact that the cop was being an @ss when he took our statements. He kept saying he can't believe one of us didn't do something to the guy. 3 of the guys and 2 of the girls are military and he pretty much started shooting them down for not reacting to the guy. As if being in the military means that you disarm a guy in your backyard when your kids are playing 15 feet away and you're drunk... yeah... I'll let the cop try that one and we'll see how it goes...

[atlantamx3]

In other words "the right to bear arms". It's an evil monster that will never go away for the US unless it changes it's laws, policies, views and perspectives on the NEED to bear arms. Sad as it is, it comes with the territory.
John[/color]

Wow John... I cant beleive you are saying this.

What you fail to realize is, that the bad guys will ALWAYS have guns or have access to them.

If a law were to go in to place restricting civilians from owning firearms, it would not stop the bad guys-- just the good guys... i.e. regular civilians. And we would be at the complete mercy of the bad guys with no way to protect ourselves, our family, or our property.

At least with the freedom for civilians to own firearms, the bad guys never really know who has one-- and this simple fact of the unknown is what keeps the crime down in cities where civilians own them too.

Take my town, just north of Atlanta, is Kennesaw, GA. It is the only town in the US (or at least, used to be) where the city laws require all homeowners to own a gun. Our crime rate is pretty low to say the least.





And no, I dont own a gun. We are outside of the city limits!

[Grants]

And we would be at the complete mercy of the bad guys with no way to protect ourselves, our family, or our property.

I don't want to go down the gun law path here but that is patently untrue. That would mean all countries that don't have such lenient "laws" would be over-run by the baddies. Its quite easy to see thats not the case.

Look at the above story. The fact the home owner had a shotgun was no deterrent and made no difference to the outcome. There could be an argument that his actions were counter productive and put people at further risk. The baddie was gone and heres a guy who's just had a shock running around with a shotgun looking in shadows for something to shoot. What if a couple of the kids were hiding out there? And he'd had a few beers too so his judgement may not have been at its sharpest.

[DavidOS]

that being said we rarely have home invasions in Canada like that!!
so the argument having more guns for everyone doesnt hold.
and the argument if you restrict gun ownership to civilians then
the criminals will always have guns?

Thats not my experience in Australia either, its f---in hard to get
a gun unless your liscenced or connected well.

Canada, easy to get guns, we still have restrictions but dont have
ppl looting ppl in their back yards.

maybe its a mentality thing i dunno,
wild west mentality.

[freakyalien]

In other words "the right to bear arms". It's an evil monster that will never go away for the US unless it changes it's laws, policies, views and perspectives on the NEED to bear arms. Sad as it is, it comes with the territory.
John[/color]

Wow John... I cant beleive you are saying this.

What you fail to realize is, that the bad guys will ALWAYS have guns or have access to them.

If a law were to go in to place restricting civilians from owning firearms, it would not stop the bad guys-- just the good guys... i.e. regular civilians. And we would be at the complete mercy of the bad guys with no way to protect ourselves, our family, or our property.

At least with the freedom for civilians to own firearms, the bad guys never really know who has one-- and this simple fact of the unknown is what keeps the crime down in cities where civilians own them too.

Take my town, just north of Atlanta, is Kennesaw, GA. It is the only town in the US (or at least, used to be) where the city laws require all homeowners to own a gun. Our crime rate is pretty low to say the least.





And no, I dont own a gun. We are outside of the city limits!

Not to turn this serious thread into a gun debate, but I agree with you 100%. I am very strongly of the opinion that every house should own-and know how to use- a gun. I would never (not that I do now) do what that man did to Meep and her friends if I was positive that they had a gun and knew how to use it.

[DavidOS]

And we would be at the complete mercy of the bad guys with no way to protect ourselves, our family, or our property.

I don't want to go down the gun law path here but that is patently untrue. That would mean all countries that don't have such lenient "laws" would be over-run by the baddies. Its quite easy to see thats not the case.

Look at the above story. The fact the home owner had a shotgun was no deterrent and made no difference to the outcome. There could be an argument that his actions were counter productive and put people at further risk. The baddie was gone and heres a guy who's just had a shock running around with a shotgun looking in shadows for something to shoot. What if a couple of the kids were hiding out there? And he'd had a few beers too so his judgement may not have been at its sharpest.

precisely
not worth it.

[ccreech]

The simple fact is that making a gun illegal IN THE USA will not keep them out of the hands of guys who want them. I know that things are different in Canada and elsewhere and honestly in parts of the US as well, but for the most part criminals have guns to make them feel more powerful. They are usually guys that would get there a-- whipped if they tried to take something by force any other way and they are too stupid to plan a fool proof burglary or whatever. So these ignorant people will always be a danger weather or not the general public is allowed to own a gun. That said, the government gives the people the right to TRY to defend themselves by being armed themselves. I agree that this could create new dangers like the shotgun wielding Beer Guzzler, but if he had shot an innocent person then he would have been held accountable for his actions. Payment for his stupidity in believing that he could defend himself while drinking I guess.

There are cases where I stand up and aplaude gun ownership. These young guys broke into an old man's house here in Atlanta. They knew that he was old (70's I believe) and that he and his wife were easy targets. They burst in and one guy held them at gunpoint while his buddies ransacked the house. The old man got an opportunity, grabbed his gun, and shot the guy with the gun 3 times. Needless to say his buddies ran off probably after they wet themselves. Justice served in my opinion.

The world would be a better place if people didn't break into old people's homes and perform backyard stick-ups. If we are going to play wishful thinking, this is what I would prefer...not, making guns illegal and hoping that it would effect noticable change.

[Vanished]

Wow...very shocking indeed. Defantly a miracle.

And ccreech your completely right. Guns are already very popular in the states, so banning them might even make things worse. If they wouldn't of had any gun laws from the start of civilisation, peopel woudln't be used to waving guns around.

People own a gun because they are afraid of guns.

In canada, guns are rare. Shooting occur between gangs the odd time, a coupel stand offs and what not. But not very many random breakins like this incedent. Here in saskatoon, knives are like guns are in the states, so you can never get rid of all weapons. Knives aren't as easy to use as a gun, but they will always be here. My thought is that if everyone already has a gun, might as well make it legal so peopel can protect themselves againts guns with guns. Sounds harsh, but its the truth.

Glad to here you guys all came out ok, and i hope it doens't happen agian...and they better catch that guy, which they won't.

[jschrauwen]

The simple fact is that making a gun illegal IN THE USA will not keep them out of the hands of guys who want them.
Your statement is TRUE but not justification. It will minimize the opportunities, the number of guns there are and their availability. The legal consequences may also playa big part as a deterrent. Add that all together and the amount of gun related crime can assuredly come down - not be eliminated but minmized - and that's a very good thing.


I know that things are different in Canada and elsewhere and honestly in parts of the US as well,
And for a very good reason - and it works. It's not perfect, but it works nonetheless.


but for the most part criminals have guns to make them feel more powerful. They are usually guys that would get there a-- whipped if they tried to take something by force any other way and they are too stupid to plan a fool proof burglary or whatever. So these ignorant people will always be a danger weather or not the general public is allowed to own a gun.
True, that goes without saying anywhere in the world.


That said, the government gives the people the right to TRY to defend themselves by being armed themselves.
I have those same rights too (to defend myself only), but it doesn't compell me to own a gun. One does not need a gun to defend themselves. There are other way, shapes and means to accomplish this.


I agree that this could create new dangers like the shotgun wielding Beer Guzzler,
My point exactly.


but if he had shot an innocent person then he would have been held accountable for his actions.
True, and if he wasn't allowed to own a gun that would probably never have occured.


Payment for his stupidity in believing that he could defend himself while drinking I guess.
There are cases where I stand up and aplaude gun ownership. These young guys broke into an old man's house here in Atlanta. They knew that he was old (70's I believe) and that he and his wife were easy targets. They burst in and one guy held them at gunpoint while his buddies ransacked the house. The old man got an opportunity, grabbed his gun, and shot the guy with the gun 3 times. Needless to say his buddies ran off probably after they wet themselves. Justice served in my opinion.
Or, they ransacked the house and were later caught because the owners had spent their money on a good security/alerting system instead of the guns that they own. And they didn't run the risk of a stand-off scenario with the young and old person facing each other with /a loaded weapon in their hand waiting to see who is going to flinch first. Let em ransack the house, it's only things and they can be replaced. Challenging them and losing because you have the right to do so is of little comfort to the widow.


The world would be a better place if people didn't break into old people's homes and perform backyard stick-ups. If we are going to play wishful thinking, this is what I would prefer...not, making guns illegal and hoping that it would effect noticable change.
It does make a difference - look at other countries.

Maybe I view this in a whole different light. I have to regularly fire different weapons to keep my currency. Aside from the sportsman gun ownership, which is another subject all together, I believe the concept of the right to bear arms is an outdated, archaic statute that has long since outlived it's usefullness. Remeber when and why it was written. Those times and needs are no longer viable, unless you still believe we're still unsafe as a people or family as we were 100 to 200 years ago. I don't think we are.