# Been suspicious can help you.



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Lately there has been a wave of crimes mainly committed by young and ignorant juveniles in towns or places that hardly where touch by crime before, restaurants, gas stations, shopping centers, stores and is something to think about because not been a common occurrence can lead to a false stated of security. We go shopping and we get loss in our surroundings like is something we never seen or experience before and that`s when we get into trouble, by been loss.
We never notice the external appearance of the individuals, their behavior, the vehicle running with a nervous driver, the fast pace of the group as they approach, or maybe the face mask or over size head gear and dark glasses, the car going around the parking lot several times with several juveniles in it; we have to stay focus on our surroundings, look who is behind you or the why you`re been follow after you pay by two individuals who left the store without buying anything, call me paranoid but a careful one at least.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I'm seeing more and more of these kind of things. Two weeks ago the wife and me were in a Walmart in Omaha and we were shopping separately (to speed things up). I was about 100 feet away from my wife and I notched a guy talking to her. I walked over and stood behind her. The guy talking to my wife noticed me and walked away. I ask her what he wanted, she said that he wanted directions to another store. I told her he is just feeling her out for a possible car jacking or robbery in the parking lot. But she said he was just asking directions. I said that if we see one or more kids standing around outside the store just waiting then I will be sure that is what going on. When we left the store there was 2 guys standing just outside of the main door and one of them was the guy that was talking to my wife. 

My wife got real scared and realized that I was right, I told her that we will be reading about car jacking or robberies at major stores in Omaha, Since then a women was carjacked and killed and dumped in the middle of the street. Another women was robbed of her purse at the same store we were at.

I suspect that this is a roving group that go from town to town doing this. None has been arrested for any crime.


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## rawhide2971 (Apr 19, 2013)

Situational Awareness has gone out the window as the cell phone has taken over as more important than personal responsability. If you pay attention watch how many people walk in front of your car in a parking lot while looking at the cell phone in thier hand and walking, are they paying attention to whats going on around them? I wonder how many rapes and assults take place because of the cell phone facination? Probably a lot more than people will acknowledge. As far as being preyed on ...well its part of our society sad to say.....its easier to steal and assult than to work and save and try to better your life. Sad state of affairs.:dunno:


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

Couple of years ago at Christmas time, we left a major grocery store in a big box strip mall. I'm powering the cart through the lot, just wanting to get the heck out of there, wife was messing around in her purse when she noticed a couple of guys heading straight for her. Her advantage, situational awareness, her failure, not saying anything. My failure, total lack of situational awareness, and not staying with her. Local forum, someone posted a couple of weeks later a relative was frightened enough by two males in a panel van (same situation) that she went back into the grocery store.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Not only we have loss our area awareness but now the trend is to plug our ears and listen to whatever while walking, you will never hear your attacker we have to keep reminding ourselves and loved ones of the dangers in our daily routines ,the taking for granted routines are the ones that will get you. And for the single guys out there bar hunting is a hot topic; on the news here a guy pick up a woman took her home and she went outside to smoked , living the door open and her two friends join the party,almost kill the poor guy, so let`s be careful out there.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Speaking of cell phone fascination, I almost got into an accident on the way to the store, because a guy paused at the 4-way stop, I started going and so did he about a second later. Then, he flipped me off! I do try to pay attention to people following me in parking lots, though.


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## razorback (Jul 17, 2012)

DH doesn't let me go in our walmart anymore without him. We also don't use the main entrance anymore, we go in automotives. That's closer to sporting goods anyway =D

But I have always walked out of any store with my keys in my hand, and if you look closely at those keys you can see 4 sticking out between my fingers. I've never trusted my surrounds, being a small female I know I'll be a target. BUT so will they =D


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Never and this goes especially to the ladies in the families, go to your vehicle having a van park next to it, especially if you see any movement or Eng. running , take a few turns in the parking lot before heading home, the person next to you could be setting you up, especially a woman, all this goes to what I have stated before, go shopping with someone and pay attention to juveniles in groups, seen many counting money on the way to their vehicle after leaving the bank ,is a big mistake. The bottom line here is to never take your security for granted, my ex-wife was assaulted in a parking lot for her purse, she was drag several feet for $2, it turns out the security guard was the set-up guy, all juveniles from the same apartment complex. Trust no one.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Ladies need to always look in the windows of the car to make sure no one is hiding in the back seat.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

LincTex said:


> Ladies need to always look in the windows of the car to make sure no one is hiding in the back seat.


 Almost said something snarky, but it annoys me when women mark their vehicle as obviously having a female driver: the pink John Deere tags or signs, soccer mom type stickers, girly trinkets from the rear view mirror. To me it just screams target to anyone cruising a parking lot.
Although, in a similar situation to the other posts, I was walking a shopping cart to my beat up pickup, butched up in steel toe boots and a baseball cap, jeans and tee, when a smiling young loser attempted to approach me, pointed to a vehicle and politely asked for gas money. I quickly pointed to a big burly guy walking empty handed out of the store behind me and said 'Ask my husband'. Figured if he could point out a fake vehicle, I could point out a fake husband.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Always pay attention to your surroundings. If something doesn't feel right, act quickly to get out of there.

Another tip: home invasions happen at night. Don't let strangers in. Feel free to call the police and let them sort it out.

If it was 10:00 at night and we heard a knock at the door I wouldn't answer it. Not unless I was expecting someone. I don't make unannounced visits to people that late at night. If I'm not answering, and they know me, they can call me on the phone.

I keep my doors locked at all times. I don't want to be in the basement or upstairs and have an intruder sneak in the house looking for something to steal.

Back when my grandma was alive she lived in a town of 6,000. She might go and hang out clothes on the line and leave the door unlocked with her purse right by the door. If my dad was visiting he'd tell her not to do that but she never listened.


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## 8thDayStranger (Jan 30, 2013)

When my wife and I were just dating she worked at a discount department store. One day this creepy guy kept following her around the store. He finally asked her if she wanted to go to lunch with him. She politely declined and went about her work. The guy hung out in the store for another hour, always within eyesight of her. She told a manager and they escorted him out. When she got off work she walked out in the parking lot and he was parked beside her car with a pile of cigarette butts by his car suggesting he'd been there for quite a while. He propositioned her again and she went back inside and called me. I lived two blocks away so I was there in 2 minutes. The guy was still there so I walked up to his window and started to confront him. He rolled his window up as he was talking smack. I rolled his front and rear driver side windows down with a size 12 and proceeded to remove him from his car through a tiny glass studded opening. He threw the car in gear and sped off. Later that night there was a report on the news that a guy with two busted windows raped and tried to kill a gas station clerk who'd just gotten off duty. From then on I escorted her to and from work every day and she kept a knife on her at all times while there. I regret not putting the guy in the hospital. It might have saved the other young lady some trauma.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

I realized I was committing a tactical error by walking out the store with my arms full of bags. I've made it a point now to use a cart so that my gun hand is always free. Which means, keys in the hand wrapped around the cart handle, gun hand loosely hanging at my side. Purse rides in the cart. Gun is on my person.

Pause at the edge of the sidewalk, take in the parking lot, make note of who's where and what's going on, then proceed to the car.

Look everyone square in the eye as they approach, turn head slightly to the side so I can keep an eye on them as they walk past and behind me (good peripheral vision comes in handy here).

Of course, these days, I rarely go to the store alone, so I assign one of the boys with watching the back trail.

After writing this, it occurs to me that I only take these precautions at Wal-Mart. I guess I feel safer at the regular grocery store? That could be a problem...must work on it.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

BillS said:


> Always pay attention to your surroundings. If something doesn't feel right, act quickly to get out of there.
> 
> Another tip: home invasions happen at night. Don't let strangers in. Feel free to call the police and let them sort it out.
> 
> ...


If someone knocks on my door at 10pm, they either have been expected, or I'll be answering with a bit of protection between me and the door.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I always taught my girls to be mindful of their surroundings & frequently quizzed them about people around us while we were out. But since they've been grown, I had grown lax in my situational awareness. Since my son was born, I'm trying to get back into the habit of it. The only person more vulnerable than a woman is a woman with a baby. You can't run with your baby strapped in the carseat.


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